Hotel hopes posh spa hits spots
“Ms. McConville? Ms. McConville? Is there anything I can do for you?â€
The holistic massage therapist had just finished working on my feet, and now, before moving on to the knotted muscles in my back, she wanted to know if the room temperature or music volume should be adjusted.
At the Spa at the Mandarin Oriental Boston, the staff pays very special attention to their clients’ well being.
On Tuesday, Boston’s poshest spa – which is located inside the city’s poshest hotel – opens its doors to the public. And last week, I spent more than four hours at the Boylston Street spa, swaddled in an other-worldly luxury, as enthusiastic and excited workers bustled along the polished bamboo floors, eager to make everything just right for incoming guests.
The economic gloom and doom that has cast a dark shadow across so much of American life wasn’t apparent at all.
“I’m so excited,†said spa director Sharon Holtz, a trained massage therapist who helped create some of the spas treatments.
Several Boston spa owners say business is still strong, but a recent stroll through Boston’s South End indicates otherwise. One salon was offering deeply discounted facials, while another announced that its workers no longer accept tips.
While it is true that spas and salons are among the nations fastest growing small businesses, we are living through an economic time that for most Americans is unprecedented.
Even executives at the Mandarin Oriental are stressing the value that comes with a spa visit. After all, an 80-minute Swedish massage can cost as much as $210, but the price includes much more than a singular treatment.
With just a few days to go, Holtz said shes not worried that the economic upheaval will hurt business.
Americans have adopted a European point of view about spas, she said.
People realize that this is part of wellness, she said Friday, in the spas “caf,†a sun-splashed room on the fourth floor of the hotel. The days of seeing a spa as a pampering experience are over.
And in times of great stress, people seek other solace, she said.
People are needing a place to step away from the stressors in life, and relax and regroup, she said. It’s so important.
That remains to be seen.
The journey begins upon entering the Asian-inspired lobby, where guests exchange their street shoes for a cozy pair of slippers and warm tea. Â From there, its a short walk, past babbling fountains, to a heat and wet area, which incorporates bathing rituals of several different cultures. There are separate sections for men and women.
Each section contains an expansive steam room with mood-enhancing lighting and a quartz crystal known for its healing powers. The space includes a warm vitality pool, big enough to float in, a fountain of ice chips, and a heated bench for relaxing.
The section also includes a multi-faceted experience shower, where warm waters pour down in a simulated jungle storm. Another option is the more brisk artic mist.
It’s all about preparing the body for the treatment, Holtz said.
Guests are encouraged to spend at least 45 minutes taking to the waters,before receiving a facial, pedicure or hydrotherapy treatment.
Between the bathing area and the treatment rooms, there are several crisply made beds for guests to relax on.
After relaxing and replenishing with fresh fruit and lemon-flavored water, I went on to a private room for the Commonwealth Comforter, a spa treatment designed for Bostonians. The 110-minute, $260 treatment included an chocolate and frankincense exfoliation to prepare my skin for winter.
And sometime after the ginseng-flavored tea, the steam room, and the shoulder massage, I realized that Holtz may be on to something.
I knew that Id be back at the Herald in a few hours, back under those buzzing fluorescent lights and next to the always-ringing telephones, but it all seemed so very far away.
“No,†I told the massage therapist, when I finally realized she was speaking to me. “Everything’s perfect.
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