Guide to the Different Types of Spas

Spas are the perfect place for you to focus on your health and well-being, to regain balance and clarity in your life and to heal yourself.  There are many types of spas offering unique treatments and varied outcomes, so it is important to under the various types of spas available to ensure that you get the results you are looking for and to make your experience at the spa as beneficial as possible.

These days, mini-spa treatments are becoming easier to find – at the mall, at the airport, at a salon, at a health club, and even at the Chinese medicine shop on the corner.  While most of these “express spas” offer short massages and superficial facial treatments with varying degrees of privacy, serious spa goers choose either destination spas or resort spas to enjoy the benefits of some of the world’s top facilities and the best practitioners.

Day Spas offer a selection of spa treatments and often provide salon services as well.  Day spas are a good choice for people who are too busy for an overnight stay at a spa or simply can’t afford the full spa experience.  The main complaint with day spas is that due to limited space and high traffic, treatment rooms can be very small and nosy.  The quality of practitioners and the level of service at day spas is not up to the same standards of resort spas or destination spas.

Resort Spas (or Hotel Spas) are basically Day Spas located in hotels that offer spa treatments, fitness classes, and (sometimes) spa cuisine.  Often times the resorts also offer other activities such as golf, so a resort spa is a good choice when one person wants to relax at the spa and the other person wants to spend their afternoon golfing.  Resort spas allow you to enjoy spa treatments and facilities, but also have the option to eat meals that are not part of the spa diet or drink alcohol (after all – it is still a holiday!).  Although resort spas do not offer dedicated spa retreats, the quality of the accommodation, treatments, and cuisine can still be top class, particularly at spas at the world’s premier luxury hotels.

Destination Spas are the sanctuaries for the spa aficionados.  In addition to offering the a la carte treatments that resort spas feature, destination spas provide various healing programmes that include consultations with doctors and/or specialists, accommodation, meals, treatments, and educational classes by experts in their fields. These programmes, often referred to as retreats, focus on a specific purpose (detoxification, weight loss, stress relief, etc.) and are an excellent way to make a major, long term change to improve your health and habits. Destination spas offer personalized programmes based on your goals which often include a tailor-made diet of healthy spa cuisine, exercise, relaxation, and pampering.  Alcohol and food outside of the restricted menu may be allowed depending on the spa and the programme.  A minimum stay of two nights is imposed by most destination spas, although typically people go to destination spas for a 7 night programme to achieve the maximum results.

Medical Spas are a hybrid between a medical clinic and a day spa.  Medical spas are a comfortable environment to undergo medical procedures while ensuring a high degree of comfort and privacy.  Medical spas offer treatments that cannot be provided by traditional aestheticians. Medical treatments such as microdermabrasion, chemical treatments (e.g., chemical peels), injectables (e.g., Botox, fillers), and laser treatments (e.g., photofacials)  require a doctor’s supervision, but relaxation treatments such as massage are also available for you to pamper yourself.  Medical spas are much more clinical than day spas, but provide a much higher degree of comfort and luxury than hospitals. Many medical spas now offer nutritional counselling, acupuncture, and holistic treatments as well.

MY RECOMMENDATION - 

I always speak to the experts at Healing Holidays who help me choose the right type of spa to best suit my needs and they take care of all of my travel arrangements.  Healing Holidays can provide first-hand advice to guide you to the world’s best resort spas, destination spas, and medical spas, but please be aware that day spas and spas in the UK are not featured. Ask for Jo, she knows her stuff!

By Spa Samurai

Questions to Think About When Choosing a Destination Spa

With so many wonderful luxury wellness retreats available these days, it is important to choose the right health spa to get the most value for your money and the most benefit from your experience.  Asking the right questions will help you choose the spa break that is right for you.

Here are some questions to think about when you are choosing a destination spa:

• Would you like your spa holiday to focus on a particular goal such as losing weight, detoxing, kickstarting your fitness, or developing your yoga/pilates practice? 

• Do you have medical problems that you would like to address or are you recovering from a major life event?

• Do you want a restricted meal plan or to follow a prescribed nutritional philosphy? 

• Do you want a break from alcohol, stimulants, and toxins?

• Are you looking for an outdoor exercise experience such as hiking, fitness on the beach, or rock climbing?

• Are you interested in meeting with doctors, nutritionists, trainers, and specialists to develop a personalized programme that you can practice after you return home?

• Are you looking for a setting where it is easy to meet like-minded people in a social atmosphere for a sense of camaraderie?

• Would you like to attend classes and lectures on subjects that interest you?

• Are you happy to go to a spa with a minimum stay?

If the answers to all of the questions above were YES, then a wellness retreat at a destination spa is certainly the right choice for you.

Are you looking to go on holiday with your friend or family and have some relaxing spa treatments?  If so, then a resort spa is a better choice for you.

The next step is to ask an expert for advice on selecting the right health spa and the best spa programme for you. There are a few more questions to ask yourself:

• Are the treatments available at the spa important to you?  If so, look into the a la carte treatments available at the spa and find out if you have to pre-book.

• Do you want to get away to the mountains, beach, or a foreign city?  Ask a specialist tour operator the benefits of each location and how far the actual spa is from the highlights of the area.

