02/24/2010 In Spa Resources by bien-être

In the spirit of the 2010 Winter Olympics, we wanted to share this great article on some of the top spas in Vancouver, British Columbia. In keeping with recent international spa trends, these day and resort spas combine luxury with therapy, providing amazing treatments like hot stone and lomi lomi massage, auryvedic shiradhara treatments, hammams, detoxifying body wraps and more!

How would you rate these Vancouver spas? Anyone up for a Vancouver vacation?

Here are two others in whistler that we think would be worthy of a medal as well:
The Spa at The Four Seasons Whistler

and

Taman Sari Spa

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02/11/2010 In Spa Resources by bien-être

Phuket, Thailand is internationally known as the location of the devastating tsunami in 2004. It is now perhaps the new holy grail of spa destinations. One of my personal favorites is The Six Senses Destination Spa. This is a true wellness destination as they provide several routes to holistic health that incorporate – you guessed it – all 6 senses. Thai massage on the beach? Check. Tea ceremony overlooking a beautiful coy pond garden? Check. Shirodhara oil treatment with your Javanese Beauty Ritual? Check. From the looks of these spa photos, I’m sold!

The Six Senses Destination Spa Phuket is defined by an innovative and highly evocative concept that embraces the themes of Chinese, Indian, Indonesian and Thai inspired architecture, using Feng Shui to create harmony. The facility covers an area of over three thousand square meters.

The assimilation of four traditional Asian Spa concepts, Indonesian, Indian, Thai and Chinese; with the country of origin creating a themed approach to spa therapies and services – the focus is on relaxing and balancing the mind, pampering and pleasure for body and caring for and calming the spirit.

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01/14/2010 In Spa Resources by bien-être

For the world travelers and those in need of a little spa-inspiration…

Spa Finder, one of the largest spa magazines in the world, asked 360,000 of their readers to name their very favorite destination or resort spa for each continent in the world. Here was their list for 2009:

North America: Canyon Ranch Spa in Tuscon

South America: Kurotel Longevity Center and Spa

Europe: The Spa at Mandarin Oriental in Prague

Australia: Spa Sanctuary at Gwinganna

Asia: Kamalaya Koh Samui Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa

Africa: Pezula Spa

So, what will it be for 2010? We will have to wait and see!

Pictures from: Kurotel Longevity Center and Spa, The Spa at Mandarin Oriental in Prague, Pezula Spa, Kamalaya Koh Samui Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa

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12/08/2009 In Spa Resources by bien-être

The US Senate is considering a bill which would cause an additional 10% tax be placed on elective cosmetic surgeries and procedures, including Botox, Fillers and Teeth Whitening.

This tax would go to chip away at the massive amounts of money needed for healthcare reform. Some think this idea is brilliant and some feel their business will be threatened (there were more than 4.7 million reported botox treatments performed last year alone – at an average of $400 a pop.)

Smart medical spas and plastic surgeons will simply eat the 10% and lower their prices to compensate for the additional tax in order to save their patients from forking over the extra dough. The wealthy pharmaceutical companies will surely be taking a hit too.

What do you think?

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10/14/2009 In Spa Resources by bien-être

One of bien-etre’s Top 5 Favorite Spas, Allyu in Chicago, has a spa blog!

Allyu Spa Blog

Read our review of this great green spa here: Top 5 Favorite Spas

Read up on healthy Prenatal Beauty, the benefits of Infrared Sauna Therapy, Acupuncture and (our personal favorite) Reflexology, and some of their most recent green events!

They are up to some great things and continue to inspire us here at bien-être.

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