Friday, February 29, 2008

Spa Experience - Flotation Tank - Reduce Stress

For years, isolation tanks have been fodder for science-fiction films and the butt of sitcom jokes. In the 1980 thriller Altered States, William Hurt’s character devolved into a primordial blob after a succession of drug-fueled sessions in a tank. Other incarnations have been lampooned on everything from The Simpsons to Ab Fab.
But could the enclosed chambers, in which people float in the dark atop 1,000 pounds of Epsom salts dissolved in filtered and oxygenated water, unable to access (or even hear) handheld computers or cell phones, be the next hot item for stressed-out executives? Operators of flotation centers and tank manufacturers from around the country say yes.
Consider Blue Light Floatation in New York. Since 1985, Sam Zeiger’s Manhattan apartment has doubled as a homespun spot for the hurting or overstimulated. Within his fiberglass tub, kick-boxers regularly float before competitions. An out-of-town client recently floated for three hours every day to speed his recovery from shoulder surgery. The cost for a session is $70 an hour, considerably cheaper than the $100 or more many spas charge for massages, and last year was a record success for the business.
“It seems like you’re in the vastness of space,” Zeiger says. “You won’t even feel where your skin leaves off and the water and air begin.”
Dr. John C. Lilly invented the first light- and soundproof flotation chambers in the 1950s—complete with clunky helmets for breathing underwater. The modern incarnations are more streamlined and sophisticated. The dissolved salts allow people to float effortlessly, and the water is set to 93.5 degrees Fahrenheit to match the surface temperature of skin.
The wacky, retro image hasn’t completely faded, but a new generation has been warming to isolation tanks.
Marc Arendt, a semiretired project manager for an investment information company and a longtime regular at SpaceTime Tanks in Chicago, has been averaging two visits a week over the past few months. “It just makes me feel better,” says Arendt, who has used his sessions for everything from meditation to recovering from his triathlon and marathon training. “I’ve liked it so much, I’m considering starting my own flotation center.”
One Bay Area real estate developer says his weekly sessions at Float Matrix in San Francisco have helped him visualize his financial goals and keep perspective despite his nose-diving stock portfolio. “It’s cheaper than a massage, and it actually relaxes me more,” he says.
Meanwhile, Kane Mantyla, who co-owns Float Matrix with his wife, Grace, says their two-pod flotation center hit the break-even point just 14 months after it opened, and that business has been growing at the brisk pace of about 15 percent a month. “People are definitely opening up to something that was truly a mystery,” Mantyla says, blaming past misconceptions of isolation tanks on oversensationalized media depictions.
The flotation units don’t come cheap. Andy Vendetti, president of the Bristol, Pennsylvania, company High-Tech Floatation, one of three builders in the United States, says a handcrafted tub and custom enclosure like the combination he installed for Zeiger in New York costs about $25,000. Preparing the surrounding room, water heater, filtration system, and other necessary extras could easily tack on another $10,000.
In London, the Floatworks draws 1,200 customers every month to its nine-tank center, billed as the largest in the world. Sales and marketing director Simon Blake says the center will soon debut a futuristic tank design and hopes to open a second location in the city.
Blake also says he’s gaining traction with corporate human-resources departments about using the Floatworks as an antidote for stressed-out employees, and is in talks with the United Kingdom’s Blood Pressure Association about flotation’s potential for reducing hypertension. An Olympic triple-jumper who found relief from a cracked disc at the center could become the ultimate celebrity endorser should he win gold in Beijing this summer.
Even without Olympic-size aches or work-induced stress, business travelers far from home may appreciate another benefit Blake swears by. “When you suffer from jet lag, one hour of floating can be like four to six hours of sleep,” he says. “It’s all about resetting your body clock.”
Manufacturers of the tanks say that, in addition to using them at commercial centers, individuals are also buying units. Lee Perry, longtime owner of the Samadhi Tank Company in Grass Valley, California, says demand for her company’s freestanding $7,300 flotation tanks is surging. Though she won’t provide specifics, she says her roster of both individual and commercial clients is longer than it’s been in years. “Suddenly, I’m getting emails from Alabama and Georgia. Places that we’ve never ever heard from before are showing interest.”
Perhaps, she muses, the omnipresence of information and popular culture is driving people to escape from all the light and noise. “When we first started, we never, ever said, ‘sensory deprivation,’ because those words were enough to turn people away,” Perry says. Now, many of her customers crave it

Spa Gift Certificate

Thursday, February 28, 2008

AZ Sedona Spa Resort - L’Auberge de Sedona - Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2008

