What is Spa? What Are the Different Types of Spa?

The word Spa brings to the mind an image of a long day filled with meditation classes, mud baths, and exquisite cuisine. Spas are almost everywhere, village storefronts, strip malls. There are salons with one massage table tout. Now the meaning of Spa has changed compared to the 19th century. A spa is a place where you receive facials, body scrubs, massages, and many other services included on the menu in overnight or day spa settings.

The Differences Between Spas

Confusion often arises because the difference the spa industry uses to convey about the different experiences a guest should expect has become very blurred.

Traditional destination spas offer alluring wellness experience and refer to themselves as spa resorts. On the other hand, Traditional resort spas have now added wellness services like personal trainers, exercise classes, and even consultations with medical professionals.

However, if you like going to the Spa or are thinking of going for the first time, it will be helpful to know about different types of spa facilities and how they are labeled. This way, you will know what to expect at your spa visit.

Spa Definition

The International Spa Association defines spas as “places devoted to enhancing overall wellbeing through a variety of professional services that encourage the renewal of mind, body, and spirit.” 

This definition is extremely broad and is meant to include various types of spas that operate—approximately 20,000 spas in the United States.

Here is a list of different types of spas and everything you need to know about to become a savvy spa consumer.

Day Spas

A day spa is a place where you get the least facials, massages on per visit basis. Almost 80% of the spas are day spas, but not all of them are the same. A day spa includes low-cost chains without any locker rooms and robes, and you have to undress in the same room. You may find some local spas with small additional rooms.

A traditional day spa offers many services, which also includes nails and body treatments. They also provide amenities like robes, changing rooms, slippers, sauna, steam room, and also a tranquility room with treats such as lemon water, tea, nuts, and dried fruits.

A day spa is often associated with salons, but it should always be on a different floor or a separate wing to keep the atmosphere calm and serene. Often many resort spas are open for locals and are usually more expensive but provide lavish facilities. 

Medical Spas

Medical spas are hybrid between a day spa and medical clinic that operates under medical doctor’s supervision. Common services that are rendered at medical spas are laser hair removal, laser treatments, intensive pulsed light treatments, photo facials, microdermabrasion, botox and fillers, skin tightening, chemical peels, treatment of cellulite and skin rejuvenation.

Club Spas

Club spas are located in fitness clubs like Equinox. The primary purpose of a club spa is fitness, but at the same time, it also offers spa services administered professionally on a day-use basis. The non-club members are also allowed to utilize the spa facilities because the Spa is located in a sperate area away from the main gym section.

Mineral Springs Spa

The mineral spa offers a source of natural mineral, seawater, or thermal used in Hydrotherapy treatments. Mineral spring spa was the historical root of amazing spa experiences when the people used to travel to mineral waters to get health benefits. In the 19th-century Spa, culture reached the Zenith when wealthy people gathered at the pleasure places to be seen and to see. Many of the Spa-like Omni Homestead in Hot Springs, Greenbrier West Virginia, and Baden Baden spas in Germany are still open till today and are offering yesteryear feel with modern offerings.

 There were also some basic hot springs like the one in New Mexico named Ojo Caliente. Mineral spring spas stepped out of modern medicine development in the 20th century. But people have now again realized the benefits of a good relaxing soak.

Destination Spas 

Destination spas are usually small but select highly influential spa groups devoted to providing alluring wellness experience. The whole spa environment is focused on promoting a healthy lifestyle, with lots of lectures and exercise classes aiming at mental and physical wellness, special interest programs like hiking. Destination Spas usually require a minimum of two days’ stay of 2-3 nights and also encourage even longer stays. These are often age-restricted and are usually allowed for people above 16/18.

The most expensive and famous traditional destination spa example is Golden door and Canyon Ranch. There are other budget-friendly options providing health-oriented spa experience minus the luxury factor.

One tricky thing about any destination spa is that even when everyone knows what the term means in the industry, consumers don’t. Many destination spas have changed their name to Resort & Spa or spa resort, to reflect the way they are searched on the internet.

Prices are inclusive of meals, accommodation, lectures, and classes. They also provide spa credits which can be used towards the services.

Resort and Hotel Spas

During the 1990s, many hotels and resorts started offering spa services for the guest alongside other pleasures and entertainment like tennis, swimming, and golf, while they stay in the hotel for pleasure or business purposes.

As the Spa began to become important, so did the spas in hotels and resorts. Many resort spas have also added health-focused roster like exercise classes. They have also started gyms and fitness centers and also a personal trainer facility. Some resorts have also added wellness centers focused on improving health.

The lines have clearly become blur ut. There are a few things that have not changed since then.

Resort spas have many options for wellness, but you can also eat 10 ounces of steak and curly fries along with a bottle of wine if you like.

