Articles by Susie Ellis

I check in. Grand Hotel Europe is an Orient-Express Hotel and one of the grand dames in the field. I feel instantly at home. A quick call to reception lets me know that, yes, there’s a spa. I call and book a manicure/pedicure and massage. Naturally I want to see what these will be like […]

Arrived in St. Petersburg from London along with several participants in the Virtuoso Winter Symposium. On a bus to the Grand Hotel Europe – a member of Leading Hotels of the World – I was able to get a glimpse of the new St. Petersburg. It was really moving. I haven’t been to St. Petersburg […]

Well, I think I have been watching too much American Idol. I forgot what great singing was really like – but I was reminded while enjoying the Josh Groban concert at the Turning Stone Resort, where Peter and I spent the Presidents’ Day weekend. Unfortunately, Peter never saw Josh Groban because he got antsy during […]

After settling into a very nice suite, I immediately went to the Native American-inspired Skana Spa where the assistant manager started my tour – and Michael Tompkins, Turning Stone’s VP of Hotel and Spa, finished it for me. The spa was quite impressive. Here are some aspects of the facility that made an impression: I […]

Here are the things that I learned during my visit to California WellBeing Institute: The property has three components that are all linked together. The Four Seasons Hotel The Spa The WellBeing Institute -When you drive up to the building, you find it has a bit of an institutional look, but the inside is clearly […]

Since I was in LA for our press breakfast, I decided to take the 30-minute ride to visit the brand-new California WellBeing Institute in Westlake Village that I had been hearing so much about. I knew few specifics except that it is the vision of David Murdock; that it opened in conjunction with a new […]

Another interesting tidbit came out of our L.A. press breakfast on the topic of the latest spa trends. In addition to sharing Spa Finder’s predicted top ten spa trends of the year for the U.S. in general, I presented some specific information from the current area. We talked about the hot trend in L.A. of […]

Yesterday morning’s press breakfast in Santa Monica on the terrace of Exhale’s new spa was great fun. I especially enjoy these major-city breakfasts we sometimes hold because all the writers and reporters in attendance are really interested in the topic of spa. Many of the members of the press who were there have had a […]

I’m in Santa Monica, California. Today was the day of the Spa Finder media breakfast, which we do each year. It is a chance for me to present the top Spa Trends that we predict for 2007. This year we held the breakfast at the new Exhale Spa. I had a chance to tour the […]

Where is the world’s largest golf club? If someone had asked me that question, I would not have guessed China. But that is the correct answer. Mission Hills, located about 30 minutes outside of Hong Kong, has been accredited by the Guinness World Records as the World’s Largest Golf Club. It has twelve 18-hole golf […]

Well, I just finished a quick video interview for NBC as part of a story they are doing on spa services such as the BlackBerry Hand Massage. They are trying to ascertain whether or not this is a trend. Since we had the BlackBerry Hand Massage as part of our “Hot and Getting Hotter List,” […]

One last Monaco experience I wanted to share. I had a two-hour signature ritual at the new ESPA at the Metropole in Monte-Carlo. For those of you who don’t know ESPA, it is a world-renowned brand out of the UK that encompasses a product line, a consultancy firm, and spa development/management initiatives. Susan Harmsworth, the […]

Peter just got off a Skype phone call he had this morning with our partners in Japan and Hong Kong. When it is 7 a.m. in New York, it is about 7 p.m. in that part of the world – a good time to schedule business calls. After his one-hour, three-way phone call, he walked into […]

So many interesting international speakers at this conference – and what a great trade show. This is the first one I have seen to truly target a luxury niche. Every booth was exceptionally well designed, tasteful, elaborate…and the products featured – whether they were saunas, steams, massage capsules, or skin care lines – were all […]

My Thermes Marins facial was very good – and it is obvious that the estheticians here are well trained. I asked mine about her schooling, and she explained to me that she had to complete three years of training to become an esthetician. Compared to the short training programs in many parts of the world […]

Checked into my hotel – the Monte-Carlo Bay Hotel & Resort – around noon. After a quick shower and change, I head over to Therme Marins for the two spa appointments that had been arranged for me. Ever since Lee Katzoff, owner of the Greenhouse destination spa in Texas, told me that the best facial […]

This past week I have been preparing for a speech I will be giving in Monaco next Saturday at the Monaco Spa Congress. The title of my speech is A Spa Dialogue: Tracking perspectives in the Spa Industry. While I will be focusing on the spa dialogue between North America and Europe, I wanted to […]

This morning I attended a “Breakfast with a Leader” gathering organized by Magazine Publishers of America. The guest speaker was Cathleen Black, president of Hearst Magazines. She drew quite a crowd. Hearst has some of these well-known titles: Cosmopolitan, Esquire, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s BAZAAR, O, The Oprah Magazine, Town & Country, etc. (a total of […]

What a great name. I called Refresh today to talk with Karen, its PR person, and get more details on how the spa is doing. I expect to hear from her tomorrow, but in the meantime I thought I would share what I have found out so far. The spa is 4,500 square feet in […]

As you probably know, Spa Finder issues an annual forecast of spa trends. While we have already issued our Top Ten Spa Trends for 2007, at the beginning of January I like to review all of the trends we are tracking at Spa Finder and share with you a few more of the buzzwords that […]