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Hot Spas in LA: Century City Fitness Club & Spa, Obaji Skin Health Institute and Voda Spa – One is Extremely Hot!

Hot Spas in LA: Century City Fitness Club & Spa, Obagi Skin Health Institute and Voda Spa – One is Extremely Hot! By Susie Ellis

After the ALIS event (American Lodging and Investment Summit), I had just enough time to visit three spas in the LA area before my flight back to New York. The first was a quick peek at Century City Fitness Club & Spa by Equinox (formerly the Mystique Spa), then a visit to Obagi Skin Health Institute in Beverly Hills and finally a massage at the new Voda Spa – a new Russian Bathhouse.

Here are my quick impressions:

century.city.club 707898 Hot Spas in LA: Century City Fitness Club & Spa, Obaji Skin Health Institute and Voda Spa – One is Extremely Hot!Century City Fitness Club & Spa: A lot of fitness, a little bit of spa. I understand they are announcing a new “flagship” club and spa soon which they will then roll out to several existing facilities as a model for future Equinox Clubs. It seems like a good strategy to combine fitness and spa …however, it may be a challenge to make it work well. If the Century City location is any indication, these are two different markets and putting them together isn’t all that easy. Think cruise ships adding discos…..that didn’t really work. In my opinion it will take an entirely new model. Looking forward to what Equinox unveils

obagi.skin.health. 707567 Hot Spas in LA: Century City Fitness Club & Spa, Obaji Skin Health Institute and Voda Spa – One is Extremely Hot!Obagi Skin Health Institute: My friend Bob Henry built this and he kept telling me about the concept with videos playing in the windows at night, etc. I couldn’t picture it and finally got to see it myself. The fountain he created…basically the word Obagi in huge glass-like letters with a fountain underneath each and lit beautifully. Bingo. He created a tourist attraction on the corner of Canon Drive and Dayton Way in Beverly Hills. A great example of how to make your architecture a marketing piece that works for you on an ongoing basis.


voda.spa 743367 Hot Spas in LA: Century City Fitness Club & Spa, Obaji Skin Health Institute and Voda Spa – One is Extremely Hot!VodaSpa: Perfect example of one of the trends we predicted this year called “The Urban Spa Explorer” – or ethnically rooted spa experiences. VodaSpa is a 15,000 square foot Russian-inspired oasis which very successfully blends the Old World tradition of the Russian banya (one is 220 degrees F – extremely hot!) with a sleek new contemporary décor. Already Jennifer Aniston, John Travolta and the like have been guests. Their photos are outstanding – worth a look.

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More Los Angeles Spas

Spas and wellness have created a 5th retail season!

This observation was shared by Ed Burstell, the Senior VP of General Merchandise for Bergdorf Goodman at an event that I attended last Thursday evening. He was part of a panel for the Luxury Marketing Council, a group that meets regularly to share insights on marketing to the luxury consumer. The panel was entitled “The Impact of Spa & Wellness on the Luxury Market”.

I thought Ed’s point was fascinating. Luxury retailers such as Bergdorf Goodman have found that their spring, summer, fall, and winter fashion seasons now have a new sibling. Resort wear (formerly a short segment squeezed between winter and spring including a few outfits to wear on a cruise) has now blossomed into a season unto itself. As Ed mentioned, interest in spa and wellness vacations has created a robust resort season that affects virtually every retail department! Traditional buying and selling cycles for retailers and consumers are changing to accommodate the spa and wellness lifestyle that people are adopting both at home and when they travel. This means workout clothes, casual clothes to wear to the spa and at the spa, evening resort wear, jewelry, handbags, shoes, hats, swimwear, etc.

An exciting development. Now, if we can just get retailers to understand that we spa enthusiasts consider the “spa season” to be year round!

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Spa Luxury in Las Vegas

OK, I’ve kept you waiting long enough to find out the answer to the question I asked in my last blog entry: Which spa does more than 1,000 spa treatments per day? This was one of the tidbits shared by Gary Milner, VP of Legal and Development for Canyon Ranch, speaking on the panel “Inspirational Management for Financial Success” at the London Spa Convention. He was referring to the Canyon Ranch SpaClub at the Venetian in Las Vegas. Wow – that’s a lot of relaxation. My hats off to any spa that can accomplish that volume of service at the high standards Canyon Ranch is known for.
las vegas strip 2 724901 Spa Luxury in Las Vegas
Las Vegas spas have always had a reputation for size (Spa at the Bellagio is 90,000 square feet in size), extravagant ambiance (Elemis at the Aladdin resembles a Moroccan palace), and producing some of the highest revenue in the spa world (I hear estimates of 10, 20, and now pushing $30 million a year). But I never did the math on how many treatments that works out to be per day and so hearing 1,000 made me pause. (And Gary went on to mention that they could actually do 2,000 per day if all the treatment rooms were utilized during the wee hours of the morning!)

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