Tag Archives: Luxury Spa Finder

What Makes a Spa Soulful? Contemplating this Question at a Soulful Spa in Thailand is a Good Way to Find Out.

six.senses.yao.noi 757720 What Makes a Spa Soulful? Contemplating this Question at a Soulful Spa in Thailand is a Good Way to Find Out.What Makes a Spa Soulful? Contemplating this at a Soulful Spa in Thailand is a Good Way to Find Out.
by Susie Ellis

Am in Thailand at the Six Senses Hideaway Yao Noi while at the same time continuing my work regarding preparations for the Global Spa Summit 2008. Interesting how the two intersect.

Am working with the famous architect Robert Henry who will be leading a panel discussion on “How to Create, Design, and Maintain a Spa with Soul” at the Summit which both of us feel is a very exciting and timely topic. Spas are becoming big business and increasingly we find large companies and corporations beginning to create spas when in the past they were birthed and nurtured by individuals whose passion guided the evolution of their spas. People like Deborah Szekely (Rancho La Puerta and Golden Door), Sheila Cluff (The Oaks at Ojai), Dorothy Purdue (various spas in UK), and Enid and Mel Zuckerman (Canyon Ranch), etc.

Here at this very exclusive Six Senses Hideaway I think most people would agree it is a “spa with soul.” This one was create by founders of the Six Senses and Soneva Brands, the famous Eve and Sonu team.

All villas have butlers, pools, and mesmerizing views – mine with turquoise water and small islands in the distance. The design and décor is imaginative, the entire resort is not only eco-friendly but what I call eco-embedded. The entire experience one of a sort of “barefoot luxury.” Part of the fine dining room sits on top of a glass floor under which is a magically lit green plant garden with trickling stream. And don’t even get me started on the “Private Reserve” villa with the 180-degree view and gigantic pool which rents for $16,000 per night.

My outdoor shower has two shower heads. One is a rain shower and the other a more traditional shower head (for when you don’t want to get your hair wet). The mini bar has lots of healthy things (and some not-so-healthy for the occasional indulgence). No nickel and dime fees….everything is complimentary. (Well, you can figure it is in the price of your villa.)

It is easy to get a spa treatment booked because they have plenty of staff available so I was able to simply walk in and collapse in their care on day one when I was still feeling jet-lagged.

Have had some very nice moments of time to think about what makes a spa soulful. Can’t wait to hear what Robert and his panel share from their points of view.
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Massage Oil Does Matter

epicuren orange 777619 Massage Oil Does MatterHave you even noticed that after some massages the first thing you want to do is head to the shower to get rid of the itchy oil and after other massages you want to let the oil soak in? (not that it does)

On the last night of our vacation Peter and I had the same two therapists who gave us messages on the first day of our vacation come back to give us massages (We like to bookend our vacations.) Since Breianna and Allan are both terrific therapists, we decided to switch from our normal sequence of having Breianna give me a massage and Allan give Peter his massage. The minute Breianna started Peter commented….”Wow, what is that great massage oil?” It was the same sentence I uttered a week ago. Turns out she uses Epicuren Orange Blossom Afterbath Moisturizer. It smelled great, felt great, and after the massage you don’t want to take it off. Compare that to Allan’s massage – which was absolutely terrific in technique and pressure – everything, but there was this itchy oil I couldn’t wait to shower off.

I wonder why people don’t make a big deal out of the massage product. It makes such a difference.

Come to think of it, I am going to order some of that Epicuren product and bring it with me the next time I go to my inexpensive massage-around-the corner place in Manhattan.

The Luxury of Building a Spa Twice

shangri la 722724 The Luxury of Building a Spa TwiceBesides enjoying Ian Brewis’s British sense of humor, our dinner conversation was also insightful. First, I learned that the beautiful well known photograph of the first Shangri La Chi spa in Bangkok – the one with all the bold red colors, two massage tables, high quality woods, etc. – was not an actual spa suite at all. It was a prototype! Apparently they first build a prototype of their rooms to make sure that all of the details work out, and then use it as a model for the construction workers – kind of like building it twice. It makes sense that this is one of the reasons that the workmanship in their spas is so noticeably superior.

And then we discussed the popularity of gambling among Asians – especially the Chinese – and how this is affecting the spa world…

Mommy and Baby Spa Nirvana

Another interesting tidbit came out of our L.A. press breakfast on the topic of the latest spa trends. In addition to sharing Spa Finder’s predicted top ten spa trends of the year for the U.S. in general, I presented some specific information from the current area. We talked about the hot trend in L.A. of moms and babies going to spas together.

One writer for a yoga publication (who brought her eight-month-old!) shared her recent experience at a mommy and baby yoga class with 40 other women. What she found fascinating is that during much of the session there were many babies fussing, as you would expect when there are 40 in the room. But at one point the instructor asked all the moms to join her in a slow and lengthy chant of “ommmmm.” Every single baby became quiet. Amazing what powerful transformations can happen in these settings.

Some Spa Insider Thoughts

Other highlights of my trip to the Caribbean Spa and Wellness Conference:

  • Spending time with Nime La Fauci, our account rep for the Caribbean, and finding out that she can really make friends on the phone. Everywhere we went, people just couldn’t wait to meet her – and embraced her like a long-lost friend – despite never having met her before!
  • Reconnecting with Tiffany, who used to be my late-night-at-the-office buddy.

seepc gazebo 759359 Some Spa Insider Thoughts

  • Getting a tour of Secrets Excellence and Sunscape in Punta Cana from the impressive spa director Juan Monitijo and hearing his enthusiasm for the new couples’ treatment room they are developing, which sounded truly unique in its inclusion of a couples’ Vichy shower and a couples’ hydrotherapy tub. This is an especially good idea for properties that are “adults-only resorts,” where almost all guests are couples. He saw a need and is filling it!
  • Spending some time with Andrew Barnard, who manages the very popular Body Holiday at LeSPORT on the island of St. Lucia (and is developing additional resorts – sevmap 730408 Some Spa Insider Thoughtseral with a real estate component). We had a fascinating conversation one evening in which I found out that he participates in an extreme-sports events called the 4 Deserts. It is a series of seven-day foot races, each covering 250 kilometers, across the world’s largest and most forbidding deserts, including the Gobi in China, the Atacama in Chile, the Sahara in Egypt, and Antarctica. Andrew has already completed three of these races and is now training for the final one – Antarctica. It makes the Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii look like a race for weenies.