I just received a follow-up email from Dr. Swati, the Indian born doctor in Ayurveda, Natural Medicine, and Yoga Therapy who I met at Parrot Cay. Dr. Swati just joined the staff at Como Shambhala and I must say she is a very impressive addition. She gave a presentation to our group, which was the most thorough explanation of Ayurveda I have ever heard. She has worked many years in Indian hospital and healing settings, and it was obvious to our entire group that she is a gifted healer (in addition to being very smart with a good sense of humor.) A private consultation with her is $150 which, after meeting her, is really a true bargain; I wish that I would have had more time to take advantage of that opportunity. But if anyone is reading this who is thinking about going to Parrot Cay….take my word for it and schedule a consultation with Dr. Swati before word gets out and she is totally booked!

I am 3 for 3. Three scheduled spa services and three great services! And even more amazing, my husband, Peter, was 3 for 3 as well. After taking in all of the optics - setting, views, decor, materials used, etc. - the core part of the spa experience is when the therapist puts their hands on my body and does their magic.

Here at Parrot Cay in the Caribbean, where I am training Virtuoso Travel Agents who want to specialize in selling spa vacations, we all experienced a variety of treatments to help us better understand their spa program. Mine included their:
1. Signature Treatment - Como Shambhala Massage
2. Indian Head Massage
3. Thai Massage

And lest you think they gave me all the good therapists; I compared notes with our entire group (10 of us) and every single person raved about every single one of their treatments.

It is not an easy feat to accomplish - having an outstanding menu of spa services as well as outstanding therapists for each. Only a handful of spas in the world get to this level. Tomorrow I will talk a bit about why I think they have reached this summit.

Hint, hint...two words are involved. Christina Ong.

Flew directly from New York to Turks and Caicos on Friday - 3 1/2 hours. Nice to have this direct flight. Since I have lived most of my adult life on the West Coast, where we vacation in Hawaii, the Caribbean is still somewhat new to me. The chance to experience Parrot Cay while training eight Virtuoso Travel Specialists who want to become experts in selling spa vacations was a welcome opportunity.

I talked Peter into coming along, and we went a day early to experience Parrot Cay as a couple. I can see why so many honeymooners come here. I learned from my massage therapist yesterday that lots of babymooners come here as well, usually in their second trimester.

Yesterday we had some thalassotherapy in the ocean (no charge when you just soak and swim in the turquoise blue water on your own) and then enjoyed a Como Shambhala Massage in the late afternoon. Excellent therapist, nice setting, relaxing. More and more I see places offering a 75 or 90 minute massage as their "standard." Good idea....the best way to relax quickly and totally.

Well, it doesn't get more Cinderella-like than going to a grand dinner party at The Catherine Palace in St. Petersburg.

At-attention torch bearers welcomed our Virtuoso Travel group (both property reps and agents), who were all in black tie and ball gowns. We strolled through various palace rooms dripping with gold leaf and chandeliers and took photos in the amber room (whose walls are covered in amber and gold). Then we entered the grand ballroom, which was set for dinner. I kept thinking back to my days of working with Donald Trump, who loved this kind of setting. But there is a difference between creating something like this and seeing the real thing. Truly extraordinary.

It kind of makes you understand why there was a revolution in Russia. This sort of wealth for a few would be a mind-boggling contrast to the hardships most Russians faced. How wonderful that many of these places were preserved as museums and everyone can visit today.

Spas were not on my mind this evening. I was just grateful that I could still fit into a gown I bought years ago, which has a black velvet bodice and a lace train. It has never worked better than in this setting.

It’s Saturday evening in St. Petersburg. Tonight the Virtuoso group was invited by Sir Rocco Forte to a cocktail reception and dinner at his Hotel Astoria. Sir Rocco Forte is the man behind a collection of ten (soon to be 12) luxury hotels, including Brown's Hotel in London and the Balmoral in Edinburgh. He is a very famous hotelier – following in his father’s footsteps. His father passed away just a week ago, and we all assumed he would not personally be with us. To our surprise and delight, we were mistaken. He welcomed us all and threw a very lavish party. He apparently feels, as so many do, that Virtuoso Travel Agents are worth wooing…as they send a great many affluent travelers to his hotels.

Of course, the evening will not soon be forgotten by any of us. We were greeted by music and entertained at cocktails by the most beautiful young Russian dancers. Each dinner table had its own kilo of the highest quality caviar (which cost close to $1,000, we estimated). It was served with fresh blinis, sour cream as the solo condiment, and plenty of vodka.

After dinner there was dancing to a top band…with a very clever touch. What we found out later is that they had provided a group of young Russian men (ok, maybe “boys”) who were trained to escort women onto the dance floor – then bring gentlemen from the side to dance with the ladies and then repeat the action again and again. Within about 15 minutes they had pretty much galvanized everyone onto the dance floor – and the party really started rocking. It reminded me of what I have often thought is needed at events – and especially at resorts. Connectors. It worked flawlessly tonight.

Enjoyed day one of the spa conference I am attending here in London. The day's focus was on innovation and implementation. We had speakers from France, the US, the UK, Switzerland, Russia, Bulgaria, and the Maldives. That's what I like about this gathering - it is very international.

