Uncompromising Luxury
The Ritz-Carlton The Ritz-Carlton Spa Naples
by Matt Morgan
 There
are those telltale signs of friends just returned from a resort vacation. Most
noticeably, they are glowing and tan. Most enviously, they have a rejuvenated
bounce in their step. And most likely, they can’t stop talking about it—how
the beach was pristine, how the tennis or golf was just the right medicine,
how the rest and relaxation was a savior from the rigors of workaday life. Then
there is The Ritz-Carlton, Naples, which for nearly 20 years has been the quintessence
of resort life. It’s that need for R and R that has guests of The Ritz in Southern
Florida calling on its Spa, where accommodating staff provide a diverse menu
of tension-melting massages, facials and wraps featuring top ingredients.
The Ritz-Carlton, Naples treats visitors to the ultimate experience for any
occasion, including golf, tennis, fitness and water sports. With a breathtaking
three-mile view of Gulf of Mexico beaches, the five-star resort features world-class
dining and is a massage stone’s throw from first-class shopping.
Due to the state’s unique climate, outdoor activities could be halted on a
moment’s notice by a downpour or hindered by unforgiving humidity. Since April
2001, The Ritz-Carlton Spa there has been giving resort guests a respite from
the elements and a reminder why people need pampering every now and then.
Let the indulging begin.
The Spa
Guests arrive at The Spa’s concierge desk 30 minutes before their treatment.
After checking in, they are escorted to the locker area. They can enjoy a cold
and a hot plunge in the Jacuzzi, a steam and sauna, or just relax in a designated
area in each locker room. “At that point they’re escorted to the third floor
of The Spa, where we have a co-ed conservatory and a spa deck,” says Eric Ricard,
assistant spa director. There, guests can lounge by a Hungarian mineral pool,
or otherwise enjoy aromatherapy and relaxing music over a cup of tea.
When it is time for the appointment, the therapist escorts the clients to one
of 30 treatment rooms for the service. Afterward, guests are led back to the
conservatory, locker room or spa deck, where they may stay the rest of the day
for a soak or swim, a good magazine, or a cold wash cloth—whatever may complement
their treatments.
“It’s beautiful,” Ricard says.
The Spa maintains the ambiance of The Ritz-Carlton: a blend of antique accents
and elegant, yet casual earth-tone colors, along with an inviting harmony of
wrought iron, Mediterranean murals and marble tile. Water fountains sit on the
first floor, the soothing sound from which reaches up the open center to the
enormous dome at the ceiling and reflects throughout each of the three floors.
In early 2002, following suggestions from guests, The Spa was quick to identify
the growing demand for sunless tanning treatments. Spray tanning commenced at
The Ritz, adding a cosmetic, golden glow to the list of options provided by
The Spa. The airbrush bronzing treatment is especially welcome in Naples given
the weather’s unpredictability.
“We thought, What happens if some of the guests are here on vacation for three
days and for some reason hit two days of rain— it’s not the result they want
from a Florida vacation,” Ricard says.
“They go back home and they need to be a little tanner than everybody else
there. We can provide a treatment that will make them comfortable even if they
miss the sun. We can make them look younger and more refreshed with a better
tan without sitting in the sun for three days in a row.”
The Ritz’s winter guests hail from the Midwest and Northeast.
Summer clients arrive from Washington, D.C. south through South Carolina. Spa
guests vary in age but follow a 70-30 ratio of women to men. Nearly 90 percent
of airbrush bronzing clients are women.
An average of 15 clients each week receive the airbrush spa bronzing, up 10
percent to 20 percent from the previous year. The Spa sees its most customers
from mid-January to the end of May; however, business is steady year-round for
airbrush tans, proving that desirable brown skin knows no season.
Airbrush Bronzing
The Ritz asks $135 for its airbrush spa bronzing, which is right in line with
the other services. What guests get is an hour-long skin transformation.
“We start with a light exfoliation to remove the dead skin so the ingredient
can penetrate your skin a lot easier,” Ricard explains. “Then we shower you
up and dry you up, and then we apply the spray.”
