Tag Archives: luxury

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.

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Sleep Health Insights

I have a button on my desk which says “Sleep: As Important as Diet and Exercise (Only Easier!)”

It was given to me by Richard Gelula who is the CEO of the National Sleep Foundation in Washington DC. He was in town with a colleague and stopped by to see his niece, Melisse Gelula, who is Luxury SpaFinder Magazine’s famous beauty editor. Since one of the top spa trends we predicted for 2007 was sleep health, I was delighted to spend some time with him. Here are a few things I learned which I thought were interesting:

- There is a National Sleep Awareness Week
- That week is in March and always timed so it coincides with the return to Daylight Saving Time when people lose an hour of sleep.
- Their tag line is “Waking America to the Importance of Sleep”
- They are seeing a huge wave of interest and awareness of the importance of sleep health

And since they left me a copy of their recent 2007 Sleep in America poll which focused on women, I also learned an interesting tidbit about who women are sleeping with.

65% sleep with their significant other, 24% sleep alone, 14% sleep with their pet (this was a surprise to me!), 7% sleep with a child, and 2% sleep with an infant.

Big Spa Week: Miraval on Oprah and Miraval Living Kicks-off

This is going to be a big week for Miraval. They are hosting a kick-off celebration for Miraval Living here in Manhattan with Steve Case and Dr. Andrew Weil in attendance. I am so sorry I won’t be able to attend (I am leaving this evening for a trip to China) because their kick-off should be a powerful event – especially for the people who have already purchased an apartment on the property. I would think that anyone looking to invest in these properties would find Steve Case and Dr. Andrew Weil’s confidence in the project very encouraging. I look forward to hearing about the event from my colleagues.

oprah 799845 Big Spa Week: Miraval on Oprah and Miraval Living Kicks off

Thursday, April 26th, will be another huge day for Miraval since Oprah’s show will be all about her recent stay there. Apparently, she and 50 women chosen by the show stayed at Miraval, Life in Balance (located in Tucson, Arizona) for almost a week. Fortunately my TiVo is permanently set to record Oprah – and yes, Dr. Phil – so I’ll be able to tune in when I return.

I remember the last time Oprah mentioned going to Miraval on her show – Miraval’s phone rang like crazy. I can’t wait to hear what an entire Oprah show will do, not only for Miraval, but for all the destination spas! I think that when people see a group of women going through a typical destination spa day, viewers will finally get what exactly a destination spa experience is. I am not sure there has ever been an entire hour of spa footage shown to a large audience where various aspects of a destination spa are highlighted. My guess is they will show Oprah and the ladies hiking, exercising, receiving spa treatments, enjoying meals, and engaging in some of the mindfulness experiences like the Equine Experience or one of the challenge program. Places which are somewhat similar like Canyon Ranch, Rancho La Puerta, Red Mountain, Green Valley Ranch Resort, Hills Health Ranch, etc. will probably see a bump in inquiries as well.

And the frosting on this cake is that Oprah shows rerun in the summers, so this will be on-going visibility for Miraval and the destination spa experience itself. This could be huge!

More from the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference

eva 706140 More from the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference My favorite session at the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference here in New York was the one given by Eva Jensch, a spa consultant from California who has been in the industry almost as long as I have and has probably worked in more “emerging markets” than anyone I know. She presented a sort of “What’s Happening Around the World” for the spa industry. Because that is also one of my interests, I found her presentation fascinating. Here are some snippets from her presentation:

A new Chiva-Som will open in downtown Bangkok
Hyatt Pure will open 16 new spas in Asia in the next three years – 12 will be in China
Cambodia’s emerging spa industry incorporates healing traditions outlined on the walls of ancient temples
Buddha Bar in Paris is opening its first spa
There is a spa in London called “The Womb Room”
Spas are springing up in Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary
In Dubai’s project called “The World” (a group of 300 manmade islands that is shaped like the seven continents), the entire island representing Thailand will be a Thai-themed residential spa program called The Jasmine Spa Garden
There is talk of creating a Biosphere Spa with various biospheres in the desert in Dubai
Six Senses is opening a Souk-like spa in Doha
Banyan Tree is building the largest wave pool in the world in Bahrain
Banyan Tree is also opening a spa/hospital hybrid in Kuwait
Six Senses is building a spa where guests arrive on a paraglider
In Peru, a spa is being built out of a renovated convent built on a cemetery
Sofitel is expanding their Le Spa brand with an opening in Colombia
A new destination spa on the west coast of Africa will cater to people of color from all over the world
There are spas now planned for Uganda, Mozambique (will have an ice pool), and Ethiopia, where a 10,000-square-foot spa – the country’s first – will open soon

But her most memorable description was of a spa in Israel that will be using snakes in massage rituals. She was not talking snake oil – she was talking real-life (non-poisonous) snakes!

International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference

Yesterday I attended the International Esthetics, Cosmetics & Spa Conference in New York’s Jacob Javits Center. In the afternoon I spoke on the panel entitled “Residential Spa Market Update.” Andrea Foster, who is the director of corporate strategy for Miraval Holding, LLC/Miraval, Life In Balance, was the other speaker. I think Andrea and I both felt that the audience was truly interested in this trend so it was a delight to share information.

The education one can receive at this conference is probably the best part of it. I was less impressed with the trade-show aspect – at least when it comes to spa. There are plenty of booths to visit if you are interested in hair, nails, beauty products, cosmetics, etc., but the spa portion of the show seems a bit downmarket except for a few vendors. Maybe I am getting spoiled.

On the other hand, I do feel that those of us who truly understand the spa industry are aware when the ambiance isn’t right. If you go into almost any spa these days, the area for hair and nail care feels, looks, sounds, and smells very different from the spa portion. Although it looked as though the conference planners made some effort to separate the two worlds, I don’t believe they were successful enough to satisfy serious spa professionals. I can only imagine the reaction of the medical doctors who attended the Medical Spa Conference education sessions and then perused the showroom floor.

Maybe it will get better in future years.

Susie's Spa Blog

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