Tag Archives: Grimaldi Forum

Global Spa Summit 2008 – Another Perspective

Global Spa Summit 2008 – Another Perspective
by Susie Ellis

Can’t believe that my one week vacation post-Global Spa Summit is over. Alas, I could use another week – however, I am grateful that even seven days away has helped me refocus and perhaps gain a wider perspective. When you work so hard on one project, it takes a while to ‘decompress’ and get back to realizing that there are other things in life apart from ‘the’ event. The Global Spa Summit 2008 was a great success on so many fronts thanks to a great many people and now it is time to move forward and build on what took place.

During my week of r & r, I had a chance to make good on my promise to get my first colonoscopy (drinking the fluid wasn’t as bad as everyone told me it would be), and catch the two big movies of the week – Indiana Jones (ho hum) and Sex in the City (fun and yes, I cried). And sleep. And sleep some more.

Tomorrow I head to the office and am very much looking forward to getting back to work. There is still a lot of Summit wrap-up to do, and also some new initiatives to dive into. All of it feels exciting and energizing to me.

I will recap some of the 2008 Global Spa Summit highlights as promised beginning with my next blog, however what strikes me most right now is that the real value of the Summit is not so much what happened at the event, but what happens between the Summits. I don’t remember who it was that said to me they will measure the success of the Global Spa Summit by what happens from one to the next, however, I took that to heart. Just getting together to network isn’t enough. Moving agendas forward is what is needed. And am happy to say that there was real progress between GSS 2007 and 2008 and I anticipate even more between 2008 and 2009. That feels good.

More about all that tomorrow. For now I will indulge in one more very good night’s sleep without event details flying through my head. Which reminds me…there is sweet pleasure in knowing that sleep health was not only a trend we predicted several years ago for the spa industry that turned out to be right on target, but it has also been an area of personal progress which I truly cherish. Night-night.
**

If you wish to be put on a list that automatically sends my blog posts to your email, just let dulcy.gregory@spafinder.com know and she will add you to that list. Thanks so much!

Shorter Spa Weeks Available Now (“Spa Interludes”) at the Golden Door Spa.

golden.door.door 780799 Shorter Spa Weeks Available Now (“Spa Interludes”) at the Golden Door Spa.Shorter Spa Weeks Available Now (“Spa Interludes”) at the Golden Door Spa.
By Susie Ellis

Well, I never thought it would happen. But alas….it did and I suppose it had to. The Golden Door Destination Spa in Escondido, California is introducing “Spa Interludes” which give guests the option, several times a year, to check in for three and four-day stays rather than the traditional seven days. These shorter stays are only available certain weeks in July, August, and December. While I am sad to think that not everyone will have a full seven day experience, the positive is that more people will be introduced to the magic of the Golden Door.

Deborah Szekely (and many of us who worked at the Golden Door and feel like part of its extended family) has been a staunch supporter of the seven-day spa stay because of its transformational possibilities. The changes in mind, body, and spirit and the bonding between guests,when everyone checks in on the same day and “graduates” together seven days later, takes time.

Happily the one thing I learned recently is that their dedication to the shared experience remains; all guests will check in either on Sunday or on Wednesday and each group ends at the same time. Therefore, the bonding between guests will be preserved. I am sure they will also adjust their program so that the Rocky theme, which I always hear playing in my head at the end of a Golden Door stay, will happen that much earlier.

Everyone’s schedule seems to have gotten so hectic these days that fewer people are willing to carve out seven days for a spa visit. While the stress of our lives points to the fact that we SHOULD carve out seven days, reality has the trump card. We are going to have to figure out how to become transformed and rejuvenated more quickly. If the Golden Door has less than 100% occupancy at certain times of the year, I can’t blame them for adding some shorter week options. And in all fairness, I must say that even a very good 90 minute massage has caused a major shift in my well-being, so a 3 or 4 day Golden Door visit is likely to still be very effective.

Perhaps in time the seven-day visit will once again be the norm throughout the entire year at the Golden Door…not because they won’t offer shorter stays, but because guests -having been introduced through a shorter visit – will subsequently choose the seven-day program. As you can see, I still believe in magic.golden.door.magic 798619 Shorter Spa Weeks Available Now (“Spa Interludes”) at the Golden Door Spa.

***

If you wish to be put on a list that automatically sends my blog posts to your email, just let dulcy.gregory@spafinder.com know and she will add you to that list. Thanks so much!