Tag Archives: Deborah Szekely

A “Plugged-In” Spa Visit to Thailand with Massage and Facial on Day One and a Pre-Flight Manicure and Pedicure

A “Plugged-In” Spa Visit To Thailand with Massage and Facial on Day One and a Pre-Flight Manicure and Pedicure
by Susie Ellis

Just got to Thailand after a 16 hour flight from New York to Bangkok aboard Thai Airways, a three hour layover at the Bangkok airport, a one hour flight to Phuket, a 1/2 hour drive to a jetty and a 45 minute boat trip to the island of Yao Noi where I am staying at the Six Senses Hideaway.

I have learned to make the most of my traveling. Got a manicure and pedicure in at the JFK airport (what a time-saver that was!) and answered about 50 emails on the flight (which to the chagrin of the receivers – especially my assistant – all go out at the exact moment that I land in Bangkok), handled another bunch of emails at the Bangkok airport, and finished up the rest when I arrived at Six Senses Hideaway.

Am in the middle of helping plan the Global Spa Summit and don’t have the luxury of turning off my Treo for the duration of my trip…however I am not complaining. This is going to be a “plugged in” trip rather than an “unplugged” trip. However, if it wasn’t plugged in, I wouldn’t be able to take it.

More later….

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Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet or even Exercise!

Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet, or even Exercise!

by Susie Ellis

The importance of sleep is something that has been on our SpaFinder top 10 spa trends list for the past two years. In 2007 the focus was on adding sleep health to diet and exercise as an equally (if not more) important pillar of health in spas. In 2008, because of the growing research which shows sleep deprivation is linked to obesity, emphasizing sleep health in weight-loss programs at spas was the focus. good nights sleep 5810 782965 Sleep Health at Vacation Spas May be more Important than Massages, Facials, Manicures/Pedicures, Diet or even Exercise!

Tonight’s piece on CBS’s 60 Minutes made these points clearer through video than I ever could in writing. I hope everyone who didn’t see it would watch it. Here is the link. A new thing I learned is that it appears we can add diabetes to the long list of consequences of sleep deprivation.

Sometimes I think that sleep health is my mantra. And for this upcoming week – it is no exception. Here is why….

I was thinking this morning about the volatile financial market situation we witnessed last Friday and how this might affect the spa industry. And what advice I might give.
I remember the October 1997 stock market plunge (which was later called Black Monday) and ever since have been aware that bad news at the end of a week might result in even worse news on Mondays. It just makes sense to me that after a weekend when people kind of regroup, they begin thinking about their personal financial situation and start taking steps toward self preservation. Too many people making financial moves all at once on a Monday can spell disaster.
Of course, I hope that I am wrong. My advice, however, for both spa consumers as well as the spa industry would be the same – be extra careful to get enough sleep. Dealing with challenges wisely necessitates clear thinking and emotional balance. Eating well is a good idea, exercising helps, however getting healthy and adequate amounts of sleep is possibly even more important. If you aren’t convinced, please do me (and yourself) a favor, and watch The Science of Sleep Part 1 and Part 2 from last night’s 60 Minutes.

Well…am off to bed.

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“Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions” – The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong

como.shambhala.logo 717814 Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong“Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions” – The Perfect Description for Sacred Spas Created by Christina Ong
by Susie Ellis

I can only imagine how long it must have taken to come up with this spot-on perfect tag line: “Silent Havens for Holistic Solutions.”

The other evening Peter and I attended a cocktail reception given at Donna Karan’s Soho pad for Christina Ong, who was showcasing her Como Shambhala luxury resort properties. I was delighted to see that Mrs. Ong herself was at the reception since I understand she is very shy and not a fan of large social gatherings.

Some quick background if you haven’t heard of Como Shambhala. Shambhala means “a sacred place of bliss,” and Como is an acronym for Christina Ong and her daughter Melissa Ong. Their collection of unique and distinguished properties currently include:

Parrot Cay, Turks and Caicos
Metropolitan, London
Metropolitan, Bangkok
Como Shambhala Estate, Bali
Uma Ubud, Bali
The Halkin, London
Cocoa Island, Maldives
Uma Paro, Bhutan

I am sure there will be more. They seem to be on a roll…as each property seems to be another instrument in a symphony they have created. I have had the pleasure of visiting about half of their properties and will see the two in London next month. It is simply understood that no property will disappoint.

When I spoke with Mrs. Ong, her brightest smile came when I mentioned how talented her therapists appear to be. I understand that she screens every single therapist in her collection – and it shows!

The Como Shambhala properties have a dreamy quality and combine nature, yoga, and holistic therapies with expertly trained therapists in a setting that is tasteful and, at the same time, progressive in design. This simple formula works.

Using Spas To Stop Aging – At All Costs

hair.curlers 760419 Using Spas To Stop Aging At All CostsToday’s New York Times had a huge story in their Style Section entitled “Beauty Regimens Reach for the Gold Standard.” It was an article written about three women in Beverly Hills describing how much they spend – and what they have done – in terms of their beauty regimes each week. Even I was quite shocked. Not only the money spent but also the time taken!

One woman, Ginger, figures that she spends about 10 hours and $1,000 each week on grooming. (And if you count her personal training and exercise coaching, you would add another $500 per week to that.) Another woman spends about $500 per week on grooming although that doesn’t count the $60,000 she spent this year on liposuction and a face lift. The third woman spends about $225 per week which in comparison looked quite reasonable. That’s still almost $12,000 per year!

It is bittersweet to read these stories. Clearly the demand for these services is part of why our spa industry has such robust growth. On the other hand it is kind of sad to think that the desperation to look young forever is so very important to so many of us – and I do include myself. Perhaps the best solution is for other parts of the spa industry – the part concerned with the body/mind/spirit, community and self-acceptance – to become more successful in helping people reach a healthy outlook on aging gracefully.

We can hope.

My Name is Susie and I am an Emailaholic

Last Saturday as Peter and I flew to California for a week’s “vacation”, I promised him that I would deal with my email issues. My email issues are such that if there was an email recovery group (and maybe there is) I would have to stand up and say, “Hi, my name is Susie and I am an emailaholic.”
email 795833 My Name is Susie and I am an Emailaholic
I actually really like email and enjoy staying in touch whether I am in the office or on the road. However, now I have had my husband, my best friend, numerous people at work and even my twin sister – who would be the last person to get upset with me – tell me that they have had enough. My girlfriend feels it is a pride issue, my sister thinks I am being inconsiderate of family, and my husband thinks I am just not able to find a good balance between work and non-work. They are probably all correct. I figure that I better start dealing with it before they all get together and plan an intervention.

Well, here is my progress report: I went almost 3 days without looking at my emails, then on the 4th and 5th I checked quickly and responded to just a few. So far so good. Today was the 6th day and I only handled one major issue but it necessitated a fair amount of emails. I am feeling the pull again so am planning to go cold turkey for the last 2 days of my vacation.

Key observation so far – skipping my emails is not the end of the world. I’m really not that important – and I am sleeping better.