SPAcious

Just like convention centers, casinos and sports arenas, resort spas are getting bigger and brimming with more of everything, from sheer space to number of treatment rooms to the array of treatment options. According to the International Spa Association’s annual Spa Industry Study, the total square footage of spas at U.S. resorts and hotels increased from 11.6 million in 2006 to 14.5 million in 2007, a trend likely to continue as seemingly every blueprint for a new hotel or resort includes a wellness facility, and as more existing spas are upsizing.

“The demand is there,” says Susie Ellis, president of SpaFinder Inc., a New York City-based spa marketing, media and research company. “According to our research, 25 percent of the population has been to a spa, and an even larger percentage is interested in going to one.” And much of the interest, she adds, involves meetings.

“It used to be golf was important for business, but we’re now finding that the spa is more important,” Ellis maintains, which helps explain why meetings-friendly VIP areas, private suites, cabanas and lounges are becoming de rigueur for new facilities.

Matt Stewart, director of sales for the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa in Palm Desert, Calif., says one reason his property’s spa was expanded last year was to accommodate groups during the high season of February through mid-May. “I see many hotels expanding their spas to handle both leisure and group demand,” he notes.

Here’s a look at some of the newest, biggest and splashiest resort spas that offer physical and mental respite to all.

The Elizabeth Arden Red Door Lifestyle Spa at the Hyatt Regency Bonaventure Conference Center
Weston, Fla.
(800) 327-8090; bonaventure.hyatt.com

Fresh from a $100 million propertywide renovation, the 501-room Hyatt Regency Bonaventure debuted its lavish 48,000-square-foot Red Door Lifestyle Spa in February 2007. Features include a 20,000-square-foot fitness center, 31 treatment rooms, a private pool, a full-service salon and a cafe. The facility also offers a Zen garden, a Pilates studio and a movement studio for yoga classes.

According to former director of sales and marketing Kelly Commerford, fully 60 percent of the hotel’s business comes from meetings, and preference is given to groups for spa reservations. The facility will even set up a satellite registration desk at a conference for attendees to book treatments on the spot.

“We make sure times are blocked out to coordinate with planners,” Commerford says, “and groups that have more than 10 room nights can get an automatic 30 percent off treatments.”

In January, Barbara Rogers, director of marketing for Cranbury, N.J.-based LaJobi Industries, brought a group of 20 salespeople to the hotel and received the royal treatment, including a reception alongside the spa’s private pool and an exclusive five-course meal with wine pairings at a private chef’s table in the cafe. In all, she says, “I have never gotten such positive feedback from my attendees like I did here.”

The Hyatt Regency Bonaventure also offers 100,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 10,440-square-foot ballroom and an amphitheater that seats up to 175 people.

The Spa at Desert Springs at the Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort
Palm Desert, Calif.
(760) 341-2211; www.desertspringsresort.com

The 884-room, four-diamond Desert Springs JW Marriott Resort & Spa debuted its newly expanded (to the tune of $19 million) spa last July. Among the changes: The amount of space increased from 30,000 to 38,000 square feet, and the number of treatment rooms went from 36 to 48.

Incredibly, the spa now can handle more than 500 treatments in a day. In addition, the facility’s gym and salon, which used to be at the busy entrance of the property, were moved to a more tranquil setting.

The new design includes lots of nooks for group use, including the 600-square-foot Spa Sanctuary Suite, a spa-within-a-spa for up to eight guests that includes its own butler, lounge, desert rain shower, and private treatment rooms and courtyard (with outdoor whirlpool). A spa bistro, an outdoor pool and multiple relaxation rooms also offer space in which groups can luxuriate.

Treatments range from the Ayurvedic Bindi (a full-body mask using herbs and oils) to the signature Desert Journey, involving creamy emulsions of orange, tangerine and mandarin-scented body butter, along with soothing hot basalt stones to relax the muscles.

Meeting facilities include 210,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space. The new 25,000-square-foot Desert Ballroom holds up to 2,000 for receptions and 1,800 for banquets, and the 21,000-square-foot Springs Ballroom holds a slightly smaller total.

Beachfront balm:
Suites at the Fern Tree spa
in Jamaica include
treatment rooms (at rear).

Fern Tree, the Spa at the Half Moon
Montego Bay, Jamaica
(876) 953-2211; www.halfmoon.com

With 68,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, the Fern Tree spa at the Half Moon resort in Montego Bay is the largest such facility in Jamaica.

The spa can accommodate 30 appointments per hour and offers plenty of VIP areas, relaxation rooms and porches for gatherings or solitary pursuits. Amenities include two beachside gazebos that can be used for treatments or classes for up to eight people each, and a library where guests can grab a book or a group can attend a wellness education session.

“For those who aren’t comfortable with massages, biofeedback is offered, which teaches how to meditate and lower your heart rate,” notes spa director Stephen Phillips.

The approximately 26,000 square feet of meeting space at the resort includes a 4,650-square-foot conference center that can hold up to 450 theater-style and 670 for a reception. A variety of outdoor pavilions and beachfront areas are available for groups as well.

The Spa at Montelucia at the InterContinental Montelucia Resort
Paradise Valley, Ariz.
(480) 627-3200; www.montelucia.com

The 293-room InterContinental Montelucia Resort will open in August with the 31,000-square-foot Spa at Montelucia, InterContinental’s first destination spa in the United States, comprising two floors with 19 treatment rooms, three outdoor spa cabanas, three indoor spa suites and 5,200 square feet of outdoor space available for receptions.

The resort will offer a dedicated sales and marketing person to help groups book treatments. “We can block out times and days for planners so they won’t have to worry about competing with other guests for appointments,” says Dave Sobek, director of group sales.

A highlight of the meeting space includes a separate building called the Mission, its Spanish-inspired architecture anchoring the center of the resort’s Cortillo Plaza. With a seating capacity of about 320, the Mission has 18-foot-high ceilings and exposed wood beams, giving its long, narrow space the feel of a gothic cathedral.

In all, the resort features 26,840 square feet of meeting space that includes two ballrooms and 16 meeting rooms, plus an additional 70,000 square feet of outdoor space for events.

Steamy: The co-ed
hammam at the Drift Spa
at the Palms Place Hotel
in Las Vegas

The Drift Spa at the Palms Place Hotel Condo Spa
Las Vegas, Nev.
(866) 942-7773; www.palmsplace.com

In a boldly designed tower that looms over much of Las Vegas, this 599-unit resort opened in March and features a 50,000-square-foot spa and pool enclave with 20 treatment rooms.

The spa is the first in this lively city to jump on the hammam trend, referring to the age-old Turkish bathhouse that uses heated slabs, steam and aromatherapy to cleanse and refresh a body in preparation for a spa treatment. “Traditionally, since a hammam is co-ed, it was a place for people to meet,” says spa director Jennifer Noble. The facility can handle an impressive 300 appointments a day and accommodate buyouts.

In addition, a movement studio offers salsa dancing and yoga classes for groups, and a salon, a fitness club and an on-site Sunset Tan franchise with eight tanning booths are available as well. A cool dip pool and a heated pool with underwater beds round out the property’s aquatic offerings.

Meeting facilities at the Palms Place include approximately 10,283 square feet of ballroom space, three boardrooms and 12 breakout rooms, as well as the 2,500-seat Pearl Theater.

The property’s 8,400-square-foot Simon Restaurant and Lounge (opening this month) promises to become a popular gathering spot. The tower itself connects to the adjacent Palms Casino Resort via the SkyTube, an enclosed moving walkway.