WHEN IS A DAY SPA NOT A DAY SPA?
A Day Spa differs a ‘Destination Spa’
I don’t know about you, but it seems that the cosmetics industry has hijacked the true essence of a day spa. Businesses offering services what would traditionally fall under a ‘beauty salon’ category (massages, facials, skin treatments, manicures and pedicures) now proudly call themselves ‘spas’ – but they look nothing like an authentic spa.
Hydrotherapy is a vital part of an authentic day spa experience. The planet’s most precious and natural resource – water – is the essence of life itself, and aids relaxation, recovery and rejuvenation.
A Day Spa without hydrotherapy treatments is simply a potion and lotion beauty salon dressed up in a Day Spa’s uniform.
A traditional Day Spa is just that – a spa that offers a day’s indulgence in therapies for the body that relax the mind and restore the spirit. A Day Spa is not a beauty salon, it offers facilities like a sauna, pool, steam room or spa bathing that guests may use in addition to their treatment.
A Day Spa differs a ‘Destination Spa’ – no overnight accommodation is provided. Destination Spas also offer packages which include diet, exercise programs, instruction on wellness, life coaching, yoga and Tai Chi where participants reside for the duration of their stay. A Resort-Spa may also function as a day spa, if they allow access to patrons who are not guests of the hotel.
Day Spas come vary greatly from urban to regional areas and from country to country, from simple village retreats to extravaganzant luxurious centres with hydrotherapy tubs, Vichy showers and an elaborate spa menu.
Here is what a day spa should offer:
- a quiet, peaceful atmosphere
- robes and slippers
- a full menu of massage, facials and body treatments
- professional massage therapists
- private treatment rooms
- professional spa products
- a relaxation room with refreshments
- hydrotherapy treatments (steam shower, steam room, sauna, spa baths and/or bathing pools
A Day Spa without hydrotherapy treatments is simply a beauty salon pretending to be something that it is not.
www.mrsteam.com.au
Image: Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa