The Ritz-Carlton recently introduced a new cultural concept for The Ritz-Carlton Spa that involves tailored experiences that artfully integrate individual guest needs into treatments that will be anchored into local culture, employing natural and organic solutions. The new spa concept is being implemented around the world beginning with 20 hotels and resorts, including Amelia Island, FL; Budapest, Hungary; Cairo, Egypt; Fort Lauderdale, FL; Moscow, Russia; New Orleans, LA; and Vienna, Russia. “The Ritz-Carlton Spa concept is designed to extend even more of the unique and personal opportunities for wellness and indigenous experiences that our guests and global travelers seek,” says Hervé Humler, president and chief operating officer, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company.
Guests in Europe and the Middle East were among the first to experience the concept at The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Dubai International Financial Centre (UES). Drawing on the quintessential Dubai experience, The Desert Reviver ($260, 120 minutes) takes inspiration from the city’s desert landscape and climate and features a stimulating sand-based exfoliation followed by a hot-stone massage that evokes Dubai’s sunny climes. With the launch of the concept, Russian treatments were also developed for The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carton, Moscow (Russia), including the Moscow Honey Ritual ($230, 120 minutes), which combines age-old Russian massage techniques in a gentle body exfoliation followed by a therapeutic full-body massage using organic Siberian honey and finishing with an express facial and an invigorating head massage.
The spa concept is also featured on spa menus across North America, allowing guests to connect to their surroundings. The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans (LA) offers a Voodoo Love Massage ($150, 50 minutes; $220, 80 minutes) that evokes the magical and mystical soul of New Orleans by using aromas of incense and voodoo chants to set the mood. The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carlton Reynolds, Lake Oconee (GA) provides treatments inspired by the natural surroundings, including the Oconee Rain ($175, 50 minutes), which is a Vichy shower treatment that uses the therapeutic benefits of water, in which the Creek Indians from the region believe ‘washes everything new again.’ The Ritz-Carlton Spa at The Ritz-Carlton, Naples (FL) offers the Time Is The Essence ($340, 110 minutes; $480, 170 minutes; $580, 240 minutes) where a therapist will consult prior to the treatment and utilize a combination of services and locations to meet the guests’ needs and enhance their physical and mental wellbeings. “The Ritz-Carlton Spa experience should be exceptional and memorable,” says spa director Michelle Kelthy. “Each and every treatment has been designed to give our guests an experience that is suited to their needs and yet employs time-tested methods. We have packaged tradition, location, and culture into the experience to map out a spa journey that helps our guests relax, unwind, and truly enjoy The Ritz-Carlton experience.”