The legendary Food & Wine Classic in Aspen, CO, a three-day festival touting gastronomy’s latest and greatest, celebrated its 30th anniversary in June. It is an epicurean fête that has helped to put the mountain town on the map. Add to that a host of award-winning restaurants, an active green-minded community with a penchant for supporting local farmers, and a population—both locals and visitors—with a discerning palette, and it is easy to understand why Aspen has become a foodie and oenophile paradise. Most recently, these aficionados of the tasty things in life are toasting the recent debut of the Farm-to-Massage Table ($500, 3 hours) package at Remède Spa at The St. Regis Aspen Resort, one of several services that provide culinary and spa enthusiasts with an experience they will crave.
Included in the Farm-to-Massage Table experience is an Amuse-Bouche, which involves rejuvenation time in the spa’s Oxygen Bar prior to services and includes a sip of fresh-pressed juice. Next comes the Appetizer, which is a Savory Salt Glow Scrub in one of three enticing fragrances perfectly paired with a custom creation from executive chef Thomas Riordan, and a Main Course of a 60-minute Custom Massage. The Intermezzo, a palate-cleansing warm eucalyptus compress, is then followed with Dessert, which includes a Whipped Body Butter Application, a glass of Champagne, and a scrumptious sweet. This five-course treatment and tasting menu uses only the best ingredients from local growers, providing guests with the ultimate Aspen experience. “Our belief is that wellness comes as much from the inside out as the outside in,” says spa director Julie Oliff. “The Farm-To-Massage Table concept enables guests to treat their bodies like their palates and vice versa, creating a synergistic experience like no other.”
This innovative new offering is one of many reasons the 15,000-square-foot, 15-treatment-room spa is so appealing to guests of the five-star resort, which recently unveiled a $40 million redesign. “Our spa is truly an escape from the real world, or perhaps an escape to a world that we wish was real. It is the only full-service resort spa in the town and the only spa of its size in the area,” says Oliff. “Because of that, we are able to attract phenomenal massage and esthetician talent and are able to provide a spacious and spa-like environment to our guests.”
While food and wine are hallmarks of the city of Aspen, so is its altitude, which is also addressed in the spa menu with services like the High Altitude Renewal Facial ($185, 60 minutes) and the Rocky Mountain Ritual ($280, 1 hour 45 minutes). “We are most definitely a high-altitude spa, and many of our services reflect the treatments necessary to thrive at ten thousand feet,” says Oliff. “The High Altitude Renewal Facial focuses on rehydrating skin that has traveled or just been at high altitude, and the Rocky Mountain Ritual embodies everything one could want and need in the mountains—an exfoliation, a warm hydrating wrap, and a massage. Because exfoliation is a bit of a religion at our altitude, these are some of our most in-demand services.”
Oliff says that the spa itself is in-demand much in part to a talented team of experienced service providers—of the 45 technicians, 13 have been with the spa since its inception eight years ago, which she points out is an impressive number considering the mobility of the industry and the transitory nature of Aspen. “Our therapists are also consistently ranked as experts in their field, and in the end, that is what our clientele seeks out,” she says. “Aspen is a town of experts that attracts experts, so to offer anything else in our service providers would not be living up to who we are as a brand or an address.”
As for the future, Oliff and her team plan to introduce services and options that will continue to keep guests hungering for more, including a revamped menu and makeup and nutritional counseling. A great recent example of this innovative spirit is a partnership with Veuve Clicquot. Over the summer, the spa collaborated with the Champagne company to launch three limited-time custom effervescent experiences, including a facial, a package that includes a facial and a manicure/pedicure, and a couples’ service paired with a bottle of Veuve Clicquot Rosé Brut. “It was immense fun to create treatments that both complemented the exquisite Champagne and harnessed its benefits,” says Oliff. “We are always striving to bring guests the most unique experiences, and because we pair these experiences with unprecedented service, their stay at The St. Regis Aspen Resort is always a memorable one.”
Managed by: Starwood/St. Regis
Spa Director: Julie Oliff
Opened: 2004
CLIENT BASE
70% female
30% male
SPACE
15,000 square feet,
15 treatment rooms
OFFERINGS
aromatherapy, body treatments, chromatherapy, couples’ treatments, energy work, facials, fitness, hair and scalp treatments, hand and foot treatments, hydrotherapy, makeup application, massage, microdermabrasion, nailcare, nutrition consultation, prenatal services, reflexology, salon services,
waxing, yoga
SIGNATURE SPA SERVICE
The Remède Customized Massage ($165, 60 minutes, $240, 90 minutes), which includes aromatherapy, a warm paraffin foot wrap, and a scalp massage with essential oils
MOST EXPENSIVE OFFERING:
Remède Spa Sanctuary ($640, 6 hours), which includes a 60-minute customized facial, a 60-minute customized massage, a 60-minute body scrub, a manicure, a pedicure, and a light lunch
PRODUCT LINES
Bliss, Remède, Salt of the Earth
EQUIPMENT
Book4Time, LifeFitness, Living Earth Crafts
INTERIOR DESIGNER
Poss Architecture + Planning (Aspen, CO)