new york

A Massage and Facial at Thai Privilege Spa in New York Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider It was my privilege to be invited to a spa located in the Soho area of Manhattan called Thai Privilege. I noticed it on several “top 10” lists. Since Manhattan has many hundreds of spas, making a top 10 list […]

Whimsical Spa Experiences Trumped by Whimsical Accommodations by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider I loved the ad Virtuoso (high-end travel network) ran with us a while ago which showed two fashionable ladies in a cartoon format talking to each other with one saying to the other, “The only thing better than a traditional Balinese massage in […]

Stay Spa Close to New York City – Buttermilk Falls Inn & Spa – Worth the RideBy Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Last Saturday was a honey-do day for me. Not the melon kind but the “honey do this, honey do that” kind. Peter loves his motorcycles and just loves riding in the beautiful countryside outside […]

Quite a Father’s Day surprise. Yesterday I received an email from Steve Kane, who is a senior vice president at SpaFinder, with some extremely interesting data. Apparently Father’s Day gift card and gift certificate sales this year have increased quite dramatically. That means that most day spas out there, if they did a Father’s Day […]

A Spa Moment of Balance with Hubby…by Susie Ellis My husband is a gem. Sometimes I mention him in my blogs – especially when I can poke a bit of fun – but today I feel like telling you why it is so great to live with him and what makes him the best husband […]

Reiki. I have always found it mysterious. What is it exactly? Every explanation I have heard seems to be different. I have tried it a few times, however when faced with a choice between a wonderfully relaxing deep-tissue massage or a Reiki session, I have always opted for the massage. In Reiki there isn’t a […]

Sad news. Canyon Ranch Living Chicago, which was in the design and pre-sale phase, has been cancelled. This article, “End of the Trail”, gives some of the details. From the few mentions I could find on the web, it appears that there were insufficient sales of condos and that it fell victim to the current […]

The spa industry has attracted more women than men here in the U.S. ever since I can remember. When I started in the industry in 1975, although there weren’t statistics, my guess is that the ratio of women to men was likely 95% to 5%. The industry figure is currently 70% to 30% although if […]

The Dominican Republic is probably known more for its all-inclusive affordable vacation packages than for its luxury resorts. Based on my recent visit, I’d say that is about to change.One of the properties leading the change is the repositioned PUNTACANA Resort & Club, no longer an all-inclusive but a more traditional resort offering – and […]

Just received an email from Lee Ann Correa who is the Executive Spa Director of the chain of 19 Metamorphosis Spas in the Dominican Republic (pictured at right: the Metamorphosis Spa at the Sunscape Casa del Mar resort) . On the last day of my visit, she very graciously gave me a tour of one […]

Sister time with my twin, Katrine, on a walk during our stay at the Mayflower Inn and Spa in Washington, CT. Things don’t get much better than this. I would love to hear feedback from those who read my blog! Please post a comment by clicking on the link below that reads “Comments.”

Since I have been immersed in some projects at the office this week, I can’t report on any spa experiences (darn), but fortunately there is hardly a day on which someone from our staff of over 50 people isn’t at a spa. So here is an email I received from Tamara Bedrosian – one of […]

Interesting industry news this week: Lather Spa, an L.A.-based skincare company (with a great name in my opinion), opened in Manhattan. What is even more interesting is that it opened in the same space that used to be the Greenhouse Day Spa. That took me by surprise, as the Greenhouse closing was not on my […]

My final day in Dubai included a spa forum organized by Michael Loh from Spa Asia Magazine and Christiane Walter, from Messe Frankfurt Exhibition. The organizers invited a panel of spa managers from Dubai to address our international group of spa enthusiasts who had come to learn about the industry in the Middle East. The […]

My spa touring continues. Grand Hyatt is next on my list, where I find a fairly traditional spa facility very much like the spas I see in the US health clubs, but with gracious hospitality a la Dubai from Steven, the spa director, and Peter, the regional GM. Note to self: Showing enthusiasm when someone […]

Yesterday I was up at The Sagamore in northern New York to attend the first meeting of the recently formed New York Spa Association (NYSPA), a new organization whose mission includes revitalizing the historically rich spa industry in the state of New York. Professor Mary Tabacchi, from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration, the major […]