Today's most fortuitous encounter was with Nina Tsymbal from St. Petersburg, the owner of a consulting company called Endeli Limited, who spoke on medical spas in Russia. Since I will be at the Virtuoso Winter Symposium in St. Petersburg this weekend, I was thrilled to be able to get her advice on which spas to visit while I'm there. I had been trying to get some suggestions for weeks with almost no luck. (Moscow has some renowned spas, but it seems St. Petersburg doesn't have any of note yet.) Well, Nina invited me to experience a special medical-massage treatment at her facility, the International Medem Clinic and Hospital. And, of course, I said yes. The topics at these conferences are instructive - but Nina's offer reminded me that the connections with other spa professionals are the real treasures.

Off to Las Vegas for Virtuoso Travel Mart - the exciting (and exhausting) week where Virtuoso travel agents and Virtuoso property management meet. Sallie and I were there to train 50 Virtuoso agents to become spa travel specialists. Our sold-out session became "oversold" as 60 agents came to hear what's new in the spa world.

We ended the three-hour training with a tour of the stunning Spa Bellagio, which spans more than 65,000 square feet following the recent remodel. Always fun to find out what's hot in Vegas spa treatments...at Spa Bellagio it is Ashiatsu, in which therapists massage clients with their feet while holding onto bars that are attached to the ceiling. The other hot trend is hair extensions...More about that later.

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Now that Peter’s vacation is over – it is my turn! That is one of the benefits of working with your spouse - when one of us is away, the other can make sure things are humming along at the office. It does make for a more relaxing trip. Even though my upcoming trip isn’t exactly a vacation, I am still excited because it includes so many of the things I enjoy doing. On Friday I fly to Las Vegas to attend the major Virtuoso Travel Mart Event, where Sallie Fraenkel (our COO) and I will be teaching Spa Finder’s Spa Specialist course to a class of 50 travel agents. Then on Sunday evening I fly to Thailand, where I will be attending the Spa Asia conference and joining a meeting of spa experts on the future of the spa industry. And just yesterday I made a whimsical decision...to take my step-daughter along as a treat for her – and for me.

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Most people know Peter Greenberg from NBC, where he has been the Today Show’s travel editor for many years. He is also a best selling author – Travel Detective is one of my favorites. I was introduced to Peter several years ago by my friend Kim Marshall, who is involved in the spa PR world and is also a friend of Peter’s. I must say, I believe we got off to a bad start and it was really my fault. We met at an industry trade show, and after Kim introduced us we spoke briefly about travel and spa. Noting that Peter was somewhat overweight, I couldn’t help but suggest that a full-week stay at a weight loss spa such as the Golden Door or Cal-a-Vie might be a good idea. Well, that turned out to be a big blunder, as the look on his face--and the fact that our conversation came to an abrupt halt--told me that I had hit a nerve. There went any hope of his mentioning Spa Finder on the Today Show!

Well, I am happy to report that I ran into Peter again--this time at the Virtuoso Travel event in Cambodia--with much better results. I almost didn't recognize him as he has lost a great deal of weight and looked very fit! He enthusiastically shared with me that he has lost 35 lbs (while still traveling extensively) and is coming out with a new book in May called The Traveler’s Diet. What a great idea for a book! I can't wait to see what weight loss tips he has for travelers. I wonder if they will include forgiving rude people who bring up someone's need to lose weight? :)

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Sallie and I are at Chiva-Som to conduct the first Spa Specialist Training Course for Virtuoso travel agents. We are joined by six top-notch travel agents for the few days we are here. (We decided to teach our first course at a spa, since there is no better way to learn about spas than being at one – and in this case, one of the best in the world!) Every day was filled with spa experiences as well as a few hours of training guided by the extensive course we developed in the past six months. If I do say so myself, it was a grand success.

Chiva-Som staff planned some unique experiences for us, as I felt there was no sense in coming all the way to Thailand for a Swedish massage. Our little group was scheduled for one of their most distinctive Thai offerings, Meridian Tapping. Editor-in Chief Gary Walther had written about this in the Jan/Feb issue of Luxury SpaFinder Magazine, although admittedly I didn’t “get it” from reading about it. After experiencing it, I realize how hard it is to describe to someone else.

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The basics: Decide on an area of discomfort in your life (physical or mental). You are asked to think about this area of personal challenge while a therapist taps your meridian points. This is supposed to repattern your body, resulting in an actual noticeable change.

We were given an example of how Meridian Tapping has been used with some miraculous results: A woman who for many years had a water phobia where the sight of water brought on extreme anxiety. After going from doctor to doctor for years, she ended up being relieved of the phobia after a ten-minute meridian tapping session. OK, that got my attention.

Our group’s collection of “issues” included a sore knee, a bad back, insomnia, fear of public speaking, jet lag, e-mail addiction, and a few other maladies I can no longer remember. Tap, tap, tap! Each of us had a two-minute session, and then we learned to do “self-tapping” for follow-up. Hard to gauge the results at the moment, but I want to be open-minded.

Should my list of 700+ emails that I need to answer suddenly be of no concern to me, I’ll make sure to keep tap dancing.

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