While Atlantic City may be easier and cheaper to get to for many customers like Caliri, that doesn? mean the treatments themselves are a bargain. A 50-minute massage costs in the low three figures at most spas, and some extravagant treatments reach well into four figures. Qua, for example, offers a three-hour US$5,000 treatment called Dieci Mani: Five attendants administer an exfoliation; a hot stone massage; an Ayurvedic shirodhara treatment, in which warm oil is poured on the forehead; a chakra balancing that uses different colored stones to balance the body? energy; and a facial.
Customers go home with US$1,500 in skin-care products and a US$1,000 bag from one of the Pier Shops, like Louis Vuitton or Gucci.
The couples' treatments at Immersion start at US$550, and the least expensive manicure at Red Door is US$27. Most places add an additional 20 percent gratuity, which guests usually have the option of adjusting.
But even in the slowed economy, and even at those prices, most spas say that bookings are up or holding steady. Jackie Moyers, the assistant general manager of Red Door, said that business was up between 5 percent and 10 percent last month from the same month last year and that weekends were still booked to capacity.
Spas tend to stay strong in slow economic times, International Spa Association president Lynne McNees said.
?fter 9/11, people flocked to spas in record numbers and we're finding that they're still going now,?she said. ?hey may cut down on the length of treatment they get, but they have a psychological need of wanting to be nurtured during stressful periods.?br />
The steady bookings, however, did come at a cost for some spas. Those that noticed a slowdown recently introduced discounts, spa directors said. Spa Toccare, for example, still sells out on the weekends, but it introduced a 50-minute US$99 massage Sunday through Thursday ?a 20 percent discount from the usual price ?to bolster weekday bookings. And Qua is offering a different sale every month, like one next month that offers a 50-minute massage, body exfoliation or facial for US$99. That? between 40 percent and 65 percent off the usual price.
While Immersion did not lower costs, it introduced the option of 50-minute treatments in November, shorter than the previous 80-minute minimum, to offer less-expensive choices. Both the Water Club, where Immersion is located, and Borgata, home of Spa Toccare, are jointly owned by MGM Mirage and Boyd Gaming.
Nonetheless, Immersion is perhaps the most deluxe of the spas. The 3,344m?space is on the top two levels of the Water Club and has a glass-enclosed pool with views of the city and ocean. Items from a menu created by the chef Geoffrey Zakarian can be served at a poolside chaise longue or table.
RSS