Tag Archives: healthcare

A Spa Which Has its Act Together

Our time at Canyon Ranch is coming to an end. Here is my bottom line assessment of how things went for me this visit. I had four treatments – a Cleopatra bath and massage, a Thai massage, an Ayurvedic Bindi and Shirodhara, and a Sisley Facial. All of them were absolutely excellent. In fact every therapist I had seemed to be a specialist in each of the treatments. That’s impressive for any spa – but especially for a destination spa where they don’t even work for tips.

On the negative side for me was the fact that I probably gained weight – totally my own fault. (Peter lost about 4 pounds). The food is so fabulous that you end up eating three full meals a day (which I don’t do at home). And with a cereal bar at breakfast and a salad bar at lunch and dinner as well as menus from which you can order as much as you want of so many healthful options…it just is too much temptation for me. Lunch and dinner menus have great desserts too, and when it comes to chocolate chip cookies and ice cream with hot fudge, I am simply spineless. I know the ice cream is low fat and the hot fudge isn’t really fudge but cocoa and pineapple and pear juice – but it still tastes absolutely yummy and I am unable to say no.

Lenox mansion 728802 A Spa Which Has its Act Together
We leave tomorrow and are feeling better about having exercised more than usual, gotten lots of fresh air, eaten healthy food, slept well and learned a few things. Among them…that the best kind of exercise for your immune system is something I love to do – dancing. And finally, I was reminded once again that Canyon Ranch has it’s act together.

Sand Therapy in a German Spa

sand 759466 Sand Therapy in a German SpaAlthough I had spent a few minutes in a sand therapy room at Brenner’s Park Hotel in Baden-Baden many years ago, the one here in Wiesbaden was different. As soon as I entered the room, I noticed that the entire floor – all the way up to the edges – was made of deep sand. It was just like being on the beach. In the center were two large ceramic pots with what looked like light mechanisms of some sort in the middle of each. On the ceiling was an aluminum reflector that spanned the entire ceiling from edge to edge. The attendant who gave us the tour explained that this is the sand therapy room. It was large enough for four people to lay down at one time (everyone is still naked of course), and the treatment lasted 30 minutes. So naturally I signed us both up.

When it was time for our sand therapy session, it turned out that we were the only ones. We went into the room, which was dark with just a little glow of light from the ceramic pots. On the side was a shelf of pillows and very light disposable paper mats for us to lie down on. We were instructed to just relax, which we were happy to do. The attendant then closed the door for our 30-minute session. The sand is heated from underneath, so that as you are resting on the sand it grows warmer and warmer. The light changes as well as time goes on. It begins very dim, becomes very bright, and then dims again by the end of the session. I was later told that this sequence is designed to mirror the actual amount of light the body is exposed to during a 24-hour day beginning with sunrise and ending with sunset. Music is supposed to be played in the background, but our attendant forgot to turn the music on (and forgot to explain the sunrise/sunset concept).

Apparently, this sand therapy session is particularly popular with perople who suffer from SAD – seasonal affective disorder – generally as a result of not getting enough sunlight.

But I must say that I quite enjoyed the session, as it was an ideal place to get some sleep. The feeling of the warm sand under your body is sensational, and the room is not as hot as a sauna or steam, where sleeping is neither possible nor recommended.

It might be interesting to see this concept in the U.S. It certainly serves as an example of de-staffed spa treatments, an increasingly prevalent spa trend.

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Can detox at a spa be enjoyable?

The Farm at San Benito has the best detox program I have seen. It is so thorough – and so comfortable. Now I understand why I keep running into people here who are repeat visitors. One woman quit smoking the first time, lost weight the second time, and now she comes just to stay on track, since she is a high powered executive from Hong Kong who lives a pretty fast-paced life.
spa treattub 713578 Can detox at a spa be enjoyable?
So much here is about detoxification, from the food on down to the colemas, the colonics, the yoga breathing, the meditation, the spa treatments, etc. I had a two-hour salt scrub that was really a massage with salt and coconut oil. It even included my face, which is pretty unusual…but all of my skin glowed afterward. I also tried what is called the Moxa Ventoza, which is done with six glasses that are used as suction on your back. I had read about this before but never experienced it. After the therapist finished my 30-minute suction session, I asked her to explain to me exactly what she did (couldn’t see what was happening on my back). I’ll give you the details tomorrow.

Mayflower Inn and Spa on Good Morning America

garden1 lg 792688 Mayflower Inn and Spa on Good Morning AmericaJust received this email from Adriana Mnuchin, who is the proprietor of the new Mayflower Inn and Spa in Washington, Connecticut (see this entry from a few weeks ago). Looks like we weren’t the only ones who felt that the Mayflower will set a new standard. I am hoping that Good Morning America will stress the “all-you-can-spa” philosophy, which gives the destination spa participants unlimited spa treatments. It’s such a point of differentiation. And then of course there’s the art, the staff, the decor, the cuisine, the details, the beauty….Oh my, I hope GMA gives this enough time! Tune in.

Susie,
We have some exciting news to share. Good Morning America will air a piece about Mayflower Spa on Thursday, July 20. They were told by Travel + Leisure that we were number 1 in country, and we are thrilled. They tell us it will be near the 8am segment . Best, Adriana


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Yin of Luxury, Yang of Discount

I’m back in New York after my whirlwind trip to LA. Just a quick recap of that press breakfast and the LA Spa Expo. For the press I reviewed the top 10 spa trends for 2006 that we announced at the beginning of the year. (I decided to give them catchy names this time – well, at least some got catchy names – so they would be easier to remember): McSpa, Spa IQ on the Rise, Home Sweet Spa, Water Water Everywhere, Medical and Sanctuary Tourism, The Yin of Luxury and Yang of Discount, Macho Macho Spa, The Pendulum Swings Back to a Pure Spa Experience, Ohmmm Online, and Fun on the Spa Menu.

Then the discussion turned to how LA is shaping trends in the spa world, and I highlighted three things I noticed:

1. Pregnancy and spa-going a natural – celebrities going to spas pre-baby, during pregnancy, post-baby, and with baby!

2. Medical spa services as standard fare in most spas – seems as if every spa in LA has a “medi-spa room” which a nurse practitioner uses several days a week to administer BOTOX®, perform laser hair removal services, medical microdermabrasion, etc. No biggie…just massage in this room, facials in that room, and medi services in the room at the end of the hall.

3. High-end Asian on the scene in addition to discount Asian – the GP Deva spa on Rodeo Drive, a company from Taiwan, offers a Full Body Zen Massage for 2 1/2 hours at $1,000 (andGPStoreRodeoDrive 718796 Yin of Luxury, Yang of Discount gratuity is not included). I am a bit skeptical. I only had time for a quick tour but look forward to giving it a try if only to see what miracles they work in their $400 one-hour reflexology session. On the other end of the spectrum: locations where you can get a $40 one-hour Thai massage that my colleague Jasmine reports was terrific.

The trip reminds me that there is nothing like going out and visiting spas to get a sense of the industry…It can’t be done by just reading and hearing from others.

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