Usually, Spa and meals are billed separately in the resort. There are around 2000 hotel spas and resort in the US, ranging from small spas to fancy and luxurious pas like Las Vegas Spas. This makes research and investigation very important about what the Spa offers instead of trusting the claims they make. 

Depending upon the resort, property and hotel spas make for a great choice for couples, business travelers, and families. Cruise ship spas are also a way to enhance the guest experience.

Relaxation and Pampering Spa

This Spa has usually owned and located inside a resort and is aimed towards providing professional relaxation treatments and beauty treatments. The Spa remains in its own confined space and does not spread over to the other areas of the resort. The Spa offers first-class beauty treatments like personalized massages, hydrotherapy treatments, body scrubs, and thermal circuits.

Ayurvedic Spa

Ayurvedic is a Sanskrit word meaning “ The knowledge for long life.” Ayurveda is a traditional ancient Hindu healing system. This concept of massage improves the health and wellbeing of the person by creating a balanced body, mind, and soul through lifestyle assortments. The treatments in Ayurvedic Spa are based on herbal diet, preparations, purification, and yoga.

Anti-Aging Spa

The main aim of the anti-aging Spa is to reverse any signs of aging and to help you maintain a healthy natural glow through the combination of nutrition and aesthetic treatments. It works on the principle that healthy aging comes internally from within. The right diet plays an important role in rehydrating and regenerating the skin. Active skincare treatments reveal great skin tone and texture and strengthen the skin cells. You will enjoy a holistic therapy which will leave you feeling and looking rejuvenated. This is one of the oldest healthcare forms around the world and is a very popular choice for a healing holiday.

Thalassotherapy Spa

This Spa uses seawater to provide a therapeutic experience. This is an ancient healing tradition used since the Roman era for welness and cosmetic purposes. If it combines the hydro pressure technique with water to aid circulation and draw out skin impurities, this technique also helps in toning the muscles and reduce cellulite marks on the body and also aids the weight loss process.

Detox Spa Holidays

Detox spa became popular because of the health benefits it provides through good nutrition, wellbeing activities, treatments like yoga, body detoxification, and stress reduction. You receive detox consultation before starting your detox spa holiday program to help establish clear goals and customize the program wherever necessary, to tailor it according to you.

Hammam Spa Holidays

This spa service was created back in the Roman Thermae times and built to follow the communal cleansing and bathing traditions. That evolved over the years, and today it is called urban Hammam experience and Spa. The hammam uses refreshing essential oils and is infused in the air with the steam it is absorbed into the skin. This helps in cleansing and relaxing you and helps to release built-up toxins and stress from the body. This is also popularised Turkish tradition now.

Benefits of Spa 

Spa services are not just for luxury purposes, but it also has many benefits for health and general wellbeing.

Some of the benefits of Spa are:

Muscle Pain

The biggest benefit of a spa is getting relief from muscle pain. Studies have shown that the Spa has improved muscle pain relief in people who suffer from shoulder and neck pain. People with chronic neck pain should get regular massages every week to relieve the pain.

Improves Sleep

When your body is in a relaxed state, the substance that causes stress is eliminated from the body, and there are higher chances of falling asleep and getting a sound sleep. You must have seen that some people even fall asleep on the massage table mid massage.

 Lower Blood Pressure

Increased blood pressure is very common in people who experience more stress, which can also result in hypertension for many people.the benefit of going to the Spa is getting relief from stress. This will help in lowering the blood pressure.

Hot tub baths and steam baths are also known to reduce stress and result in low blood pressure because of reduced stress levels.

Reduces Your Anxiety

Stress and anxiety are very closely related. If you are able to get rid of the stress, then you will be able to take care of your anxiety, too, with the help of spa and massage services.

Diabetes and Weight Loss

Studies show that massage therapy has positive effects on patients suffering from diabetes. Regular spa and massage help increase insulin absorption in diabetic people. Also, receiving massages helps to normalize blood glucose levels in diabetic patients and also improves diabetic Neurotherapy. 

Improved Immunity

Improved lymphatic drainage system naturally means an improved immune system. The Lymphatic system is also a part of the immune system of the body and when the Spa uses lymphatic drainage massage to improve the lymphatic system. This has positive effects on the immune system of the body.

Digestive Disorders

There are various spa services for the body that helps in treating digestive issues such as constipation. Many massage techniques prove to be effective in relieving digestive discomforts and common digestive disorders. For instance, there are many issues for which you can use techniques like stomach massages to relieve the problem. Problems like menstrual pain, constipation. Bloated stomach, diarrhea, etc.

Sports Injuries

It is a well-known fact that massage therapy helps in getting relief from injury pain like dislocations and sprains, etc.massage also helps the injured athletes in recovering faster from their injury and helps them to perform better quickly.