Most Expensive Spa in the World Opening Soon! Six Senses Spa to Introduce its Destination Spa and 7th Sense Spa Experience
by Susie Ellis

Had a sneak peek at the soon-to-be-launched new Six Senses Destination Spa here in Thailand. It was a 30 minute boat ride from the Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi where I am currently staying. During a tour of the property which is nearing completion (although it looks to me will need more time than they think to be ready for opening), I kept saying, "wow," "wow," "wow" with every corner I turned.

The opening of this Destination Spa is going to be big news, - both inside the spa industry and outside of the spa industry. My guess is that these will be the big media stories:

1. You can eat the landscaping around your villa and pretty much eat everything else growing on the property.

2. This isn't one spa - it is literally four spas in one: an Indian spa, an Indonesian Spa, a Chinese Spa, and a Thai Spa. And I don't mean "area" but "spa"! There is also a salon called the hair spa as well as color therapy spaces, colonics, Watsu area, Pilates, kenisis, a feng shui'd gym (finally!), and a host of other offerings too numerous for me to remember. It would be easier to try and list what they don't offer.

3. Although not a medical spa per se, there will be master practitioners and medical doctors and an emphasis on both Eastern and Western wellness options - no aesthetic medicine.

4. It will no doubt be lauded for its ecologically embedded practices.

5. The food will likely get rave reviews because of the garden-fresh ingredients, their raw food restaurant option, and the status of their spa-celebrity chefs.

6. The 7th Sense will be introduced which will trump the Sixth.

7. It will be the most expensive spa in the world.

There are very few true destination spas left. In Asia there are just a handful - Chiva Som in Thailand (the most well known), Como Shambala in Bali (very small but exquisite), and the Farm at San Benito in the Philippines (unfortunately, a well kept secret).

North America has Canyon Ranch, Miraval, Rancho La Puerta, Golden Door, Greenhouse, Cal a Vie, and about 10 others. All destination spas are gems in my opinion. Very expensive to create and operate yet offer the greatest chance to pursue wellness and transformation. Bottom line for me is that I always feel my best (and am told I look my best) after a stay at a destination spa.

In fact that reminds me of how I recently heard someone describe the difference between a resort spa and a destination spa: When you return home from a resort spa you tell others how great it looked. When you return home from a destination spa others tell you how great you look!

Stay tuned....and fasten your seat belts.

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Checked into my hotel - the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort - around noon. After a quick shower and change, I head over to Therme Marins for the two spa appointments that had been arranged for me. Ever since Lee Katzoff, owner of the Greenhouse destination spa in Texas, told me that the best facial she had received anywhere in the world was at Therme Marins, I have looked forward to experiencing one myself. You would have to know Lee to realize what that recommendation means. I have never met anyone with such high standards and exquisite taste.

I spent the first hour of my visit to Therme Marins - which is a three-story spa right on the Mediterranean Sea with spectacular 180-degree views from almost every room - in the company of the PR director, who gave me a tour and filled me in on the spa's history. The property has always been a place for thalassotherapy but was destroyed during World War Two. In 1995, the modern Therme Marins was created - directly accessible from the Hotel de Paris and L'Hermitage and a short walk from the center of Monte-Carlo.

Many of the spa's facilities have an ocean view, including the thalassotherapy pool, the café, the fitness center, and the hair salon. Everywhere you look, there is seawater.

More about that facial tomorrow…

Interesting industry news this week: Lather Spa, an L.A.-based skincare company (with a great name in my opinion), opened in Manhattan. What is even more interesting is that it opened in the same space that used to be the Greenhouse Day Spa. That took me by surprise, as the Greenhouse closing was not on my radar.

I've noticed a slight increase in the number of day spas throughout the U.S. that have been sold or have closed in the past few months - we keep track because of our need to keep Spafinder.com current. This comes just a few months after the Avon spa - in the same neighborhood - announced that they were closing down. Perhaps some fresher spa concepts - such as the well publicized Cornelia Day Resort - have lured much of the Upper East Side business away from Avon and Greenhouse. I don't tend to believe what press releases say about why spas close or sell; most of the time it has everything to do with the balance sheet.

I have been spending the past few days doing something I absolutely love – restructuring the brand overviews on Spafinder.com. I know that others think I am a bit crazy for getting so much enjoyment out of this project, but figuring out the best way to represent spa brands is something I find genuinely exciting. It might be because I spent so much time with the Golden Door brand, The Greenhouse brand, and now with the Spa Finder brand that I understand how important the history of a brand is, including who birthed it, how the name came about, what the logo means, what the brand stands for, what makes the brand different from all the others, where the company is going, etc. This just makes my toes tap!

So here are some of the logos of the companies I am working on currently. In some upcoming blogs I will share with you what these logos mean and how they came about.