Red Mountain, The Adventure Spa, Ivins, UT The last piece of equipment we purchased was an Equipro Model 7 facial steamer last June. We paid $550 for it and bought it so that we could add the use of dry herbs or essential oils to a facial steaming.
 |
It is used in our Gentle Cleansing Facial ($75, 50 minutes), a basic skincare regimen for healthy, glowing skin, and in our Anti-aging Facial ($95, 80 minutes), a very effective treatment geared to assist in minimizing fine lines and pores and providing anti-aging benefits.
-Deborah Evans, general manager
 Evans |
The Spa at Beau Rivage, Biloxi, MS I just purchased four 18-quart roasters ($50 each) and European Stone sets ($80 each, 42 stones per set) for our European Stone Massage, our newest spa service available in 50-minute ($95) and 80-minute ($145) sessions.
-Chris Roman-Woods, director of spa operations
Lake Austin Spa Resort, Austin, TX The most recent is the Pilates Reformer from Balanced Body for about $3,000, including shipping and accessories. Pilates has continued to grow. We've offered the mat classes for some time, and it gave us the opportunity to take the whole core training program to the next level. It was a good match for us. We also bought new Reebok Core boards (about $250 each). The new exercise movement that focuses on core strength is very important for women in their 30s to 60s-our primary group. On another note, we recently took two massage rooms and set one up as an additional facial room, giving us the flexibility to do body treatments or facials. Our facial treatments have really grown. We bought a new table from Cosmopro that you can do massages or facials on and new sterilizers and steamers from Universal. The total came to about $2,500. It's fun to look at all the things that are out there on the market. The next thing I want to get is a metabolic cart.
-Tracy York, general manager
 York |
The Spa at Turnberry Isle, Aventura, FL The spa is new-not even a year old-but a great piece of equipment that we have is our Signature Shower that was custom-designed by Tag Galyean [a renowned spa architect who designed the property.] It has 11 shower heads that invigoratively hit your body from all directions at a temperature of your choice.
-Tammy Pahel, spa director
The Spa at Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort, Ft. Lauderdale, FL We purchased a nail technician's drill for $400 from Buffalo Dental Manufacturing to add more availability for acrylics. [Acrylic nail services range from $70 to $80 at the spa. Manicures start at $35 for a French manicure, while pedicures, such as the Aqua Vie Signature Pedicure (80 minutes), cost $75.]
-George D. Lopez, executive spa director
 Lopez |
Miraval, Catalina, AZ We just purchased two new hydraulic foot pump wet tables from Golden Ratio Woodworks for approximately $2,400 each, including shipping. Originally, we had regular wet room tables that were one height, and this limited us to the length of service we could offer. Therapists that were short were not able to give full body massages, and so we were not able to offer a scrub/wrap followed by a massage. Now, with these new tables, we are able to adjust them to help guests get off and on with greater ease, to suit the needs of the therapists as well, and to offer more innovative treatments.
-Amy McDonald, director of the spa and guest programs
Therapeutically Yours Spa, Hauppauge, NY The most recent significant piece of equipment that we purchased was the Mediterranean tub manufactured by Touch America. It is a 130 air and water jet tub that, after all was said and done, cost us $10,000. It's a beautiful unit that our spa package recipients (we have eight packages, seven that include a hydrotherapy session) really enjoy. It has enabled us to appeal to more than just the massage or facial spa-going community. Originally, we purchased it because none of our immediate local competitors offered such a luxurious addition to their services. In our locale, the concept of the day spa was still in its infancy when we opened for business in 1995. We knew that we were taking a huge risk undertaking such an expense at the time, but we felt that we would suffer tremendously if the competition offered it first. We hoped that it would take off, and it really did. Its appeal was immediate. Even now, our competitors that still qualify as small businesses do not have a hydrotherapy tub. We are definitely pleased with the purchase. Moving that monstrosity into our new location, however, was, well not fun!
-Mark Zaltzman, LMT, president and co-owner
DePasquale The Spa, Morris Plains, NJ We just added a new wing and purchased all new beds, all new hot cabbies, and sterilizers for close to $15,000 from Belvedere. The new wing is designed for men. Our primary reason for doing this is that the male sector is increasing tremendously. We created a Wellness Index about four years ago designed for conditions; we never wanted anything to be gender-oriented. What we're starting to find is that with some men there's a level of discomfort if they're sitting in a relaxation area next to women. We really started to recognize that, and that's what prompted the decision. The new wing is another 2,900 square feet and has an executive suite that can hold up to three people.
-Dee DeLuca-Mattos, managing director
 DeLuca-Mattos |
Body Spa, Gold's Gym, Los Angeles The last pieces we purchased were LPG's Cellu M6 ($30,000) and Lift 6 ($15,000). We chose them for different reasons-one, our largest market is really coming from gym members and they're very open to machines. The Cellu M6 in particular really closes the loop where your nutritional program and your fitness program leave off. This is where Endermologie picks up. You can only address fat, cellulite, and body contouring to a certain degree [with exercise and nutrition]. Women are looking to reduce cellulite and the men are looking to lose that last bit of fat typically found in the "love handle" area. We're going to be positioning the Cellu M6 Endermologie machine as a therapeutic massage, and we're going to have a treatment that's not specifically targeting the fat areas but helping clients to relax. This treatment takes a full-hour deep tissue massage and condenses it into a half-hour treatment. The particular clients we're working with are corporate business clients who are looking for results-oriented services, and that's exactly how we're positioning this spa. We're positioning the Lift 6 as a facial workout. We're offering both in a non-series and series. For the therapeutic massage, we charge $95 for one 30-minute treatment and $65 for a series of six or more treatments. While the Cosemécanique Lift 6 facial treatment is also $95, we charge $85 for a series of six or more.
-Lisa Rogers, spa director
Sonesta Beach Resort & Spa, Key Biscayne, FL We just purchased paraffin machines at $40 each from Homedics. We implement them into our facials and also offer complimentary treatments in the locker rooms to groups.
-Nancy Soccorso, spa director
 Soccorso |
The Greenhouse, Arlington, TX We pride ourselves on being on the cutting edge in fitness, so when Mrs. Lee Katzoff (owner of The Greenhouse) asked me if I had heard of BOSU training, the latest fitness craze, I had to check it out. I tested the equipment and immediately added the BOSU Body Balance to our fitness program, and our instructors and our guests love it. BOSU stands for "both sides up" training. It is truly a unique balance-training device for all fitness levels that focuses on flexibility, agility, conditioning, and core strength.
-Kiki Osada, director of marketing
Gurney's International Health & Beauty Spa, Montauk, NY Our newest pieces of equipment are two thalassotherapy tubs that filter our seawater from the ocean and also feature color therapy. We purchased them from Bouvier, and they ran a little over $20,000 plus shipping and handling. John Chou, president of Etopa, helped me purchase them. We needed new tubs, and they'll be very beneficial and really help our spa with the direction of the only true thalasso seawater spa in the country.
-Cheryl Hartshough, spa director
 Hartshough |