Condé Nast Names L’Auberge de Sedona to Gold List in Sedona Arizona
This article is brought to you by Spavelous.com.
L’Auberge de Sedona, a luxury creek side resort nestled in the heart of Arizona’s Red Rock County, has been named to Condé Nast Traveler’s Gold List 2008, for the third year in a row. Considered the “ultimate guide to the world’s best hotels,” the list recognizes a selection of properties that feature the best in a variety of categories, including rooms, food, ambience, service, design, location and facilities.
Based on consumer traveler reviews and the Condé Nast 2007 Reader’s Choice Awards, hotels named to The Gold List are selected by the publication’s top travel editors, whose knowledge, selectivity, and tasteful discrimination are respected by the travel industry as well as the world traveler.
L’Auberge de Sedona’s Gold List honor follows its recent recognition from Condé Nast Traveler’s Readers Choice Award for being “One of the Top 100 Hotels in the United States.” The resort was also named to Travel & Leisure’s Top 500 Hotels in the World and Zagat’s Top U.S. Hotels, Resort & Spas in 2007.
The perfect setting for business or leisure, L’Auberge de Sedona offers the ultimate in luxury accommodations, fine dining, meeting facilities and spa treatments. The tranquil retreat touts 56 meticulously appointed guest rooms, including 31 private cottages, as well as the award-winning L’Auberge Restaurant on Oak Creek, named “one of the top ten restaurants in the Southwest” by Condé Nast Traveler. The four-diamond restaurant offers contemporary French cuisine with Mediterranean influences with menus designed by renowned Chef David Schmidt. In addition, the Spa at L’Auberge de Sedona provides an intimate and rejuvenating experience with unbeatable spa treatments featuring the purest and highest quality products, including those by Instituate Esthederm, L’Occitane, and Elizabeth W.
L’Auberge de Sedona is an intimate creek-side retreat surrounded by the stunning Red Rocks of central Arizona. The Inn’s 11 acres of lush forest grounds offer 56 king bed accommodations; including 19 guest rooms and two junior suites in the European style Lodge, 31 private Cottages and four rooms in the expansive Creek House. The AAA Four-Diamond L’Auberge Restaurant on Oak Creek features the culinary artistry of Executive Chef David Schmidt with breakfast, lunch and dinner services along with a popular Sunday brunch. L’Auberge de Sedona’s luxurious spa opened in mid-September of 2006. Guests of L’Auberge are treated nightly to an informal, complimentary wine and hors d’oeuvres reception in the living room of the Lodge.

Spa Finder

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Arizona Destination Spa Deal - Miraval

Miraval Tucson’s 400 acres of lush Sonoran Desert at the base of the stunning Catalina Mountains creates an inspiring backdrop. But that is just a small part of its warm welcome. Now, visitors can receive even more. Through April 24, 2008, guests can stay five nights at Miraval and receive the fifth night free. They will revel in luxurious accommodations while enjoying complete access to resort facilities and daily programs that help individuals learn new ways to live and have made Miraval the world’s No. 1 rated spa.
World class spa, whirlpool, quiet room, steam room and sauna with new Outdoor Treatment Rooms
Body Mindfulness Center featuring Olympic lap pool and state-of-the-art equipment
On-site climbing wall, hiking, mountain biking
Tri-level pool with cascading waterfalls, acupressure stone walk and whirlpool
Agave yoga center and Yucca Pilates studio
Zen and desert gardens
This package includes three gourmet meals each day featuring award-winning cuisine, unlimited snacks, evening hors d’oeuvres and all non-alcoholic beverages. Each person also receives one spa service or round of golf up to a $125 value per night. Round trip transportation from Tucson International Airport is available.
Miraval provides hundreds of one-of-a-kind experiences for its guests that are not only unforgettable but epitomize true luxury.
Call 800.232.3969 to book
Special Code: Sweek5
DISCLAIMER: Valid through 4/24/08 for a minimum 5-night double-occupancy stay. Offer good for new reservations only, not valid for groups, special events or workshops. Only one discount offer is applicable per stay.

