Welcome! Welcome to DiscoverSpas.com! I'm Julie Register, and I've provided information about spas on the Internet for over 15 years. On this page, you will find the latest: • summaries of and links to reviews of the spas I’ve experienced, • summaries of and links to opinion pieces, • upcoming spa courses I will teach, • events for spa consumers, • events for spa professionals, • articles about spa business, • lists of best spas, • news about spas, • news about people in the spa industry, • spa products, • spa studies, • reports on spa industry events that I’ve attended and • information about my other company SpaQuality LLC.
I invite you to explore the site further by clicking on the links to the left – US and global spa directories to help you find your next spa experience, archives of all the reviews and much more. If all this interests you, you may want to receive the monthly e-newsletter that highlights the newest information on DiscoverSpas.com. Just enter your email address in the purple box at the top of this page and click "GO".
Around the edges of each page of the site, you’ll find links to carefully selected spa products and books from online shops. I encourage you to click on these links and appreciate any purchases you make on those sites. Please click on the related Google links that interest you, as well. These are ways that this site is funded and is able to provide this comprehensive spa information to you.
Finally, if yours is a spa that's enjoyed referrals from a free listing I've provided in the last 15 years, I encourage you to upgrade your spa's listing and help support this site.
A large sign in an unweeded garden marked the entrance to Poplar Springs The INN Spa. A long paved drive led past fields and a pond and over a hill deep into the 200-acre property to a cluster of buildings - a big red barn with a tall white silo, small white outbuildings, a large newer building and a large stone older building. The large newer building was built in 2002 and houses the inn and spa. The large stone older building next to it was completed in 1929 and now houses the Manor House Restaurant. Like the entrance garden, the grounds were a little shaggy. I wasn't sure if it was just because it was spring, and they hadn't started seasonal gardening, things were heading down that slippery slope of disrepair or if this was just part of the "charm." When we walked into the inn, however, it was a different story. Everything looked clean and well cared for. We were having a mid-week girl's spa getaway. Read about our experience at Poplar Springs The INN Spa.
The Spa @ Eventi
On my last visit to New York City, I arranged to have a facial at the spa of a relatively new hotel just a few blocks from the Penn Station. I thought it would be great to relax and renew before my train ride home. I enjoyed chatting with the therapist and the facial so much, I added on a massage. Fortunately, they had an opening. Read about my experience at the Spa @ Eventi.
THE EXPERIENCE - Part 3
I've been thinking about the spa experience again. This time it was due to my decision to change where I get my pedicures. Personally, I've classified pedicures and manicures in my mind under grooming - much like getting my hair cut or my teeth cleaned. Not really relaxing. Not really a spa experience. I may have changed my mind on that. Read More...
Effective Spa Team Leadership
An article written by Julie Register and Linda Bankoski for the May 2012 issue of Spa Professional Magazine. Reproduced with their permission
A spa's success is dependent on how well the staff works together as a team to understand and serve its Guests. It is the team leader's responsibility to create a work environment that engages the hearts and minds of the team members and motivates them to act together according to the spa's values. Effective teamwork accomplishes the spa's vision and mission. When the team is engaged, each member is committed both intellectually and emotionally to the spa's Guests and the spa's success. This cultivates a more tranquil and supportive environment in which to work. This positive energy directly impacts the Guests.
2,250 attendees from 38 countries attended the 21st ISPA Conference & Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada November 7th, 8th and 9th, 2011 at the Mandalay Bay Conference Center. The theme was Believe. Each of the three general sessions featured inspiring and interesting keynote speakers. The annual ISPA Foundation Live and Silent Auction raised $102,000 to fund scholarships, educational spa resources and research. I attended five of the 20 professional development sessions as well as the expo. One of my favorite parts of the conference, as always, was the opportunity to catch up with many of my spa friends that I only see at this event. Read about my highlights of the 2011 conference.