• How important is luxury in the accommodation and dining that you seek? Some spas offer basic accommodation on the presumption that you spend very little time in your room and the majority of your stay in the common areas.  If you prefer a higher standard of luxury in your accommodation, ask an expert about the rooms and not just the spa facilities.

Do you have other important questions to consider to help you choose the right spa?  If so, please let me know and I’ll update the blog.

MY RECOMMENDATION - 

Speak to Karen at Healing Holidays.  She loves her spa breaks and she knows her stuff!

By Spa Samurai

How to Speak “Spa Lingo”

I often get asked, “What is the difference between a spa treatment and a spa therapy?”  There is so much trendy spa-related terminology thrown about by hipsters that it is difficult to stay in the know!  I thought it would be helpful if I explained some essential “spa speak” so that you know what to ask for when you are planning your next spa break.

Treatment:  A (spa) treatment is a non-medical procedure that is intended to improve the overall health of the body.  Treatments can be performed at day spas, resort spas, destination spas, and medical spas.  Most spas offer a menu of a la carte treatments when you arrive, which cover a wide range of health, beauty/cosmetic, and pampering. 

Some of the most popular treatments include:

• Bathing in specialized, therapeutic pools such as  hot springs (e.g., Japanese onsens or Roman Thermal baths) or Thalasso (revitalizing sea water pools)
• Massages including various disciplines (e.g., Thai massage, Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, sports massage, Shiatsu)
• Body wraps including hot blankets, mud wraps, or herbal compounds
• Facials
• Saunas and steam baths
• Aromatherapy
• Facials
• Waxing
• Nail care (e.g., manicures and pedicures)

Retreat:  A (spa) retreat is a spa holiday with a purpose. Spa retreats can be either  pre-determined, set programmes or a personalized package created to help you reach your goals.  Retreats normally last between 3 – 7 nights, but some intensive programmes may last up to one month.  Spa retreats are the perfect way to see results fast, kickstart your practice, and to stay focused to achieve your objective.  Most retreats also include relaxation and pampering treatments in addition to the core programme.  Spa cuisine or specialized diets are often required to cleanse the body and provide calorie-controlled, nutrient rich, locally sourced, organic foods to contribute to detoxification, weight loss, fitness, and anti-ageing.

Some of the most popular retreats include:

• Detox
• Yoga
• Fitness
• Weight Loss
• Stress Relief
• Deep Sleep
• Stop Smoking

Bootcamp:  A (spa) bootcamp is really just a spa retreat with a quirky name. The original bootcamps were strictly regimented fitness “kickstart programmes” lead by drill sergeant-like instructors to produce quick weight loss results by  shocking the body with intensive workouts and calorie-restricted, healthy eating. While most bootcamps focus on fitness (e.g., excericise, healthy eating, weight loss), the term is now being used in reference to yoga, beauty, pampering,  and almost anything!

Therapy:  Therapy and treatment are often used interchangeably, but they are quite different.  A therapy is a clinically proven method of treatments that are performed at spas.  A therapy is more of a philosophy that comprises a programme.  Treatments are part of an overall therapy methodology. Some of the most common spa therapies include :

• Thalassotherapy - The medicinal use of sea water.
• Balneotherapy -The use of mineral baths.
• Aromatherapy – The use of essential oils.
• Hydrotherapy – The use of water.
• Climatotherapy – The use of specific climates.

Pampering:  Pampering refers to spa treatments that allow you to indulge yourself.  Pampering treatments are normally non-surgical, non-invasive procedures that focus on relaxation and beauty.  The most popular relaxation pampering treatments are massages, bathing in therapeutic pools, saunas/steam baths, body wraps, and aromatherapy. The most common pampering beauty treatments are facials, manicures, and pedicures.  Pampering treatments have crossed over into “Pampering Retreats” and “Pampering Bootcamps”, which are specialized programmes that focus on stress relief, relaxation, aesthetic beauty, and healthy eating.

Health Farm:  A health farm is a funky phrase that is gaining popularity. It is really just the new lingo for a health spa retreat, a fitness bootcamp, or a fitness farm.  Health farm is often used to replace “fat farm” with a politically correct alternative,  but don’t let it confuse you.

Holistic:  Holistic medicine  considers emotional, mental, and spiritual elements in addition to the physical aspects of a person so that the approach to healing is viewing the person as an entire system.  The aim is to target the cause of an illness, rather than just treat the symptoms.  Holistic healing is a longterm, grassroots approach to overall wellness and is a very popular philosophy in spas around the world.

Ayurveda: Ayurveda is a system of alternative medicine  that  uses diet, herbal treatments, and yogic breathing in treatments.  Hygiene, balancing the five elements, building a healthy metabolic system, and proper digestion are the emphasis of this philosophy.  Exercise, yoga, and meditation also play a key role in ayurvedic wellness.

MY RECOMMENDATION - 

I hope that these terms help you to decipher the esoteric codes of spa speak.  Please post a comment to share your favourite definitions or to let me know which vocabulary you struggle with.  You can always call the experts at Healing Holidays on 020 7843 3597 who have been patient enough to explain a lot of this terminology to me.

By Spa Samurai