Best Place To Get Wet

The Hall of Waters in Excelsior Springs is not just a day spa, and it's not just the home of the world's longest water bar (that is, a bar that serves water). It's also the home of City Hall, where Excelsior Springs residents pay their water bills (the drop box for checks is at the front entrance). Everything about the building gives off a feeling of comfort and clarity, and that's no accident; when leading visitors around, director Vicki Bates points out details of the building's architecture that are subtle yet deliberate attempts to foster "good energy." (There are, for example, no harsh right angles in the structure, only rounded corners.) The Water Bar is in a long, rounded, high-ceilinged room with walls made up almost entirely of windows. Through those windows, water drinkers can see the tranquil grounds of The Elms, the hotel where Harry Truman slept right through his precarious win over Thomas Dewey on election night in 1948. Guests can sample not only Excelsior Springs' native waters but also waters imported from around the world, which differ according to botanical infusions and what minerals are abundant near various springs. The spa uses old porcelain claw-foot bathtubs -- not high-tech Jacuzzis -- for hydrotherapy sessions. (During hydrotherapy, many customers enjoy having a rubber ducky in the tub, and the spa provides a wide selection; tubbing with all of the rubber duckies is also an option.) Tubs vary in size, and Bates is careful to put people who aren't good swimmers in the smaller units -- not because she's worried that they would drown, but because people can't relax in giant tubs if water intimidates them. Meanwhile, a customer lying back for a steam bath can look at flowers painted on the ceiling (only in the spot above the pillow) while the pores get a good cleansing. Rehydrating afterward shouldn't be a problem.