The Spa at The Hotel Hershey is a full-service spa with unparalleled chocolate resources at its fingertips.
HOW DO YOU ESCAPE the daily stresses of your life when dinner and a movie just won’t do the trick? There is one way to cure what ails you without question…a spa resort getaway. There are several unique, full-service spa resorts in the Chesapeake region that can whisk you away from reality for a bit and massage your every need in an attempt to rehabilitate your senses and your psyche. With world-class accommodations, amenities, and spa treatment options, these destinations define what it means to get away.
Ginger McLean, spa director for The Spa At The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania has the edible resources the region is famous for at its fingertips. “We are really known for our chocolate services. By and large our cocoa massage, whipped cocoa bath, chocolate sugar scrub, and our cocoa facial experiences are very popular. We have the benefit of having the Hershey brand which makes us unique.”
There is an intrigue about bathing in chocolate but there are also studies that show the antioxidants in this sweet favorite has moisturizing and healing properties. Leigh Peek from Moorestown, New Jersey visited the Spa At The Hotel Hershey because she had read an article on their services and it was only two and half hours from her hometown. “I met my girlfriend at the spa and we had a great time. The waiting room was quiet, the hot chocolate was delicious and the spa staff made us feel like queens for the day.”
Peek returned a few months later to the spa to celebrate her sister Cheryl’s birthday and got some real “sister bonding time.” Peek is already planning another trip for her mother’s birthday. “I think this is going to be an annual event.”
In between chocolate baths and cocoa facials, guests can enjoy the luxury accommodations recently updated during The Hotel Hershey’s $67 million “Grand Expansion,” which launched as part of the Hotel’s 75th anniversary celebration. The expansion features 10 new luxury guest cottages; a multi-pool swimming complex with an infinity-edge pool; year-round ice-skating rink; new recreation area; 130-seat restaurant, Harvest; and seven new boutique shops known as The Shops At The Hotel Hershey.
Another spa on our radar is the Woodlands Spa at Nemacolin in Farmington, Pennsylvania. Spa director Lori Shubert attributes the success of the spa to the dedicated and talented professionals that provide its services. “They are passionate and very serious about what they do. They take the satisfaction of our patrons very personally.”
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is a family and luxury vacation destination on 3,000 wooded acres.
Nemacolin Woodlands Resort is a family and luxury vacation destination on 3,000 wooded acres in the Laurel Highlands of Southwestern Pennsylvania. The Woodlands Spa is a place where nature meets luxury with treatments that heal and detoxify. “The moment you enter the spa, it’s like a Feng Shui experience. I have been coming here for over seven years, and I have never met a group of people who are more talented, pleasant, happy, or relaxed,” says Viva Wolfe, patron of the Woodlands Spa at Nemacolin Woodlands.
Wolfe’s favorite treatment is the Laurel Rebalancer—an 80-minute Ayurvedic treatment where a therapist applies a blend of healing and exfoliating herbs and herbal oils to the body.You are then comfortably cocooned in steamed towels, deepening relaxation and purification and promoting a heightened sense of well-being. “I had chronic insomnia and after this treatment, my sleeping patterns have greatly improved,” confesses Wolfe.
Known for more than just its spa services, Nemacolin Woodlands Resort features 335 luxurious guestrooms, suites, townhouses, and private Luxury Homes with 36 holes of championship golf on two courses—the Pete Dye designed, PGA-tested Mystic Rock, and the Links Course. For a more rugged and adventurous experience, try the many offerings of the Adventure Center. And as the seasons change, the ski facilities at Mystic Mountain offer both downhill and cross-country enthusiasts, snowboarders and snow tubers a variety of snow sports.
Just a few hours south in Williamsburg, Virginia, you’ll find the Kingsmill Resort & Spa—Virginia’s largest golf resort, boasting 63 holes of world-class golf on 2,900 acres along the historic James River. The resort houses 425 luxurious, villa-style guest rooms and suites in an exclusive, gated community, an organic and nature-based spa, 15-court tennis center, full-service marina, six restaurants and lounges, and a state-of-the-art fitness center that includes indoor and outdoor pools, and indoor racquetball and basketball courts.
The Spa at Kingsmill Resort spa director Felicia Marcoux says, “The Spa offers a reprieve from the stresses that have become part of our daily lives. A spa experience, regardless of the length of your visit, offers a chance to relax, rejuvenate, and refresh your body, mind, and spirit.” One of the most popular services at The Spa at Kingsmill is the Seasonal Sampler Massage. The Sampler incorporates a variety of massage techniques including Swedish, hot stone, aromatherapy, deep tissue, and reflexology. “I have a taxing job as a reading specialist working with remedial children. The spa is an oasis down the street that enriches my soul,” says frequent patron and Williamsburg resident, Sue Scherling.
“It restores and energizes me. Recently, I went for a spa day with my friend who was celebrating her 50th birthday. I can’t think of a better gift…it was the right size, the right shape, the right color, and I knew it would make my friend happy,” explains Scherling.
The Spa at The Grove Park Inn Resort spa firepit and outdoor landscaping.