Miraval, located north of Tucson5000 E. Via Estancia MiravalCatalina, Arizona 85739

Spa Gift Card

Monday, February 25, 2008

Holistic Spa - Katie’s Spa in the cancer center

In the business of healing
Katie’s Spa part of growing trend toward holistic, cosmetic services for cancer patients
When her hair started thinning from chemotherapy last July, Cheryl Springs-Cortese sought expert help at Katie’s Spa.
Inside the warmly painted upscale-salon is a one-stop shop for women seeking some comfort — from wigs and mastectomy prostheses to manicures and massages — as they battle cancer.
“It’s inviting, it’s cozy and comfortable,” said Springs-Cortese, 49, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in June. She drives 45 minutes from Fenton to Katie’s in Lapeer, where owner Kim Adams cut off her hair last summer and helped her select two wigs.
Adams, a hair stylist, opened the salon in June 2005, specifically to care for cancer patients. She opens her second location in Lapeer this week in the Great Lakes Cancer Institute-Lapeer, a few miles away from her existing spa. Across the street from McLaren Health Care’s Lapeer Regional Medical Center, the $9.5 million cancer center began treating patients Monday.
The Katie’s Spa in the cancer center will be open a few days a week and point patients to the full-service location, where Adams sells turbans (various snug hats that she designs), and skin care products designed specifically for cancer patients. Spa services include facials, manicures, pedicures and massages. But visitors can also buy purses, jewelry and even cards, while they munch on always-handy snacks like cookies and coffee.
“It’s a place that people can come to and feel that it’s going to be OK,” Adams said.
Facilities like Adams’, as well as hospitals and cancer centers, are responding to a growing recognition that complementary medicine for cancer patients can help them cope and heal. Hospitals and cancer centers usually refer patients to outside facilities for wigs and mastectomy prostheses, but are increasingly offering nonmedical services to cancer patients.
“The whole area of complementary medicine as it relates to cancer therapy has been growing by leaps and bounds,” said Kelly Brittain, director of community education at Karmanos Cancer Institute. Patients can get massage therapy and participate in a variety of programs, from art therapy to yoga classes. “Research has shown that whatever can create a positive outlook helps with medical results,” she said.
Four St. John Health facilities offer “Healing Arts” centers, places where patients can get nonmedical support, from massage therapy to reflexology to yoga, acupuncture and Tai Chi classes. The centers are in St. John Hospital and Medical Center in Detroit, St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Warren, Providence Hospital and Medical Centers in Southfield and a cancer center at the health system’s Providence Park Novi campus.
“We recognized that nonmedical treatment helped patients cope with their disease better and helped achieve better outcomes,” said Donna Handley, vice president of clinical services for St. John Hospital and Medical Center.
Adams named her spa after Katie Kirkpatrick Godwin, a customer and friend who passed away in January 2005. Godwin, 21, was well-known within the Lapeer community as she battled brain and then lung cancer. A high school valedictorian and star athlete, Godwin died five days after marrying her high school sweetheart in January 2005.
The spa draws patients from across Southeast Michigan, most of whom are referred by doctors’ offices who hear about the establishment from patients. What’s covered by insurance varies by the company. Some cover wigs (which at Katie’s cost anywhere from $200 to $600), and some also cover mastectomy prostheses.
Sue Grant has been referring patients to Katie’s Spa for a couple of years, first while working at Crittenton Hospital Medical Center and now as clinical nurse specialist with Michigan Hematology Oncology, with offices in Rochester, Bloomfield Hills and Lapeer.
“Even though it’s a business, it feels more like a home,” Grant said of the spa.
That welcoming environment and extra care is important in treating cancer, she said, because “emotional health is just as important as physical health.”

Spa Deal Finder

Saturday, February 23, 2008

Arizona Spa Resort Deal - CopperWynd Spa Scottsdale

Enjoy world-class luxury and unlock the healing powers of the Sonoran desert at CopperWynd Resort and Spa, an intimate boutique resort in Scottsdale Arizona.
Wake up and experience four spa breakfast treatments for two including two signature body treatments, two facials, two manicures and two pedicures. Treatments are enriched with stimulating coffee, rich egg whites and cream, uplifting grapefruit and sweet orange oils. All this, while staying two nights in a luxurious guest room with private balcony and gas fireplace and savoring award winning culinary excellence in Alchemy, our Four Diamond restaurant.
*Package includes:
* A two-night stay in a luxurious guestroom with unparalleled views
* Gourmet breakfast for two in our award winning restaurant Alchemy
* Two breakfast enriched signature body treatments
* Two breakfast enriched facials
* Two Manicures
* Two pedicures
* Resort fees and gratuities
Package price:
*$1795.00 double occupancy plus tax
Package is subject to availability
Package pricing is valid February 4 through May 15, 2008
For reservations call 1-877-707-7760
or 480-333-1900

