Scottsdale's Spa Sanctuaries

01/15/2010

Scottsdale's Sonoran Desert has long been revered for its healing powers and restorative nature. Ancient Indian tribes were the first to discover the desert's curative climate, medicinal plants and therapeutic herbs - even transforming prickly cacti into soothing balms and sun-baked river rocks into muscle relaxants. Centuries later, Scottsdale founder Winfield Scott promoted his rapidly growing settlement as an oasis of well-being, a land "where rain seldom falls and there is no cold."

Today Scottsdale is an internationally recognized hot spot for health, relaxation and restoration. As they have for millennia, health-seekers and stressed out souls are recharged and refreshed by the Sonoran Desert's timeless landscape, spirit-stirring sunsets and crisp desert air. It's no wonder why Scottsdale boasts more spas per capita than any other city in the United States, and the area's day spas and resort sanctuaries are regularly given top billing in such publications as Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, Mobil Travel Guide and Spa Magazine.

Timeless Desert Techniques
Scottsdale's Sonoran Desert is a surprisingly lush landscape fed by snowmelt from Arizona's mountainous north and thunderous summer rainstorms known as Monsoons. Savor the desert's verdant bounty with these exotic treatments incorporating native plants, herbs and minerals.

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale at Troon North (www.fourseasons.com/scottsdale) is a high desert hideaway offering a variety of treatments incorporating the natural botanicals of the Sonoran Desert, including the Soothing Sage Wrap and Willow Herbal Wrap. The first utilizes a turquoise sage body lotion to relieve tension, while the latter cocoons guests inside linen sheets soaked in white willow bark tea to detoxify the body by sweating out pollutants.

The Phoenician's (www.thephoenician.com) stunning, marble-lined Centre for Well-Being offers the intensely hydrating and regenerating Desert Serenity Scrub, Wrap and Massage. This application of mineral rich clay, aloe vera and Sangre di Drago (an Amazon tree extract), cleanses and purifies the skin while a full body massage melts away stress.

Ranked among the top spas in North America, the 44,000-square-foot Willow Stream - The Spa at Fairmont Scottsdale (www.fairmont.com/scottsdale) tempts with an open-air rooftop pool, waterfall therapy pool and the Havasupai Body Oasis, a two-hour rejuvenation experience like no other. Named after the Native American tribe located in Northwestern Arizona, it begins with a warm aromatic eucalyptus footbath and an essential oil-infused facial cleansing, followed by a chamomile and pumice exfoliation, eucalyptus herbal bath, massage, aromatherapy wrap and comforting foot treatment using indigenous Arizona oils of lavender and rosemary.

Fight damaging dehydration at Agave, The Arizona Spa at The Westin Kierland Resort (www.kierlandresort.com) with the Agave Enchantment, a skin-softening exfoliation paired with a body mask brimming with desert plant extracts to stimulate, rejuvenate and rehydrate the body.

Native American Inspirations
These exotic therapies marry age-old, time-tested Native American remedies and healing techniques with modern day pampering.

Sister sanctuary to the famed spa resort in Escondido, Calif., Golden Door Spa at The Boulders Resort (www.theboulders.com) tempts with a signature Turquoise Wrap based on the Native American belief that turquoise is a protective color that creates a sense of peace and well-being. After a soak in turquoise oils and an ionized turquoise clay wrap, the therapist performs a smudging ceremony (a traditional Native American practice in which sage, sweet grass and cedar are burned to purify the body, space and spirit), before finishing with a warm honey mask and hydrating rosehip lotion.

The Adobe Clay Purification Treatment at The Spa at Camelback Inn (www.camelbackinn.com), inspired by Native American healing rituals, uses pure red adobe clay and herbs indigenous to the Arizona desert, such as sage, juniper, and sandalwood. After the adobe clay is applied to the body to relax muscles and draw impurities from the system, a Southwestern-inspired soap and cactus fiber cloth is used during a Vichy shower to remove the clay.

Furthermore, many Scottsdale spas offer traditional Native American Hot Stone Therapy, where heated river rocks are placed strategically along pressure points to help melt away tension, relieve muscle aches and pain, and create a calming atmosphere. After being brought into a meditative state, the body is re-energized with the help of sensory stimulating oils.

Soul Food
Across Scottsdale, innovative therapists are incorporating local delicacies and edible desert plants to add a dash of comfort, spoonful of calm and cup of warmth to the traditional spa treatment.

