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Harry Potter at the Spa

Right before I left for Rancho La Puerta last week, it was Harry Potter mania around here. The Barnes & Noble near my office had a line around the block with people (many in costume) waiting to get the first copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. As I generally do, I wondered if the headlines would relate to spa in any way and wondered if there would be people at “the Ranch” reading the Harry Potter book.

IMG 1181 765025 Harry Potter at the SpaWell, indeed there was a smattering of folks around the pool with their noses in the Potter book. My favorite encounter was with Marty and his daughter Isabel pictured here who each had a copy of the book. He was reading the British version and she was reading the American version. They had enjoyed all of the previous books together beginning with the ones he read to her when she was a child.

But it was Meredith Viera’s interview on the Today Show with the book’s author J.K Rowling and their discussion about the final three words at the end of the book which I found most fascinating and really tied the Harry Potter series and spa together for me.

Indeed, those precious three words were the same ones that moved me so during my visit to the Farm at San Benito in the Philippines. Every spa treatment begins with the three words that ended Harry Potter: “All is well.”

Aspen Spa Day

logo aspenspaday 748747 Aspen Spa Day

It’s rare to hit a home run the first time at bat, but that’s what happened at our first Aspen Spa Day. The plan was to add on an extra day to the Aspen Center for Integral Health’s (ACIH) Healthy Gourmet Food Festival in which we have participated for the past two years. This extra day would be called Aspen Spa Day and it was the vision of Sallie Fraenkel, our Spa Finder COO.
aspen 797216 Aspen Spa DayThe idea was to invite a variety of Luxury Spa Finder advertisers to join us as exhibitors in a large white tent in the middle of Aspen on a busy summer weekend – and invite the public to join us for all the spa-related festivities. They would be able to walk through the tent sampling various spa treatments and spa food. It was a match made in heaven, Aspenites (who are affluent, into health and wellness, and love to travel) are the perfect match for our Luxury Spa Finder partners. We were hoping for 1,000 people, but had more than twice that many people, some of whom even flew in from other states. The buzz was so extraordinary that we think the tent needs to be twice as big next year! All the Spa Finder staff who attended (there were 8 of us) are walking around the office today with big smiles and fun stories – and maybe a bit tired from the return trip which got us into New York very late last evening.

My Doctor Weighs in on Sicko

scale2 744338 My Doctor Weighs in on SickoI spoke with my doctor over the weekend who very generously gave me plenty of time to go over the results of my annual physical. Other than higher-than-I-would-like cholesterol, I seem to be humming along pretty well.

At the end of our phone conversation I decided to ask him if he has seen the movie Sicko. Wow – did I get an earful! Ranting about how Michael Moore is crazy, that he is spreading lies, that he is almost a Communist, etc. After listening to the tirade I asked again if he had actually seen the movie to which he said “no” – he wouldn’t dream of giving Michael Moore any of his money. So I offered to buy him a movie ticket because I would rather talk with my doctor about Sicko after he has seen it than before. I have some questions.

One valid point my doctor made (without having seen the movie) was that there may be a better solution than what Michael Moore proposes in Sicko. Just adopting a health care system from another country – such as Canada or France – may not be the best answer. There might be a third way, by taking some aspects of both systems and even adding a part that doesn’t seem to exist anywhere. He suggested more free market aspects.

Anyway, my thought today is that I do hope that the conversation continues and shifts from whether or not we like Michael Moore to some smart solutions for health care woes. At least the movie gives us some concrete things to talk about.

Grail Springs Spa – next on our spa tour

The view at Grail Springs is the first thing that captured our attention. They are right on a lake which, when we visited, glistened in the sun although covered with ice and snow. They have made good use of that view from their great room, the dining room and from many of the bedrooms.
01 753418 Grail Springs Spa next on our spa tour
Stacey and I met with Madeline, the owner, who was kind enough to stay longer than planned because we did get a tad delayed in our drive. I love love love meeting the owners of spas because then I can understand the core philosophy and meeting Madeline was no exception. She is a very attractive woman with a great senses of style which was obvious from the outfit she wore. A real country look yet with the most contemporary bubbled hemline. I wasn’t surprised when she told us later that she was a designer.

She had just returned from New York where, among other things, she had done an interview for MSNBC on “The Secret”. (That’s the book so many people are talking about since Oprah had the Australian author on her TV show.) It’s become a controversial book with people lined up in support and in opposition. Madeline is “pro” as she leads “The Secret” retreats at Grail Springs.

What I learned about Grail Springs is how focused they are on detox. The food, the treatments, the reading materials – detox is a real foundation. They have the new infrared hot house dome which can cover various body parts for a really focused infrared therapy. They also have the detox foot baths which I am beginning to see at more spas. And they have colonic therapy.

More about that later.