Day Spa Finder

Friday, February 22, 2008

Anti-Wrinkle Laser

A new laser treatment is making that possible.
Two weeks ago, Jeanie Diamond, 57, said her face looked much different.
“I had a lot of sun damage, photo aging that was starting to wrinkle pretty badly, and I just wanted to do something to improve my skin,” said Jeanie Diamond, who had laser treatment.
She didn’t want plastic surgery.
The solution was a new and improved CO2 laser.
“You get wrinkle reduction, reduction in pigment and skin-tightening, that you wouldn’t otherwise get with other Fraxel-type lasers,” said cosmetic dermatologist Dr. Gregory Nikolaidis.
It’s called the Fraxel repair.
First, doctors numb your face.
Next is the laser treatment.
It penetrates deeper into the skin than traditional CO2 lasers, so your skin contracts.
“It seemed really quick. I think it took less than 30 minutes, didn’t feel a thing. I expected something afterwards, but really, there was a little bit of redness and swelling
but no pain at all,” said Diamond.
In two days, Diamond was healed and ready to go back to work.
Healing time with traditional lasers is usually over a week.
“And then you have continued improvement over the next four or five months,” said Nikolaidis.
Plus, it’s a one time treatment.
The cost is a little more than $3,000.
Doctors said people who have sun damage or acne scars are perfect candidates for this laser treatment.

Spa Gift Certificates

Thursday, February 21, 2008

Northern New Jersey Luxury Resort Destination

Like millions of others, I had an image of North Jersey formed mostly by how it looked from the congested Turnpike, with unsightly oil tankers framing its borders. Who thinks of vacationing in New Jersey, unless you’re headed toward the shore with a pocketful of coins and a beach bag filled with tanning lotion?
Spas, skiing and luxury resorts in North Jersey? As Tony Soprano would say, “Fugeddaboutit.”
But that’s exactly where my husband, Weller, and I found ourselves headed one three-day weekend.
Instead of speeding toward the New York skyline, we were headed to the Grand Cascades Lodge and its sister resort, Minerals Hotel & Spa, at Crystal Springs Resort in Hamburg, N.J., about 2.5 hours from Philadelphia.
Take Exit 11 off the Garden State Parkway and soon you’ll be treated to the forested countryside of the Sussex Skylands, a five-county, pastoral region.
This time of year, you may find snow-covered fields and forests. In the fall, you’ll seldom see foliage ablaze in red, gold and yellow. A visit during the warmer seasons takes you through bucolic towns where yellow forsythia blooms and flowers tumble from front-porch planters and farmers tend fields.
Though don’t become too distracted once you leave I-80. Traveling the pretzel-twisted two-lane roads make it easy to get lost on your way to the resort.
With the Kittatinny Mountains as its backdrop, the Grand Cascades Lodge provides a commanding view as you swing into the driveway. The lobby’s gray stone floor and the massive wooden beams crisscrossing the soaring ceiling invoke the fine style of Western ski lodges.
Grand Cascades Lodge is a 250-room luxury resort that opened in 2007 under the same ownership as nearby Minerals Hotel & Spa in the tucked-away playground of Crystal Springs, a resort complex of homes, golf courses and hotels.
Besides the Elements Spa at nearby Minerals (a second spa is due to open in April at the Lodge), there are walking trails and seven golf courses. Minerals has a ski-in, ski-out area, as well as an entertainment complex with an indoor/outdoor pool, racquet and basketball courts, a fitness center and several restaurants and cafes. Guests at one resort can use the other’s facilities, and there’s a free shuttle between the two.
Of the two properties, located about eight minutes from each other, Minerals has the more casual, wallet-friendly accommodations. With so many activities under one roof, it’s also good for families.
Mountain Creek Ski Area is adjacent to Minerals hotel. If you don’t ski but your children do, you can drop them off at the mountain, then walk back to enjoy the comfort of the lodge. Available, too, are two- and three-bedroom condominiums for rent.
The one- and two-bedroom luxury guest rooms and suites at the Grand Cascades Lodge are more elegantly designed, with fully equipped gourmet kitchens, dining areas and sitting rooms with stone hearth fireplaces.
There are balconies, some with outdoor fireplaces, that offer either sweeping mountain or golf course views.
If you’re into self-pampering, it’s easy to settle back into the elegant, rustic decor of a bedroom that features comfy, king-sized beds, fine linens, a flat-screen television and a bathroom Jacuzzi tub.
However, we managed to pull ourselves together for an unparalleled, old-worldly experience in the cool, dim wine cellar of the Lodge’s Restaurant Latour.
Dinner is pricey ($65 to $75 a person, or a seven-course menu with five wine tastings for $140 a person), but it’s an extraordinary experience. We were led through tastings of lobster agnolotti, mascarpone-enriched pasta, scallops with a citrus sauce, a veal dish and seared monk fish prepared by Chef Michael Weisshaupt. Wines such as Pierre Moncuit Blanc de Blancs, New York sparkling wine and rich, round Burgundy were paired and poured by John Osborne, the resort’s nationally recognized wine director.
With the thoroughness of a grade school teacher and no hint of snobbery or condescension, Osborne explained the wines and his reasons for the pairings. He also talked about the award-wining cellar’s collection of more than 3,600 labels. Before or after dinner, Osborne also gives tours of the cellar where the wines range from a modest $15 to a whopping $28,000 a bottle.
The wine dinners are in demand, so make reservations at least a month ahead. Guests can arrange similar tastings in Latour’s main dining room, while gazing out of a panoramic wall of glass at the Kittatinny Mountains.
The next time you’re looking for a luxurious, romantic getaway or a family-friendly ski destination removed from the noise and bustle of urban life, try New Jersey. You’d probably be perfect together. Capisce? *

