Articles by Susie Ellis

450 people working every day for three years: That is what it took to create the extraordinary place called The Farm at San Benito, along with the resolve of a man, Eckard Rempke, who was stubbornly committed to his vision of creating a place of healing unlike any other in the world. When I envision […]

Have you heard of The Farm at San Benito? It’s a destination spa two hours outside of Manila in the Philippines. What a surprise – it is very luxurious in an eco-friendly way. I had heard that it is a five-star vegan detox place. I knew I would be able to handle the five-star part, […]

At the conference here in the Philippines I kept coming across Tony de Leede and his infectious enthusiasm for the new Gwinganna Lifestyle Retreat, which he opened a mere six months ago. I met him in New York shortly before the opening of the retreat when he stopped in to meet our team at the […]

Swedish massage and Thai massage have been around for a long time. Philippine Hilot Massage has only recently been introduced outside of the Philippines but has been practiced here for thousands of years. I was excited to finally experience it. First I learned that I had been mispronouncing the name Hilot. The correct pronunciation is […]

I’m at the Shangri-La Mactan Island Resort & Spa in Cebu, Philippines. Arrived after midnight and after a good night’s sleep decided to try out their famous Chi Spa. Since this was my only day to have a spa treatment (because the conference begins tomorrow), I decided to call early in the morning to book […]

Well, my Korean massage ended up being terrific. Joe was my therapist’s name. The massage given at the Seoul Airport Massage Center is really perfect for the period between long flights. They don’t use oil (good idea, as that would be a mess between flights), and they give you long white cotton shorts and a […]

I’m at the computer terminals (free!) at the Incheon International Airport in Seoul, Korea. I have a three-hour layover before my flight to Cebu, Philippines boards. I am on my way to the Turning Point Spa Conference. After almost 15 hours of flying, I’m happy to discover that this very sleek and modern airport has […]

It was a late night, so apologies for not getting the results to you sooner. It turned out to be a really special event – and even somewhat emotional – as the spa owners and operators from the “best of the best” spas all over the world got together. We announced the awards at the […]

This is an exciting day for me. Tonight we get to announce the winners of Spa Finder’s 2006 Readers’ Choice Awards. The champagne reception is at the Cornelia Day Resort here in New York later today, and winners have flown in from all over the world to pick up their Crystal Globe Awards. It’s the […]

A colleague just brought to my attention a magazine called Spa China. Since I had not seen it before, I thought it was new but found out it is actually about two years old. Naturally, it is now on my subscription list. The timing is great, because these days I hear more and more people […]

It’s Labor Day Weekend, which always signals the end of summer and the coming of a new school year. In the spa world, we see an increase in spa-going in September and October, usually because when kids are back in school, parents have a bit more time to take care of themselves. But there is […]

Shortly before leaving Bangkok on Sunday (at midnight), I visited S Medical Spa, which I had been hearing about. Not only has this spa gotten some good PR, but much to my surprise, I have also noticed people from all over the world (the U.K., Asia, U.S.A., etc.) contacting S Medical Spa through Spafinder.com asking […]

Today’s anniversary of Hurricane Katrina seems like an appropriate time to mention the unexpected development that came from our outreach a year ago. A few days after Hurricane Katrina, we received a desperate call from Kevin and Andre, who managed one of our partner spas (Miss Celia’s) in New Orleans. Both Kevin and Andre had […]

I’m sitting in the cyber cafe of Bumrungrad International here in Bangkok, Thailand. Bumrungrad is the hospital that 60 Minutes called, “The number-one international hospital in the world.” NBC’s Peter Greenberg recently featured it on the Today show. It is getting a lot of attention because the price (low), access (you can walk in and […]

I’m currently at Evason Hideaway in Hua Hin Thailand, one of the magical Six Senses Spa properties. Spent a few days at Michael Loh’s Spa Asia conference and a few days in meetings with spa industry professionals who look at global spa trends. It is always inspiring to exchange ideas and be with others who […]

On Saturday, I flew from Los Angeles to Bangkok on a plane that had just arrived from Thailand with an infamous passenger: John Mark Karr. The media frenzy at LAX with helicopters circling was quite the drama. Interesting that when I asked people here in Thailand how they felt about the man who admitted killing […]

Salon and Spa Bellagio had 19 stylists working in the salon the weekend I was there – all the girls have hair extensions. Beautiful girls and beautiful hair. Interesting to know that the salon at Bellagio does tons of hair extensions (at about $2,000 for the procedure). Seems popular with the Vegas crowd. While in […]

Off to Las Vegas for Virtuoso Travel Mart – the exciting (and exhausting) week where Virtuoso travel agents and Virtuoso property management meet. Sallie and I were there to train 50 Virtuoso agents to become spa travel specialists. Our sold-out session became “oversold” as 60 agents came to hear what’s new in the spa world. […]

Someone forwarded me the following job opening, which was posted online recently: “The Southwest Region has an exciting opportunity available for one of the company’s newest concepts – Spa Team Leader. The relocated Forest store in Dallas, Texas will have the first Whole Foods Market spa. We are looking for an experienced, efficient and motivated […]

Now that Peter’s vacation is over – it is my turn! That is one of the benefits of working with your spouse – when one of us is away, the other can make sure things are humming along at the office. It does make for a more relaxing trip. Even though my upcoming trip isn’t […]