Picture yourself lying in a poolside cabana while a staff of experts–masseuse, manicurist, you get the idea–caters to your every whim. To some, it’s the apex of pampering. To others…it’s just another day in LA.

Maybe it was inevitable from its beginnings that Los Angeles would become high-end-spa central. In the city’s earliest days, two distinct groups of newcomers from the East flocked in droves to its sunny shores:  those who came for the glamour of the burgeoning film industry and those who came for the therapeutic values of its mild, dry climate. Today, these pursuits of beauty and wellness continue to intertwine in Los Angeles spa culture. In a city where “showing face” means you’re broadcast to millions and the excesses of celebrity life need to be detoxed regularly, spas here offer the utmost in indulgence.

Hotels seem to be the favored venues where the stars decamp for spa luxury–most of the city’s worthwhile facilities can be found at luxury lodgings in the celeb epicenters of Beverly Hills and the Sunset Strip. And out of respect for their A-list clientele, many of these hotel spas are bastions of privacy…and even security. At LeSpa at the Sofitel, private spa suites come with the option of a separate area for your bodyguards. Even if you don’t have an entourage in tow, you’ll still enjoy the exclusivity (no more than two appointments are booked per time slot), pre-treatment foot soak, and fun nail salon. Privacy is also paramount at Argyle Salon and Spa in the legendary Art Deco Sunset Tower Hotel. You can soak up classic Hollywood glamour in the private Jacuzzis tucked away in private spa suites equipped with every imaginable amenity, including food and drink service from the swank Tower Bar.

There are also spas to fit any size preference, from the expansive Spa Montage to the diminutive Beverly Hills Hotel Spa by La Prairie. Spa Montage (huge!!) will bathe you in natural light and Spanish-inspired luxury, whether you choose to immerse in the co-ed mineral bath (bring your swimsuit) or the single-sex steam, sauna, and whirlpool. Fabulous botanical treatments and products (tangerine fig cream, anyone?) are good enough to eat, and the post-treatment bites are delish, too. Rejuvenating facials by Swiss purveyor La Prairie and a choose-your-own-music menu go a long way to combat claustrophobia in the six small treatment rooms at The Beverly Hills Hotel Spa (teeny tiny!!). But if you need more room to spread out, you can always opt to take your treatments in–where else?–a poolside cabana.

All of this isn’t to say that the pursuit of pampering starts and ends at these choice hotel spas. The apple of temptation hasn’t fallen far from the tree at non-hotel spots like l.a. vie l’orange, a nail spa on tony Robertson Boulevard where you can get your toes beach-ready while practically disappearing into the ultra-cushiony, hooded wicker treatment chairs. Fan out to the city’s funkier neighborhoods for specialty finds, like the hardcore, no-frills Thai massage at Pho-Siam in Echo Park or a hip haircut in the laidback, loft-like Warren-Tricomi smack on trendy Melrose (a cut above some of its stuffier LA counterparts in our opinion).

Wherever you decide to spoil yourself, LA salons and spas are the closest you’ll come to having a masseuse, manicurist, facialist, stylist, and (while you’re at it) cabana boy on your own personal payroll.

Photo of Four Seasons Hotel Spa courtesy of Four Seasons