Travel Now Insights

Spa for a day

From Carolyn O'Neil
CNN Travel Now Senior Correspondent

April 14, 2000
Web posted at: 4:25 p.m. EDT (2025 GMT)

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Feeling harried, run down, in need of a vacation but you just don't have the time?

Do you have a day? Consider spending it in a spa.

It's the perfect rejuvenating experience for someone in a time crunch, says Teresa McKee, of the Elizabeth Arden Red Door Salon & Spa in Manhattan.

"Many people do not have time to go to a resort spa," she says, "so they take a little break and come into a day spa for an hour or afternoon."

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The calming decor at Red Door creates an oasis dedicated to beauty. Clients can choose from pedicures, massages and steamy facials -- activities that allow for bonding time.

"My daughter gave it (a spa trip) to me as a gift for Mother's Day," one woman says. "And I said, 'Well, you should come along and we'll spend the day together.'"

Another client, who came with his wife, agrees: "It's just a great way to relax."

"The weekend is the only time we get to be together," adds his wife. "So it's nice to have an activity that we can both do together."

The concept of going to a spa, while not new -- spa pioneer Elizabeth Arden began giving facials in 1910 -- remains popular, and growing .

"In 1980, there were about 30" spas, says Sheryl Sciro of Spa finder. "Now there are about 1,600. ... People are getting a touch of what it is to take care of yourself."

Many people include stops at Frederic Fekkai for beauty treatments as part of their travel plans. A native of France, Fekkai says his spa brings a touch of Provence to New York.

"I think it's very soothing, the colors of Provence, the scent of Provence," he says. "It is very important to have serenity and feel like you're in a place where you're going to be pampered and taken care of."

One client says she recalls living in Moscow and dreaming of her trips to the United States, where a visit to Fekkai beckoned.

"Whenever I would come back to New York," she says, "I would stop in and ... get a pedicure and manicure and a little indulgence."

Fekkai's world renown brings joy to staffers too.

"It's just a nice honor to have people coming from far away to visit us," says Fekkai's Regine Berthelot.

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September 1999
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Elizabeth Arden: Red Door Salon & Spa
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About Frederic Fekkai Beaute de Provence

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