Spas come in wide range of prices
Q. I read an article about staying at a spa, and it sounded like such a great experience that I’d like to try it. However, I don’t know a thing about spas or how to find a good one. Can you help?
A. Finding a good spa depends on what you are looking for and whether you can afford it.
The $14 billion industry is explored by a new online magazine, the Worldwide Spa Review ( www.spareviewmag.com), which attempts to help readers find the spa of their dreams. Its bimonthly issues describe outstanding spas all over the world, discuss trends and have one helpful section called The Skinny – spa bargains and news, with dozens of entries featuring special promotions.
Also helpful is Spa Finder, a bimonthly magazine (six issues, $9.99; 800-255-7727) that also has its own Web site ( www.spafinder.com). The magazine also has a good spa guide/directory that can be ordered for $5.95. The current directory has 280 pages.
Spa Finder magazine says spas are growing fast, that demand for one-day, quick-shot pampering has grown from 30 in 1989 to 1,600 this year. And it locates many of them.
Do you want to lose weight or kick addiction to smoking, drinking or drugs? Do you long for a better complexion, toned body or peace of mind? There’s a spa for you. There are spas for families, girlfriends, teenagers, men- and women-only. Some are held on ships, others in deluxe hotels and casino gambling resort hotels. Some are just add-ons at hotels with exercise rooms.
Spas come in a wide range of prices and activities, processes and lifestyles, everything from clothing-optional hiking adventures to total body detox. Some include all meals and specialize in pampering, but limit the treatments at that price: massage, aromatherapy, wraps, pedicures and the like. Others are at big resorts where golf, tennis and other sports are also available.
One of the least-expensive spas is at the Doral Golf Resort and Spa in Miami, from $205 per room per night for limited periods.
A series of retreats at LeSport in St. Lucia, the Caribbean, this year includes one-week sessions on weight management, yoga, stress management and “motivations leading to life focus and prosperity.”
According to www.marketresearch.com, American kids ages 9 to 18 spent $9.5 billion in 2002 on personal-care products. American teenagers spend a total of $900 million a year just on products and services to enhance their appearance. So it’s no surprise that a place like Kingsmill Resort and Spa in Williamsburg, Va., runs a Spa Kamp for youngsters ages 5 to 12 featuring footbaths, mini-facials and fingernail painting.
Canyon Ranch SpaClub is aboard the deluxe ocean liner Queen Mary 2. Another intriguing choice is a Girlfriends Getaway Package at the Kingsbrae Arms, a Relais et Chateau member in charming St. Andrews, New Brunswick, Canada, just a bridge away from Maine.
The very inviting historic old Mission Inn, Riverside, Calif., has Kelly’s Spa, which offers “the secrets of Tuscan healing and rejuvenation.”
And the Auberge Seaside Inn and Cottages in Mendocino, Calif., is the place to go for the Atkins Diet Retreat – from $775 per person double for five nights.