Spas Finder

Saturday, February 16, 2008

South Carolina Spa Deals - Heavenly Spa - Hilton Head Spas

Girls Getaway
Grab the girls and cherish the moments at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. We are giving you an excuse for a girls weekend with the following:
2- 50 Minute Spa Services (2 per stay)
Women’s Welcome Spa Amenity (1 per stay)
1 Night Traditional Guestroom Accommodations
Offer valid now through December 31, 2007.
Book This Online
heavenly spa by westin
Two Grasslawn AvenueHilton Head Island, South Carolina 29928United States(843) 681-4000

Day Spa Locator

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Valentine’s Day California Spa Deals - Spa Xanadu - Best Day Spas In Los Angeles California

Spa Xanadu 26 E. Huntington Drive, Arcadia, CA 91006 Tel: (626) 821-0687 Fax: (626) 826-9679
SPA XANADU Valentine’s Packages (Exclusively available from February 1st thru the 29th) Chocolate contains over 300 different compounds, which can have a significant impact on health and beauty. A few antioxidants in chocolate are: Magnesium, Potassium, Calcium, and Polyphenols. All of which reduce, the presence of free radicals which are responsible for cell aging. They incredibly have substantial slimming and stress reduction effects. All of these wonderful benefits derived from the pleasures of chocolate.
Chocolate Spa Treatments:
Chocolate Bliss - 60min. $200.00 (per couple)
Side by side Chocolate scented hot oil massage for two.
Chocolate Indulgence - 120 min. $400.00 (per couple)
This tranquilizing experience begins with a full body Chocolate scrub exfoliation, leaving your skin smooth and silky. Followed by, a warm Cocoa hydrotherapy bath to increase circulation. Ending with a full body, chocolate scented hot oil massage.
Chocolate Oasis - 120min. $400.00 (per couple)
Exfoliate your whole body with a chocolate scrub for smooth and silky skin. Followed by a lush full body self heating chocolate mousse mask to detoxify and replenish your body. Continuing with a hydrating facial and scalp massage to maximize relaxation. We then rinse with a Vichy shower and complete this amazing renewing treatment with a body butter and face moisturizer to nourish the skin.
Add on for Chocolate Oasis:
A side by side massage for two for an additional $200.00 and you will receive a memorable gift. (Two Spa Xanadu logo bathrobes a value of $100.00)
Please call for details or any restrictions.

Spa Gift Certificate

Monday, February 11, 2008

Spas Destination Spa Utah /Adventure Spa / Red Mountain

Finding Inspiration Red Mountain Spa, St. George, UT
There are those lucky few, who know their passion from the day they are born. It seems to be almost hard-wired; they are drawn to betterment throughout their life. However, it seems that most of us meander through life searching for something to light the fire within us, to lead us to our successes and happiness in life. Many find that gift, while at Red Mountain Spa.
Red Mountain Spa’s hiking program ignites such inspiration for many people as they embark on their day’s adventures. The connection to the earth, and the power of the towering red rocks, leaves a person who has lived their life surrounded by skyscrapers, mesmerized. Taking the challenge to hike up a steep hill and climb over a rock formation allows one to realize the capabilities of a healthy body. Suddenly a person is inspired to be healthier and seek new adventures. Rewarding the body afterward, with healthy cuisine, reminds us of how important it is to give the body the nourishment it deserves. Taking time out to relax and reflect overlooking the red rock cliffs outside Sage stone Spa and Salon gives one the time to collect their thoughts, and be inspired to experience even more the next day.
Red Mountain Spa hopes that you are inspired to find better health, happiness and many adventures each day of your life.

Spas Finder