Ask Susie: A Complete Spa Makeover

Susie,

I am trying to find a spa which incorporates all of the following in one stay:

• typical spa treatments
• makeover, which would beautify me head to toe
• “boot camp” modeling tips
• a photo shoot in my “made-up stage”
• the option to come home with a “beauty briefcase” with supplies

Ideally, I would like to take 3- to 5-days’ vacation and “reinvent myself.”

I couldn’t find a spa which offered all of these services in one location on the SpaFinder.com website. Any thoughts or suggestions you have?

H.S.

Hi H.S.,

While it may be difficult to find a spa that offers everything you’re looking for, I have a couple of suggestions that will come close.  You will find the most challenging piece to find is the help with modeling…you may have to select a place that does all the rest of the things you want and ask the property to bring in a professional for a special session with you for the modeling part.  Most will be happy to do so — and they likely do know someone.

Cal-a-Vie Health Spa, not far from San Diego, frequently offers “Women Only – Beauty Weeks” — the most recent was with celebrity hairstylist Sam Brocato  — that include treatments, beauty tips, nutrition advice and other components to boost inner and outer beauty, and may be very close to what you’re looking for.

Escondido’s Golden Door Spa provides a weeklong customized stay to initiate a healthier lifestyle; along with fitness and body-mind-spirit offerings, the spa also includes a full-service salon, with makeup lessons and your own personal esthetician to develop a specialized beauty regimen for you.

And right now, Miraval in Tucson is featuring its “Pretty & Polished” package, which includes three nights, select signature spa offerings, boutique buys, all meals, unlimited participation in daily self-discovery programs and more, available for a limited time.

And finally, next year the Guerlain Spa at The Waldorf Astoria in New York City will be introducing “glamour” as a real core of its program, and the spa will be able to arrange every piece of what you listed here — including a photo of the “new you!”

Susie