trends

Here are the things that I learned during my visit to California WellBeing Institute: The property has three components that are all linked together. The Four Seasons Hotel The Spa The WellBeing Institute -When you drive up to the building, you find it has a bit of an institutional look, but the inside is clearly […]

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 […]

I’m in Santa Monica, California. Today was the day of the Spa Finder media breakfast, which we do each year. It is a chance for me to present the top Spa Trends that we predict for 2007. This year we held the breakfast at the new Exhale Spa. I had a chance to tour the […]

So many interesting international speakers at this conference – and what a great trade show. This is the first one I have seen to truly target a luxury niche. Every booth was exceptionally well designed, tasteful, elaborate…and the products featured – whether they were saunas, steams, massage capsules, or skin care lines – were all […]

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 […]

The day after Christmas, I received an unwelcome surprise — a toothache resulting in my first root canal. It was a three-hour ordeal (not fun, although thankfully not too painful), and all the while I was thinking about my favorite dental spa experience, which occurred a while ago at Dell’Acqua Dental Studio in Palm Desert. […]

Wow, was the La Guardia airport busy the day before the Christmas weekend! I have never seen such long lines for checking in bags. Oddly, the check-in line was long and the security line was short. Two flights (and no food) later, we arrived in Palm Springs. My husband had a surprise arranged: A massage […]

Just arrived in Palm Desert, California, where my husband and I will spend Christmas and New Year’s. On the long flight I had a chance to get into the book my sister recommended recently, John Naisbitt‘s Mind Set!: Reset Your Thinking and See the Future. What a great way to start a vacation for someone […]

Sunday’s New York Times (December 12) ran a short, somewhat humorous piece, entitled “Spa Trends: Goodbye Pampering, Hello Rehab.” Jennifer Colin poked some fun at Spa Finder’s top spa trends for 2007, in which we predicted a new emphasis on healthy sleep at spas, detox programs, retreats, medical tourism, spa lifestyle communities with kids, bottom-line […]

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 […]

Qua Baths & Spa Brings the Social Experience to Caesars Palace in VegasEncino’s Baby Spa Offers Wellness and Relaxation Services for Pregnant Women, New Mothers, and InfantsNew Four Seasons Hotel Spa in Westlake Village, California, Offers Health and Wellness Services alongside LuxuryHome Spa Treatments for Winter January’s Monaco Spa Event Will Facilitate Dialogue within the […]

It’s been kind of a baby-focus week for me. Our Executive VP Technology, Daniel Lizio-Katzen, and his wife Noa had a baby boy they named Enzo. The day before I left for Thanksgiving in California, I had lunch with my friend Heidi who has just teamed up with Julie of Maternal Fitness to add the […]

I remember they were doing some very new things back then – like launching a “Spiritual Fitness” program. And today they are still pioneering programs and leading the spa world in so many ways. I’ll share highs and lows in my next few entries, but suffice it to say that so far I am most impressed that the guests seem very, very happy to be here.

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 […]

This observation was shared by Ed Burstell, the Senior VP of General Merchandise for Bergdorf Goodman at an event that I attended last Thursday evening. He was part of a panel for the Luxury Marketing Council, a group that meets regularly to share insights on marketing to the luxury consumer. The panel was entitled “The […]

Today I had lunch with some fellow spa professionals. One was from Hong Kong, one was from Bali, one from Australia, and another from the UK. Later in the afternoon I had tea with a spa colleague from Dubai, chatted with spa owners from Brazil, and was introduced to a spa owner from Turkey. I […]