SpaQuality LLC awards The Spa Ritual with Level 4 SpaExcellenceSM Certification
The Spa Ritual, a day spa in Calgary, Alberta, Canada has achieved SpaExcellenceSM certification for the second year in a row. Last year, The Spa Ritual achieved Level 3 SpaExcellenceSM certification by having a formal, documented quality system in place for everything it does as specified by The International Standards of SpaExcellenceSM2010 from SpaQuality LLC - day-to-day operations, Guest interactions, behind-the-scenes processes, leadership, teamwork, system evaluation and continual improvement. This year’s assessment by SpaQuality LLC verified that The Spa Ritual’s quality system continues to function in accordance with The Standards but found that the system was performing at an even higher level. The Spa Ritual now emphasizes and benefits from continual improvement. As a result, The Spa Ritual is the first spa to obtain Level 4 SpaExcellenceSM certification. READ MORE...
~Julie
SpaQuality Education
SpaQuality LLC to Teach 6-Week On-Line Quality Management Course for Spas this Winter.
Julie Register and Linda Bankoski teach Building and Sustaining High Quality Systems for Spas in partnership with the University of California - Irvine Extension's online Spa and Hospitality Management Certificate Program. The 6-week course is offered as an online certificate elective. However, it may be taken without enrolling in the full certificate. The textbook for this course is The International Standards of SpaExcellenceSM. The next course will be offered July 2 – August 12, 2012.
Click HERE to order a student PDF copy of the Textbook.
Here's a sample typical of the feedback provided by the past course participants:
Just loved the structured approach and the seemingly easy, straight forward way of explaining a complex system. Thank you for sharing and I have learned so much.
The instructors were very knowledgeable and very available for any questions we had as students.
The presentations were very organized & straightforward. Great visuals & examples. The instructorswere very friendly, helpful & knowledgeable.
Loved the sharing of ideas that we got from this class. It opens up so much creative thinking.
The processes and systems are high level and could be applied to so many businesses. I can think of several ways to implement these learnings. At the same time, I gained knowledge specific to spa business.
The course materials are great resources.
What an interesting assignment. I would never have attacked a problem the way you suggested in the reading...but what a great way to put a value to the problem and identify what needs to be done first! This assignment rocked! I will definitely use it in my business going forward.
This is really a class that the more you put into it, the more you will get out in application of the concepts.
This was a great course & I'm so happy that I took it.
I very much appreciate the layout of the text; simplistic, smart and useful. Plan, Document, Manage, Evaluate. So often, those of us in Spa lean toward the creative, "right brain" personalities and live in a state of creativity; we forget to take our creative dreams and ground them in a system that will successfully bring them to fruition. If we all started with these 4 steps we would find success easier.
LOVE the text - great work ladies, what a valuable resource you have created. Thank you!!!
The fifth edition, third revision of The Standards are available in four formats:
With Guidance and Examples
This 262-page book includes The Standards, concept discussions and examples.
Without Guidance and Examples
This 69-page book contains only the standards section of the larger 262-page book.
Print - $70 USD (There will be additional shipping charges for addresses outside the United States)
PDF - $35 USD (This electronic format can be sent to any email address that accepts attached pdf files.)
Click HERE for information on how to order and for details about the book's contents, the changes for this edition, the Model of a Process-Based Spa Quality System andThe Table of Contents.
The International Standards of SpaExcellenceSM has been sold to spas in over 30 countries.
The BodyHoliday in Saint Lucia Girlfriends’ Getaway Package
Book a trip by April 30th and receive 40% off on stays between April - August 2012, or 30% off between September - December 2012.
Includes:
Unlimited use of all the facilities at the resort
Breakfast, lunch and dinner daily
All beverages including premium brand alcohol and wine by the bottle at dinner
Fitness and relaxation classes including; step aerobics, tai chi, yoga, Pilates, meditation, studio circuit training and gym based circuit training, morning walks, bike tours, BodySPIN Beginners, BodySPIN and BodySPIN Max
One Spa Treatment (50 minutes) per day except on the day of arrival and departure
Land and water sports including motorized water sports and shore scuba dives
Group complimentary golf and tennis lessons
On-property Golf Academy; complimentary group lessons and short game tuition on our executive 4 hole, par 3 course
Welcome to DiscoverSpas.com! I'm Julie Register, and I've provided information about spas on the Internet for over 15 years. On this page, you will find the latest:
THE EXPERIENCE - Part 3 
