Taking Care of You
the spa at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel

I can’t walk into this particular hotel without thinking about Julia Roberts and her unforgettable character in Pretty Woman. What better place to spend some time making yourself into a pretty woman? The newly renovated Spa at the Beverly Wilshire is there to satisfy your every desire; from the semi-outdoor entrance flanking the gorgeous pool to the signature personal service, this spa is worth a trip, whether it be across town or across the country.

Greeted with a platter including pure pomegranate juice and a dark chocolate-covered marshmallow, I immediately felt at home, since that’s what I have for breakfast when no one’s looking. After filling out the comprehensive intake form, I was whisked through the beautifully tiled halls by an attentive attendant and shown my locker as well as the relaxation area, steam room and ice fountain. A steam-room junkie, I plunged immediately into the dark abyss of the grand-sized steam room, stopping first to choose an aromatherapy cooling towel from the selection by the door. I felt my muscles relax and the particular body-clenching spirit of coach air travel leave me as I gazed at the lights overhead. The ceiling was pin-pricked with tiny incandescent lights that moved through the color spectrum as I watched with rapt attention.

Wanting to leave plenty of time to enjoy the relaxation lounge before my treatment, I scooted out of the steam room when I got as hot as I could take and rushed directly into the cooling shower, choosing the Atlantic Squall setting (other settings included Tropical Rainforest and Caribbean Showers). Having been on the coast of Maine in many a squall, I can assure you this was authentic, with the exception of a Helly Hansen raincoat.

The relaxation lounge is first-class, with chaises separated by gauzy curtains and topped with cashmere blankets for each individual guest to snuggle with. The lighting is very low, discouraging me to fill my mind with the nearby fashion magazines and instead just relax. Before long, my therapist greeted me warmly and let me to the treatment room.

The Spa at the Beverly Wilshire is special in that it offers “Personalized Time” treatments - the client doesn’t have to commit ahead of time to a particular facial or body service. Part of the attentive and intuitive therapist’s job is to ask the client about their goals and wishes for the treatment. It might sound like an analytical beginning to what is supposed to be a time of relaxation, but might I add that this chat between therapist and client takes place during the ritual foot bath that begins every personalized treatment. Lead therapist Carolyn Chamberlain listened to me complain about my stressful schedule and coach-class flight woes before suggesting that we spend most of the time on massage, with a short facial cleanse thrown in and a body scrub to finish it off.

The massage was divine, and I spent those eighty minutes or so in limbo between sleep and wakefulness. She used a rejuvinating essence in the massage medium, which I chose simply by smelling the options - not by it’s name or purpose. Moving into the facial, she did an expert and thorough cleansing and facial massage with the addition of some Espa Pink Hair and Scalp Mud to nourish my tired head. The scrub was next, and the application of the scrub was languid and soft, not breaking the mood of the long massage that preceded it. After removal with hot towels, I stepped into the in-room rainforest-style shower and rinsed away any cares I had remaining.

The “Personalized Time” is a great concept, especially when traveling - what if you book yourself a salt and sugar scrub and mistakenly get a nasty sunburn the day before? There’s much to be said for going for what your body wants the moment you walk in those spa doors. Needless to say, I left those doors a very happy little spa writer.