treatments

Last week my husband and I took a long-overdue little vacation. It was time to decompress, so we decided to go to the Banyan Tree Mayakoba in Riviera Maya, Mexico. I must confess that it’s hard not to go to a spa anytime, let alone when I’m on vacation, so I talked my husband into doing a couple’s treatment. We selected the Thai Classic massage. Our experience began in the tranquil spa reception area with a delicious drink of what I think was hibiscus (or some other flower) juice. Our therapists, Aida and Jaye, greeted us and then brought us to our spa villa. Since Banyan Tree is an Asian-owned company (this is its very first property in North America), all of the therapists come from Thailand

The Setai Spa Wall Street If I lived in the financial district of Manhattan near Wall Street (and especially if I was a regular recipient of those Wall Street bonuses), I would love being a member of the new Setai Club .  With an award winning restaurant, access to their cool new Setai gym and Setai spa, and great aesthetics all the […]

My trip to Istanbul last September was whirlwind. Two and a half days, myriad hotel tours, and one trip to the hammam. What exactly is a hammam you ask? Think part serenity… part surprise… and brand new skin!

People who know I work in the beauty and spa industry often ask me for recommendations when it comes to products and treatments. I love to share my experiences and the tips I learned from aestheticians and dermatologists all around the world. And if you ask me to single out that one treatment that is so great and so important and can actually create a measurable difference in the way your skin looks and ages,

Some people fall asleep easily and then wake up at 3 in the morning while others take many hours to fall asleep. These are the two common patterns. Anything less than 7 hours of sleep is considered not enough. Even those of us who are good sleepers may not be getting enough rest.

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 […]

QUESTION: What do you suggest I do when I have had a bad spa treatment at a spa?   ANSWER: All spas should continually strive to improve, so speaking up is important.  Here are my suggestions: 1. Tell your therapist, immediately, what would take the treatment from “bad” to “good.” Mention something to the therapist […]

Spafordable= Spatacular

I recently had the opportunity to experience the new, affordable Red Door spa brand, Simply Face and Body.

The verdict: Simply excellent! $49 a pop for a massage or a facial. Finally, someone has struck the perfect balance between affordability and quality.

One of the best – and most natural – ways to improve and moisten your skin is through a body wrap treatment. Body wraps are a staple on most spa menus but take may vary from spa to spa

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 […]

May is Melanoma month. That makes sense since it’s right before summer, the sun gets stronger and people begin spending more time outdoors. It’s a good time to remind people to put on sunscreen, wear hats, and have regular mole checks with their medical doctor. It’s this last recommendation – about having moles checked – […]

“Sorry. We are fully booked.” It’s surprising to me how often I hear this when I call a spa or stop in at a spa to see about booking a treatment. It happened to me twice today when I was trying to book a massage here in Freeport, Grand Bahama where I spent Easter weekend. […]

I am behind on my blogging, with several topics piling up. I think it is the same problem everyone is facing…lots to do, limited time and feeling extra pressure because of the current focus on economic challenges. So I thought I would try something new: A short recap of four topics (that could each be […]

I remember when my twin sister, Katrine, first got engaged. The guy proposed, promising that a ring would follow. Well, when weeks turned into months and there was one excuse after another and no ring, she sensed he was waffling and decided to call it off. What followed were many tears and a lot of […]

SpaFinder Lifestyle Online Magazine Debuts By Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider A few weeks ago, on November 6th, our new SpaFinder Lifestyle online magazine launched. Several days later I attended the ISPA conference in Las Vegas. I can’t tell you how many people remarked to me that they had seen it, read it, and liked it! […]

Anni Hood, group spa director and creator of Talise, the Jumeirah spa brand, flew in from Dubai to run this race – her first marathon. A friend of hers, Maria Keeley from London, joined her. Both had begun training about nine months ago for the 26.2 mile race, which begins on Staten Island and winds […]

Today I joined a group of about eight people from the Philippine Medical Tourism Summit on a tour of the top four hospitals in the Philippines: The Medical City Asian Hospital and Medical Center St. Luke’s Medical Center Makati Medical Center I put them in this order because I was told that this is the […]

In the Footsteps of Spa History – Clinique La Prairie, Switzerlandby Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider 75 years ago, Clinique La Prairie opened in Montreux, Switzerland. Professor Niehans would give clients “revitalization treatments” which were injections of fresh animal cells that were thought to “support under-functioning organs.” Later, treatments used a liver extract. These days there […]

The Flavor of Swiss Spas by Susie Ellis, SpaFinder Insider Fast forward from my last blog entry re Zurich and skydiving. The weather turned rainy – skydiving was cancelled – change of plans – we all got into the car and headed for Lausanne. We drove the back way over the hills so Nicholas could […]

Successful Spa Sleep-Health Program Leads to Scheduling Many More by Susie Ellis SpaFinder Insider When I was at the Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat in Australia at the end of July, I was thrilled to see that they had planned a specialty “Sleep Discovery Week” for September. Gwinganna really impressed me in terms of how forward-thinking they […]