spa industry

Had a lovely lunch with Rudy Tauscher, GM of the Mandarin Oriental, NY and Denise Vitiello who is their spa director extraordinaire. What a privilege to sit at one of the best tables in all of New York City overlooking Central Park on a beautiful fall day talking about my favorite topic – what else? […]

Houston, we have a problem. Within the past two weeks we have had these headlines: “What Happened at the Weston MedSpa that Left Rohie Kah Brain Dead?” (Sept. 30) — A woman in Florida went in for Carboxytherapy, a “medical service” that injects carbon dioxide into a patient to improve the appearance of cellulite or […]

Lance Armstrong Gets 200 Massages a Year : Spas are ImportantBy Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Lance Armstrong gets 200 massages a year! That – and the reason he even mentioned this – was one of the “pearls of wisdom” I gleaned from yesterday’s closing session at what turned out to be a very good ISPA […]

Three Gazillionaires Share Wisdom with ISPA AudienceBy Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Am in Austin, Texas, at the annual International Spa Association (ISPA) event. While there are fewer attendees this year, the mood is very congenial and people seem to be enjoying a more intimate setting. This year there are two especially outstanding sessions. Along with […]

Spa Sweep in Paris By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider On my brief visit to Paris for the Beyond Beauty Spa Event, I took a day or so to visit a few spas. The last time I was in Paris was 18 years ago when my twin sister, Katrine, and I went to Paris to participate […]

It’s always a treat to be able to attend a spa conference outside of the U.S. There are fresh viewpoints, new spas to discover, and emerging trends to observe. There’s just nothing like being present to witness actual dialogue and the exchange of ideas – sometimes quite different than my own. One example is the […]

Dr. Andrew Weil and Spas: SpaFinder Visionary Award A couple of nights ago it was our privilege to hand Dr. Andrew Weil SpaFinder’s 2009 Visionary Award. Our Visionary Award goes to one person each year who has made a huge contribution to the field of spa and wellness. (Previous recipients include Dr. Deepak Chopra, Dr. […]

This morning I read the sad news that Spa Sydell, with six locations in Atlanta, is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. They have been in business for 25 years. This is just one week after I learned that Iatria spa in North Carolina is closing its three locations and filing Chapter 7. They started their […]

Box Office Hit Sunshine Cleaning Company is now on DVD and Blu-ray™– and you have a second chance to win a Salon Wish Gift Certificate.

Celebrating Asian traditions of hospitality and natural beauty MANDARA SPA is the newest spa brand to be featured on SpaFinder. Offering Balinese-inspired services in luxury resorts, there are more than ten Mandara Spas across the United States now featured on SpaFinder.com. Part of the MANDARA vision is that beautiful surroundings, a serene ambience, and skillful, attentive service are as important as the treatments themselves.More about Mandara Spa

Spas, Wellness and Medical Tourism…Observations from a Medical Student in Europe by Susie EllisSpaFinder Insider My niece from Germany (yes….the third niece this summer) is visiting at the moment and we had a very interesting discussion last evening. Charlotte is a medical student in Germany who will be graduating next year before starting her residency. […]

Dazzling New Resort & Spa – Yet, A Bit of a Secret By Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider Even if I am not scouring papers and magazines 24/7, I do not live under a rock. In fact I usually feel pretty “in the loop” when it comes to new hotel and spa happenings. So it came […]

As I was boarding my American Airlines flight from New York to San Francisco there was a young woman handing out free Internet cards to anyone who wanted one. I immediately realized that this must be one of those flights where you can connect to the Internet while in flight. I knew that some airlines […]

Join us October 18–21 for a special one-of-a-kind event titled “Harnessing the Power of Change” at the breathtaking Red Mountain Resort & Spa in Ivins, Utah. Hear keynote speaker Joan Lunden, the longest running host of ABC TV’s Good Morning America, best-selling author, and motivational speaker, discuss her personal road to transformation and change. Take […]

Expert’s Favorite Spa in SpaFinder’s List of “Top 10 Sexiest Spas for 2009” by Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider In my last post I shared with you our list of the Top 10 Sexiest Spas for 2009 (voted on by spa editors and experts around the world). Although I gave you the list of ten in […]

Well, there are lists of sexiest bathrooms, beaches and hotels, so why not sexiest spas? I decided to ask my editor friends and a few spa experts around the world which spas they thought were the sexiest. Then we selected the spas with the most votes to give you the top ten. By the way […]

It was bound to happen…a reality show with a spa focus. While Bravo TV has had Tabitha’s Salon Takeover on for a couple of seasons, it was more salon oriented than spa oriented. I actually quite liked Tabitha’s Salon Takeover – although Tabitha herself was a bit hard to like at times. You’ve got to […]

Spa Solutions to End Overeating Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider In my last post I raved about Dr. Kessler’s New York Times Best Seller’s book, The End of Overeating. A variety of people posted comments including Jeff Butterworth, Wellness Director for the Jumeriah brand and Deborah Szekely, founder of Rancho La Puerta and the Golden Door […]

1. Be specific. Readers love to hear about treatment recommendations, or if you liked the staff at a spa. 2. Only review spas that you’ve visited personally, and keep your comments limited to that particular spa.   3. If you had a negative experience, write your review in a way that will be helpful to prospective spa-goers and […]

If you could see the book shelf in my office (and a list of all the books I have read in the past three decades) you might be surprised to see how many of those books have been about weight loss. Not only has this topic been part of my studies and lifelong career, (I […]