massage

Am back from China and preparing for the May 20th Global Spa Summit which is shaping up to be quite an event. Just spoke with Susan Harmsworth (ESPA) on the phone as we are now adding her to the speaker line up in addition to Steve Case (Revolution LLC and Miraval) and Kevin Kelly (Canyon […]

After visiting six spas in Canada on this trip and combining these experiences with what I learned from visiting a few other spas in Canada in the past, here are the things that surprised me the most about the Canadian spa scene: 1. I didn’t realize that therapists in Canada go through much more extensive […]

After a scrumptious breakfast on the sun drenched dining porch of the Hillcrest mansion (with a view of Lake Ontario from every window) we headed to our next spa – Elemental Embrace. Stacey gave me some background about the property explaining to me that they are very much into ayruveda and that we would be […]

Flew to Toronto this morning with our associate publisher, Stacey McLoughlin. After visiting several spas in Canada we will be attending the Leading Spas of Canada conference in Toronto next week. I am really excited to learn more about the Canadian spa scene. The Hillcrest, A Valenova Inn & Spa, was first on our itinerary. […]

My Thermes Marins facial was very good – and it is obvious that the estheticians here are well trained. I asked mine about her schooling, and she explained to me that she had to complete three years of training to become an esthetician. Compared to the short training programs in many parts of the world […]

Although 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. […]

We spent our morning at the special Kaiser-Friedrich-Therme here in Wiesbaden. It is a marvelous, refurbished ancient bathing establishment. This one has an outstanding circuit of water and heat treatments. I think the Germans are probably the best in the world in understanding the physiology of contrast therapy (hot and cold) and its health benefits. […]

We arrived in Frankfurt, Germany this morning. Peter and I are attending and speaking at the Wellness Summit in Wiesbaden. “Baden” means bathing in German, so we assumed there would be natural thermal water. That assumption proved to be correct, though we were pleasantly surprised that in addition to the traditional German mineral baths for […]

You have to check out this new product, which is marketed as “color for the hair down there.” Even if you never use it, you’ll want to know about it. Here is the introduction from Nancy Jarecki, who I understand from a friend of hers is quite a hoot. What a clever idea. Wonder what […]

Swedish massage and Thai massage have been around for a long time. Philippine Hilot Massage has only recently been introduced outside of the Philippines but has been practiced here for thousands of years. I was excited to finally experience it. First I learned that I had been mispronouncing the name Hilot. The correct pronunciation is […]

Well, my Korean massage ended up being terrific. Joe was my therapist’s name. The massage given at the Seoul Airport Massage Center is really perfect for the period between long flights. They don’t use oil (good idea, as that would be a mess between flights), and they give you long white cotton shorts and a […]

I’m at the computer terminals (free!) at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea. I have a three-hour layover before my flight to Cebu, Philippines boards. I am on my way to the Turning Point Spa Conference. After almost 15 hours of flying, I’m happy to discover that this very sleek and modern airport has […]

In a previous blog entry, I mentioned how much I enjoy learning about the history of various spa brands. I love finding out whose idea it was to build the spa, why they built it, how the spa got its name, how much it cost, how the brand developed, etc. So as I began my […]