Because I'm Worth It

Sydney Morning Herald

Wednesday May 3, 2006

By Harriet Alexander

Health and beauty spas have gone from being a rare treat to an everyday indulgence - for some.

Call it self-indulgence or self-preservation but the number of people prepared to shell out hundreds, or even thousands, of dollars on treatments at health spas has gone through the roof. This bathrobe-clad army, of mostly wealthy women between 20 and 60, needs little convincing of the value of me-time.

"We're overloaded with toxins and stress," says self-described spa guru Kirien Withers, spokeswoman for the Australasian Spa Association.

"Our health and mental and emotional wellbeing is challenged with every breath. Staying really well and vital and healthy is a challenge in these times and it's very important to utilise everything that's available to stay well."

For devotees such as Briana Oxley, 27, the rationale is much simpler.

"I get treatments all the time," she says. "I'm all about me. I think I deserve to be spoilt at all times."

The independent research company Intelligent Spas found that spa visits grew by 17.5 per cent from 2002 to 2003. The most up-to-date statistics are still being compiled but anecdotal evidence suggests the rise did notstop there.

The day spas and health retreats contacted by the Herald confirm their customer base has been growing since the early '90s and the number of outlets has proliferated.

Getting a precise handle on the size of the spa industry, however, can be difficult because of a lack of agreement on what qualifies as a spa. The Australasian Spa Association's guidelines cover four broad categories: day spas, destination spas, natural bathing spas and related spas. Most require the outlet to offer body therapy and water therapy.

The prices and treatments vary but they usually have a choice of packages.

At the glamour end of the day spa market is Spa Chakra at Woolloomooloo, which has "medispa" treatments such as reiki and anti-wrinkle therapy. A 90-minute spa facial there will set you back $195, a naturopathy health assessment $420, an hour of reiki $140. Whole-day packages range from $800 to $1040.

Zen Day Spa, which has branches in Woollahra and Darlinghurst, has a variety of packages with names such as rejuvenation, recovery and renewal. A 31/2 hour indulgence package, which includes a facial, spa bath, manicure and pedicure, is $273.

Golden Door's Elysia in the Hunter Valley is one of the newest health retreats in NSW. Guests can stay a minimum of two nights or follow a program of treatments and seminars that cost from $1530 for five days in a quad-share villa, to $2215 for seven days in a single villa, if booked 60 days in advance. Late bookings are about $500 more.

Solar Springs Health Resort near Bundanoon costs about half that. A five-day visit costs from $715 for a budget share room up to $1155 for a valley-view single room. That includes meals, use of the gym and aquatic centre and supervised activities. Extra treatments or packages can be booked and paid for as extras.

Brook Ramage, managing director of the day spa and health-retreat chain Golden Door, speaks for many when he predicts small spas will not survive in the long term.

"What I think will happen is what happened in America," Ramage says. "There was an explosion where a lot of spas were built and then there was a rationalisation and it was brought back to a level where there were only one or two in any major city. In Sydney there might be a [few] more because there's probably more wealth."

The boom has also created confusion as the industry's attempts to develop accreditation, benchmarks and definitions have lagged behind the growth in the number of businesses.

The Australasian Spa Association has been working to change this. It has created an icon system that will indicate to customers what rating they can expect from each spa and whether it has water treatments such as vichy showers, hydrotherapy, steam, swimming pools or mineral springs.

Until then, the best thing for customers is to become more spa savvy and ask questions before booking, Withers says. Is it possible to have a steam before appointments? What type of massages are available?

"The more you inform yourself about what types of spa services and wellness therapies are available the better you're able to decide what's best for you, what you're looking for [and] what questions to ask," Withers says.

Briana Oxley found what she was looking for at the Gold Coast's Golden Door, where she kickstarted a program that allowed her to cut her weight by20 kilograms.

"You feel like you've been away for a month and you're a whole new person," Oxley says. "It's like, 'Right, I'm changing my life."'

Golden Door is among the more dictatorial health retreats, with cigarettes, alcohol, sugar and visits to the outside world banned. This does not suit everybody.

Gaish Albert has twice visitedthe Gold Coast retreat and cheated. Once she was dobbed in by another guest for smoking. Management threatened expulsion. The other time, she and another guest drove to Surfers Paradise, he for cake and she for cigarettes and wine.

So why go? "I think it's the thing to do and we think it might break our habits, even if we can't do it ourselves," she says.

QUICKFACT

The most common disappointment among spa customers of both sexes is unprofessional therapists, according to a 2005 Intelligent Spa survey. They complained therapists used bad technique, ignored their requests and unnecessarily left them physically exposed.

A health retreat for all seasons

There's not much Ros Gestier doesn't know about health retreats.

From Golden Door on the Gold Coast, to Hopewood at Wallacia and Solar Springs, Bundanoon, she is familiar with the quirks, pitfalls and luxury a retreat can offer. She usually goes alone, yet the social aspect is one of the things she enjoys most.

"It's one of the few holidays that you can go and holiday with like-minded people and have a good time," Gestier says.

Each facility offers treatments, pampering, fitness activities and healthy food but there the similarities end.

"If you really want serious health and pampering the Golden Door in Queensland is excellent," she says. "It's a place to get very, very fit in a short time. You can see quite a difference in five days."

She visits Bundanoon's Solar Springs four times a year, so she can see it in every season. It is more affordable than Golden Door and she loves the setting, on the escarpment above Morton National Park.

The scenery at Hopewood is "ordinary", but the food is delicious and it was where she kicked her caffeine habit. "I actually gave up cake, because they go hand-in-hand."

© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald

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