Spas

BATHING BEAUTY

Spas are offering a new wave of water therapies.

BY DIANE BAIR AND PAMELA WRIGHT

There’s nothing new about using water to stimulate circulation, ease sore muscles and release tension. Hydrotherapy has been around for thousands of years, dating back to the Greek and Roman public baths. In ancient texts, water is referred to as nectar. Today, there’s a flood of renewed interest in hydro-based therapies.

“Over the last three years or so, a key trend in the industry has been spas returning to their original aqueous source by both rediscovering and reinventing water therapies,” says Susie Ellis, president of SpaFinder, a spa marketing, media and research company. “There is a host of new water experiences on the modern spa menu, from color hydrotherapy baths to vapor caves, liquidsound, watsu, deluge showers and spa water parks.”

At the new Spa Castle in Queens, NY, you can soak, steam and swim your way through a slew of themed water experiences. One price ($35/weekdays, $45/weekends) gets you into the five-story water spa, with indoor and outdoor wade pools, waterfalls, bubbling hot tubs and a hinoki wood bath.

At the recently opened Kohler Waters Spa near Chicago, guests have a more subdued—albeit equally wet—experience. Start in the “Circle of Tranquility,” featuring a 25-foot whirlpool, cascading waterfall, cool dip pool and three showers. Follow with a hydro treatment like the Aqua Tonic, an alternating warm-cool Vichy hydro massage (50 minutes, $115.)

Not surprisingly, hydrotherapy offerings and sea-based products are especially popular at oceanfront spas. Spa Oceana in St. Pete Beach, FL, infuses elements of the ocean in its overall design and treatments. “The spa completely immerses the guest in a nurturing oceanic cocoon,” says spa director Gigi Weigman. The menu includes a selection of bathing experiences, like the warm, bubbly OceaQuench Bath (30 minutes, $85), which uses a sea-growing plant called halimeda, known for its rich antioxidant properties.

Cliff House Spa, perched on a bluff overlooking the Maine coastline, opens its windows to sea breezes and the sound of surf. Try the Seashell Therapy (1 hour 50 minutes, $255), which includes a crushed shell exfoliation and body massage performed with smooth, water-worn seashells, and a hot seaweed oil wrap. Then head out to the infinity pool to soak in heated waters while watching seabirds and seals slip in and out of the surf.

WATER WORLDS

Spa Castle
QUEENS, NY
131-10 11th Ave
718-939-6300
www.nyspacastle.com

Kohler Waters Spa at Burr Ridge
BURR RIDGE, IL (20 MILES FROM CHICAGO)
775 Village Center Dr
630-323-7674
www.destinationkohler.com

Spa Oceana (at The Don CeSar Resort, A Loews Hotel)
ST. PETE BEACH, fl(30 MILES FROM TAMPA)
3400 Gulf Blvd
727-363-5029
www.doncesar.com

Cliff House Spa
CAPE NEDDICK, ME (41 MILES FROM PORTLAND)
591 Shore Rd
207-361-6222
www.cliffhousemaine.com