spa

Attended the Leading Spas of Canada conference in Toronto. Since I don’t know Canada well, I enjoyed learning about not only the spa scene but also the country itself and its tourism market. Some tidbits that caught my attention: The Canadian Tourism Commission recently performed a “Brand Canada” study including a survey of the top […]

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. […]

I see this mostly when I am visiting a spa outside of the U.S., but I saw it today in a spa in New York: a spa trade magazine lying in the lounge area of a spa, for consumers to read. Ugh. When I am in Bali and I see one of our North American […]

Since I was in LA for our press breakfast, I decided to take the 30-minute ride to visit the brand-new California WellBeing Institute in Westlake Village that I had been hearing so much about. I knew few specifics except that it is the vision of David Murdock; that it opened in conjunction with a new […]

Where is the world’s largest golf club? If someone had asked me that question, I would not have guessed China. But that is the correct answer. Mission Hills, located about 30 minutes outside of Hong Kong, has been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the World’s Largest Golf Club. It has twelve 18-hole golf […]

As you probably know, Spa Finder issues an annual forecast of spa trends. While we have already issued our Top Ten Spa Trends for 2007, at the beginning of January I like to review all of the trends we are tracking at Spa Finder and share with you a few more of the buzzwords that […]

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 […]

For the past few days I have been touring spas in the Dominican Republic. The first time I heard a spa representative refer to massage and facial rooms as “cabins,” it didn’t make an impression. But by the time I toured my fifth spa with “cabins,” I found it quite unusual. Nowhere in the world […]

On Friday night, the segment on spas for babies ran on Nightline. You can watch the piece here. I thought that the cutest parts were the mention of Baby Chakra Chi and the babies playing in the noodles. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the piece, which you can share by clicking the “Comments” […]

ABC’s Nightline is doing a segment on Baby Spas. It will air either tonight or Friday night. I went to ABC Studios yesterday afternoon to be interviewed for the segment. I was asked about why we think this has become a trend, the range of services typically offered to babies and/or babies and mommies, how […]

Impressive. Clinique La Prairie Spa will be opening a 50-story residential tower in Miami next year called Ten Museum Park, which they term “a revolutionary evolution of spa living.” I may have to agree with them. If they execute their plan according to current available information, I think it will be very appealing for a […]

You may have noticed that this is becoming a regular Friday feature on my blog. I’ve decided that sharing with you spa news of interest might offer additional information that you find helpful. What you may not know is that I select the news to share with you out of a barrage of incoming items […]

Oh dear. I am torn. Last night, I went to the grand-opening announcement of Miraval Living in Manhattan. I so love the idea of spa living. The thought of owning an apartment in a high-rise and living with people who share my love for a healthy lifestyle is so appealing. I dream of living: Where […]

Even if you have never been to Brenner’s Park Hotel and Spa in Baden-Baden, Germany, you may have seen this famous photo of their pool, which overlooks a glorious park. We were lucky enough to be there on a crisp sunny fall day where the leaves were turning, and I had to wear a scarf […]

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. […]

450 people working every day for three years: That is what it took to create the extraordinary place called The Farm at San Benito, along with the resolve of a man, Eckard Rempke, who was stubbornly committed to his vision of creating a place of healing unlike any other in the world. When I envision […]

At the conference here in the Philippines I kept coming across Tony de Leede and his infectious enthusiasm for the new Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, which he opened a mere six months ago. I met him in New York shortly before the opening of the retreat when he stopped in to meet our team at the […]

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 […]