Resort’s spa has forest ambience

Cedar scents and a rushing waterfall are part of the ambience at the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s new $10 million spa, where the specialty treatments come with names like “Forest Mineral Scrub,” “Invigorating Waters Bath” and “Natural Elements Experience.”

But rustic illusions here are only skin deep.

During a media tour Wednesday, resort owner Duane Hagadone pointed out the spa’s luxury attributes with a near-giddy exuberance.

Opalescent shower tiles, in subtly shifting shades of purple and blue, were imported from Italy. The $100,000 showers feature 18 computer-controlled nozzles, which work simultaneously on six zones of the body. In the men’s barbershop, the chairs are covered with Ferrari-red leather.

Hagadone said he weighed each sumptuous detail against competing spas in North America and Europe.

“It’s part of my world search for what we call ‘sizzle,’ ” he said.

A first-class spa is critical to the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s long-range business plan, he said. Spas have emerged as an $11 billion industry, and resort and convention hotels have taken notice, incorporating facials and massages into business and pleasure packages.

“Last year, for the first time in the resort industry, spa revenue exceeded golf revenue,” Hagadone said. “Spas are very important if you are going to compete in the big leagues.”

In the coming weeks, travel writers and spa critics will be visiting. Hagadone’s hoping for positive buzz and four-star ratings to launch the spa’s reputation.

The Spa at the Coeur d’Alene, which opens today, replaces older, smaller facilities. The resort hired a nationally known spa architect, TAG Gaylean, to design the 30,000-square-foot space. Gaylean also designed spas for Pebble Beach Golf Links in Monterey, Calif., and The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Gaylean played up North Idaho themes in the decor. Cedar planks hang on the walls in the entry. For maximum fragrance, they’ll be replaced with fresh-cut slabs every three weeks. A two-story waterfall, running at 80 gallons per minute, mimics the muted roar of a stream during snowmelt.

“You think you’re out in a cedar forest,” Hagadone said.

That would be a cedar forest with imported granite and marble fixtures, where guests wear heated robes, and the bathwater stays at an even 140 degrees.

Gaylean carried the forest theme into the hydrotherapy treatments. A fizzy tablet placed in the bathwater “releases negative ions into the air, similar to a thunderstorm,” said Bill Reagan, the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s general manager.

Indulging in spa treatment starts at about $45 for a manicure or pedicure. A 50-minute hot stone massage runs $110, while the Casco Bay package – six hours of pampering – costs $550, tips not included.

For the exotically minded, the spa also offers a “protein rich” caviar facial, made with sturgeon eggs imported from the Black Sea. Cost: $190. Champagne and chocolates are part of the package.

The spa also caters to the resort’s celebrity guests who don’t want to be recognized in the hallway. They can book a private nook with adjoining “wet” and “dry” rooms.

The 26 private treatment rooms include a couples’ room with a fireplace and a view of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Doctors who can do outpatient procedures, such as Botox treatments and laser surgery, are part of the spa’s 90-member staff.

In the past, women accounted for 70 percent of the Coeur d’Alene Resort’s spa business. In a nod to a growing male clientele, the spa offers sports facials and barbering facilities in a separate men’s area.

Athletic directors from the Pacific-10 Conference will be among the first to try it out. They’re meeting at the Coeur d’Alene Resort this week, and they have spa time scheduled today, said Berni Campbell, the spa’s director.

The resort’s clientele is about 45 percent local residents, including the Spokane market. Hagadone said locals will remain an important part of spa business for the foreseeable future. The spa was overbuilt, he said, in anticipation that the Coeur d’Alene Resort would eventually expand.

“My ultimate dream is to build a tower with an additional 200 rooms,” Hagadone said.