Industry News

By Editorial Staff
May 29, 2009

Industry News

By Editorial Staff
May 29, 2009

The Holiday Inn Family Suites Resort in Orlando, Fla., has raised the spa concept to a entirely new level with the opening of the Sugar & Spice Kids Spa. Massage chairs, pedicures, facials and glamour photos are just some of the amenities available to young guests of the resort.

With the recent opening of the Spa at JW Marriott, Cancun, Mexico, now boasts the largest spa in Latin America. Guests of the 35,000 sq. ft., three-level spa can enjoy a variety of Mayan-inspired treatments incorporating indigenous raw materials, including fresh fruit; stone; crystal; incense; mud; and milk.

Expansive new spa facilities are on board the cruise ship Crystal Harmony, which recently completed a multimillion-dollar overhaul. The Crystal Spa & Salon, including its fitness center, has been completely renovated in accordance with the principles of feng shui. The spa now features seven treatments rooms, state-of-the-art sauna and shower facilities, and a luxurious dry-float sensory bed suite, ideal for aroma spa and other treatments.

The Lafayette Park Hotel & Spa in Lafayette, Calif., opened a full-service, European-style spa in November 2002. The $1.6 million facility, a mere 30-minute drive from San Francisco, features five treatment rooms, and plans on adding at least two additional outdoor treatment areas in the near future.

Hilton Kuwait opened the Hiltonia Beach Club and Spa in late 2002. Located on one of Kuwait's longest private beaches, the spa offers a full range of services, including massage; hydrotherapy; reflexology; endermology; and detoxifying treatments.

Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts and its sister brand, Angsana Resorts & Spa, recently announced the addition of eight new spas. Four of the spas are already operational: Angsana Day Spa in Sydney, Australia; Angsana City Club Taichung (Taiwan); and Angsana Spa at Guam Marriott opened in December 2002, while the Banyan Tree Spa in Shanghai opened in February 2003. In the next several months, Angsana will open spas in four Hong Kong locations: Ma Wan Island; Causeway Bay; Tsim Sha Tsui; and Central Commercial District.

As of October 2002, Hong Kong/Macau now boasts not only its first world-class day spa, but the world's first "fully oxygenated, pollution-free spa": Spa Philosophy. A specialized air processing unit ensures clean air throughout the two-story, 3,500 sq. ft. facility, which features eight treatment rooms decorated to reflect the Five Elements of Chinese healing philosophy - water, earth, wood, fire and metal.

England's famed Bath hot springs should attract a larger-than-usual crowd this spring with the reopening of the Thermae Bath Spa. The extensive restoration project (the spa has been closed since 1978) included renovation of five historic buildings and construction of a new glass and stone building. Among the spa's many amenities is an open-air, rooftop pool, supplied by the Bath hot springs and operational year-round.