For a relaxing getaway with the focus on a world-class spa experience, one might consider the Spa at the Grove Park Inn Resort in Asheville, North Carolina. Nestled into the Blue Ridge Mountains the 43,000 square foot spa itself offers 37 treatment resources, and over 16,000 amenities including nine pools, steam rooms, inhalation rooms, saunas, and a Spa Café. As if this extensive facility wasn’t enough, the larger resort offers luxury accommodations, fine dining and nightlife, golf, a sports complex, and easy access to the natural beauty of Asheville and North Carolina’s Great Smoky Mountain region.
“The Fire, Rock, Water, and Light is our signature treatment, combining all the elements of our spa to create a truly unique and luxurious experience.This treatment includes a full body exfoliation using a blend of sea salts, olive oil, and essential oils of lavender, sandalwood, and rosewood, followed by a gentle Vichy waterfall massage, soothing lavender bath, cocooning body wrap, and relaxing sandalwood massage,” describes executive spa director Jaime Huffman.
The Spa at the Grove Park Inn Resort is architecturally breathtaking with most of the spa completely underground, there are several rock archways framing the magnificent rock waterfalls, leading from one pool to the next. Natural light fills most areas of the spa by day through several skylights, featuring a large pyramid-shaped skylight above the mineral pool. By night, the ambiance is set by firelight, candlelight, and moonlight.
Whichever resort you decide to visit, you won’t regret it. These spa getaways are available to you whenever you feel the need to escape and find some personalized pampering. Click here for more photos of these spa getaways.
THE SPA AT THE HOTEL HERSHEY
Signature Chocolate Spa Packages
• Hershey Kiss (1.5 hours/$175) Includes: Spa Rain Shower, Milk & Honey Soak, and 50-minute Cocoa Massage.
• Hershey Hug (2 hours/$220) Includes: Spa Rain Shower, Hydrating Body Wrap, and 50-minute Cocoa Massage.
• Chocolate Escape Package (3.5 hours/$360) Includes: Whipped Cocoa Bath, Chocolate Bean Polish or Chocolate Sugar Scrub, Chocolate Fondue Wrap, Cocoa Massage, and Lunch in The Oasis.
Classic Spa Experience Packages
• Hershey Full Day (5.5 hours/$465) Includes: Traditional Massage, Personal Prescription Facial, Hershey Spa Manicure, Hershey Spa Pedicure, The Hotel Hershey Scalp Treatment, and Lunch in The Oasis.
For the Men
• For The Hershey Man (3.5 hours/$315) Includes: Traditional Massage, Men’s Facial – Gentlemen’s Pedicure, and Lunch in The Oasis.
WOODLANDS SPA AT NEMACOLIN WOODLANDS
• The Woodlands Classic Collection (2 hours/$309) Includes: Swedish Massage, Woodlands Personalized Facial, Woodlands Scrub, and Woodlands Spa Manicure.
• The Nature’s Elements (2 hours/$365) Includes: Thermal Mineral Bath, Hot Stone Massage, Detoxifying Wrap, and Echoes of the Earth.
For the Men
• The Woodlands Man (3 hours/$349) Includes: Mystical Massage, Facial, Pedi-kur, and Mani-kur.
THE SPA AT THE GROVE PARK INN RESORT
• Fire, Rock, Water and Light (80 minutes/$275) Includes: Softening soak, Full-body Exfoliation, Vichy Waterfall Massage, Healing Body Masque, and a Relaxing Massage
• Waterfall Body Experience (80 minutes/$250) Includes: Full-body Exfoliation, Cascading Vichy Waterfall, and a Soothing Massage
For the Men
• Gentlemen’s De-Stress Body Treatment (80 minutes/$270) Includes: Exfoliation, Wrap, and Half-hour massage.
THE SPA KINGSMILL RESORT
Full-Day Experiences
• James River Signature Experience (6 hours/$510) Includes: Lomi Lomi Massage, River’s Edge Wrap, Cleansing Spring Facial, Deep Rivers Hydrating Manicure, Deep Rivers Hydrating Pedicure, and Spa Cuisine Lunch.
• Tulips Together (4 hours/$660) Includes: Evening Bloom Duct Massage, Cleansing Spring Facials for Two, Express Manicure for Two, Express Pedicure for Two, and Spa Cuisine Lunch for Two.
• Day Blossom Experience (5 hours/$385) Includes: Springs of Rejuvenation Facial, Fresh Fields Aromatherapy Massage, Eternal Springs Manicure, Eternal Springs Pedicure, and Spa Cuisine Lunch.
For the Men
• For the Gentleman (3.5 hours/$295) Includes: Gentleman’s Choice Facial, Par Excellence Golf Massage, Revitalizing Greens Pedicure, and The MANicure
Jennifer K. Dansicker is Special Projects Editor for ChespeakeHome.
Contacts:
The Spa at Kingsmill Resort: kingsmill.com or 800-965-4772
The Spa at the Grove Park Inn Resort: groveparkinn.com or 800-438-0050
The Spa At The Hershey Hotel: chocolatespa.com or 717-520-5888
Woodlands Spa at Nemacolin Woodlands: nemacolin.com or 800-422-2736