Inspired by the scent of blooming citrus trees sprinkled across the grounds of this Mediterranean-inspired resort nestled in the foothills of Camelback Mountain, Alvadora Spa at the Royal Palms Resort (www.royalpalmsresortandspa.com) created an Orange Blossom Body Buff treatment. Starting with a Turkish salt rub, thermal mineral bath gel and nourishing body lotion, it concludes with an aromatic neroli oil massage, one of the most cherished and expensive oils in the botanical kingdom. Savor the restorative power of organically grown Hawaiian papaya and pineapple at VH Spa, a posh sanctuary tucked inside the restored 1950s-era Hotel Valley Ho (www.hotelvalleyho.com). The spa's Hawaiian Papaya-Pineapple Enzyme Wrap imbues skin with a healthy glow while guests' scalps are massaged with a restorative Ojon hair treatment.

An invigorating treatment using lemon and lime essential oils combined with Australian sea salts, the Citrus Salt Glow at FireSky Resort's Jurlique Spa (www.fireskyresort.com) provides a toxin-busting full body exfoliation that leaves skin noticeably smoother and more lustrous. Bliss Spa at the W Scottsdale Hotel & Residences (www.whotels.com/scottsdale) boasts its trademark Carrot and Sesame Body Buff, a carrot mulch and hot oil rubdown followed by a warm milk and honey drizzle plus a sesame seed and sea salt scrub.

An Asian-inspired gem set inside the stylish Sanctuary on Camelback Mountain Resort and Spa (www.sanctuaryaz.com), The Sanctuary Spa offers traditional Thai luk pra kope treatments. This includes a footbath of fresh lime and essential oils, followed by a cooling white Thai clay exfoliation and topped off with Thai massage - a steamy blend of medicinal herbs rolled, massaged and pressed into tight muscles and problem areas. The Harvest Festival at the InterContinental Montelucia Resort's Joya Spa (www.icmontelucia.com) is an invigorating body wrap using a pumpkin, orange and quince apple body masque followed by a pear and apple hydrating body soufflé to deeply hydrate and tone dry skin.

Invigorating & Innovative
Heated golf balls, a traditional Hammam and barefoot Buddhist back massages? Sample Scottsdale's most unique techniques at these local spas.

The graceful Spa Avania at the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale Resort and Spa at Gainey Ranch (www.scottsdale.hyatt.com) specializes in time-of-day specific treatments such as the Aroma Mineral Massage. A blend of Esalen, Thai and Swedish techniques, different semi-precious gem stone balms are used at sunrise (rhodochrosite extract with awakening grapefruit and orange oils); midday (malachite extract with bergamot and mint oils designed to balance); and sunset (smithsonite extract with patchouli and vanilla oils to prepare the body for sleep).

A Tibetan Monk at VH Spa who has been practicing massage since the age of seven performs the Tibetan Yoginic Massage using trigger point release and acupressure on specific nerves based on an early form of Tibetan medicine. Limbs are gently stretched to their maximum potential leaving spa goers completely relaxed and with increased mobility.

The Spa at Four Seasons Resort Scottsdale's Golfer's Massage incorporates stretching and therapeutic massage techniques to relieve stress and tension in the muscles, as well as warm golf balls rolled along the large muscles on either side of the spine and up and down the neck.

Carefully developed to ensure safety and comfort for both mom and baby, the Prenatal Facial at the Lamar Every Day Spa (www.thelamar.com) cleanses, tones and moisturizes mommy's skin while comfortably cradling her for prime relaxation and easy breathing. Also, by stimulating the lymphatic drainage system to eliminate excess melanin, this treatment can help reduce the appearance of brown spots during pregnancy.

Joya Spa is a stunning Mediterranean-style sanctuary wrapped in white-washed walls and bedecked with custom-made, multi-colored Moroccan tiles. Here, guests indulge in a modern interpretation of a traditional Hammam experience, a pre-treatment magic carpet ride of Moroccan black soap and essential oils that relax the mind and body.

Brought to the West by Buddhist monks, Ashiatsu is an ancient form of barefoot massage available at the Golden Door Spa. Supported by bars suspended above the massage table, specially trained therapists apply incredibly powerful yet rejuvenating pressure exclusively with their feet, offering a deep muscle massage that's sure to leave guests as relaxed as a wet noodle.

###

Media Contacts:
Laura McMurchie, Vice President of Communications
Tel: 480-429-2253
E-mail: lm@scottsdalecvb.com

Tatum Luoma, Director of Public Relations
Tel: 480-889-2719
E-mail: tluoma@scottsdalecvb.com