The Ritz uses sunless solution that contains dihydroxyacetone, or DHA, which
is the heart of most products on the market today. DHA is a colorless sugar
that reacts with skin proteins, including amino acids, in the outermost layer
of skin called the stratum corneum. The reaction develops brown skin coloring
that looks very similar to a natural tan.
Subsequent spray applications are available for additional charges.
After the spray application, the technician slightly dries the client and applies
a moisturizer. “You want to keep moisturizing your skin,” Ricard says. “You
don’t want to go back and do any activities that will make you sweat, and we
don’t advise them to go in the pool where there are chemicals that will affect
the final result of the spray.”
The sunless tan sets in five to seven hours and lasts five to seven days, depending
on a variety of factors including skin type, Ricard says. “We have some self-tanning
ampoules that will help you out if you want to keep the tan a little longer,”
he says.
Sunless treatments are performed by The Spa’s massage therapists. About half
of the 35 massage therapists are certified by the solution manufacturer to perform
airbrush tans. Ricard can’t reveal the name of the solution or equipment manufacturers
because The Ritz does not endorse individual products.
We believe that we utilize the best ingredients, the best exfoliant and the
best moisturizer,” Ricard says. “Everything that we do here at The Ritz, we
benchmark ourselves in utilizing the best products, the best ingredients, the
best staff.”
On The Menu
 Of
course spa staples continue to be the most requested services at The Ritz. “Just
like any other spa, the massage is very popular,” Ricard says. “We do a beautiful
stone massage here, a Tao stone massage.” During this 60- or 90-minute massage
($145-$215), clients are seduced by a blend of Asian aromatic extracts and smooth,
heated stones to reach and relax muscles. The Spa also offers a contouring massage,
therapeutic massage, relaxation massage and combination hydrotherapy and therapeutic
massage.
“Also our facials are extremely popular—the anti-aging facial is probably the
most popular that we have on the menu at this time,” Ricard adds. Products are
specially formulated to fight the signs of aging. The facial begins with an
exfoliation and ends with an intensive mask for skin elasticity and hydration.
The anti-aging facial also can be combined with a seawater hydro-massage. Other
treatments include The Spa’s “experience the senses” facial, hydrating honey
cream facial, purifying oxygenating facial, gentlemen’s cool facial, traditional
European facial, and a purifying facial combined with a detoxifying seaweed
bath ($115-$210).
The A, C and E vitamin-rich body mask is the most-requested wrap, Ricard says.
After a full-body exfoliation, clients are covered in a penetrating cream rich
in thermal waters, algae extract and vitamins that visibly improves skin elasticity,
according to the resort. The Ritz also performs an oxygenating sea-mud mask,
an aromatic sea body envelopment and warm citrus-oil wrap ($135).
The Ritz also bundles its popular services into attractive packages. For example,
through March, Mercedes-Benz “Key to Luxury” gives driving enthusiasts a club-level
room with a coastal view and daily use of a Benz for $539 and up. Through mid-December,
golf nuts can get coastal accommodations and a round of golf at the neighboring
Tiburón Golf Club starting at $599.
The Ritz also showcases experiences specifically for the spagoer —most of which
will be changed for the new year. Spa Escape puts guests on a table for a massage
and in a room for a night for as low as $389. Earlier in the year, Ritz-Carlton
Basics gave guests more than four hours of the basics—a relaxation massage,
traditional European facial, manicure and pedicure— from $325 per person. For
the guys, there was Gentleman’s Relaxation, which treated a lucky man to a therapeutic
massage and cooling marine facial for $225 and up. New packages will be similar
to the current offerings.
The general public is becoming more aware of skin health and fitness, Ricard
says. Spa-goers tend to be more knowledgeable than most, and this is evident
by the increased demand for the airbrush bronzing treatment.
“I think the population is getting more and more familiar with the risks of
overexposure,” Ricard says. “People really want to take care of themselves now,
and they do some research on their own and utilize spas to educate themselves
on their bodies and skin products.”
So not only are spa clients getting the best treatments money can buy at The
Ritz-Carlton Spa, Naples, they’re doing it armed with more information than
ever before about themselves and their world’s impact on them. It’s a powerful
combination that benefits the provider side of the spa business—and it’s no
wonder consumers gloat about their resort vacations.
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