Heavenly Spa by Westin™ at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa - a Spa Review on Discover Spas with Julie Register
Julie Register experienced this South Carolina coastal island resort in June 2007

*It had been 4 years since I set foot on Hilton Head Island. It was only the briefest of stays. We drove onto the island to catch a ferry to another of South Carolina's coastal islands. Our total time on the Hilton Head was probably less than an hour. When I heard that Westin was opening a spa in their resort on Hilton Head, I looked forward to a chance to get to know the island a little better. I also looked forward to experiencing the first Heavenly Spa by Westin™ in the Continental US (others are located at The Westin Maui, The Westin Fiji and The Westin Langkawi, in Malaysia). I had seen the prototype while SpaQuality LLC was doing work with The Westin Maui Resort & Spa. I was very interested in seeing the finished product and how it would be rolled out to other locations.

Heavenly Spa
The 8,000 square-foot Heavenly Spa by Westin™ at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa opened in April with nine treatment rooms including two facial rooms, one couples’ suite with an oversized soaking tub and separate men's and women's changing areas with steam rooms and saunas. My husband and I spent a long weekend in June at the resort. The spa had been open a little over a month and, had it not been for a few little glitches with the facility, you would not have known it was brand new (that's a good thing). From a service standpoint, it was very good. (Many new spas are still working out operational issues months after they open.) Let's get the glitches out of the way. First, the glass embedded with seagrass (an indigenous plant) that will form one wall of the salon had not come in yet, so passersby could see in - not optimal for guests of the salon. Second, the water feature in the reception area was not on because it needed to be modified so the water wouldn't bounce off the small stones in the wall and splash into the room. Finally, there was an issue with the fireplaces, so large candles were used instead of gas flames (which worked just fine). Getting a new spa to open on time is unusual - most run months over schedule. If these are the only three things left on the punch list, they did a pretty good job in my opinion.

The Salon at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Retail in the Reception Area

Reception Area in The Heavenly Spa by Westin™

Bonnie at the Reception Desk

I had spa appointments on two of the three days of our visit. Jeff and I checked in together the first day. Jeff went to the men's changing room, and Bonnie gave me a tour of the women's. She showed me to my locker which held a soft white robe and hair turban. While I changed, Bonnie prepared the spa's signature beverage of blueberry and white tea for me. She invited me to use the wet area then relax in the lounge.

* Entrance to the Women's Changing Room in The Heavenly Spa by Westin™	Lockers in the Women's Changing Room
Steam and Sauna in the Women's Changing Area	Iced Washcloths
*Whirlpool in the Women's Changing Area	Vanity in the Women's Changing Area

I soaked in the whirlpool and sipped my tea for a whil, then I took one of the iced washcloths located in a sink between the steam room and sauna and stretched out in the sauna. Relaxed, I wandered into the women's lounge. Refreshments of hot and cold Pure Inventions tea, mini muffins and fruit kabobs looked too good to pass up. I made some more tea, helped myself to a kabob and sat down in a comfortable lounge chair. I took a sip of tea, and the attendant entered the room with a warm herbal pack to relax my neck and shoulders. She asked if I would like to join my husband in the coed lounge. She escorted me there, but my husband had already left for his treatment. I sat down and waited for mine. A few minutes later, Rebecca appeared.

I'll digress a bit here. In a time when some spa consultants and designers seem to be minimizing or eliminating wet areas and lounges, I was pleased to see this spa was quite generous with these areas. Water is, of course, the foundation of spas, and lounges are absolutely necessary to relax in before and after treatments. Some spas look at these spaces as non-income-producing and choose to forgo them. I think they are missing the whole point of "spa" when they make these choices.

Women's Lounge at The Heavenly Spa by Westin™

Women's Lounge

Coed Lounge

Coed Lounge

Rebecca escorted me to the facial treatment room and showed me a small seagrass basket. She told me it was a burden basket and suggested I mentally leave all of my cares and worries in it during our session. She left, and I got on treatment table. Westin was the first hotel/resort organization to create a fabulous bed - The Heavenly Bed, and they are very, very comfortable. Now they have created the Heavenly Spa Massage Table. It is ergonomically designed to fit the curves of the body and is very, very comfortable. The spa envelops the tables with Comphy™ linens, which are wonderfully soft and feel luxurious against the skin.

Rebecca returned, hung the burden basket on the outside of the door and began the Vibrant facial. This facial combines a collection of colorful masks - each selected to target and address the unique concerns of different sections of the face and neck. The masks used supply targeted botanical nutrients tailored especially for each person's skin. The products used are from Astara - a line that has a similar philosophy to the raw foods philosophy, which is heat kills the vital nutrients and enzymes in plants, so they don't use it above ~105 deg F. Astara does not process its products with high heat, leaving the benefits of the plants intact. The facial was a lovely, relaxing blur - cleanse, scrub, tone, masks and moisturizer. However, I do remember a fabulously long, wonderful facial, neck and scalp massage.

Facial Treatment Room at the Heavenly Spa by Westin™

Burden Basket

I ended my time in the spa that day with a haircut in the salon. Gene and I discussed what I'd like done, and he did a great job. It delayed the inevitable search for a stylist at home. During our chitchatting, Gene revealed that he was originally from Metter, Georgia, which is the same small town that my husband's grandfather was born in. It's a small world.

The next day, while Jeff left for a game of golf, I returned to the spa. This time I would be having a Rollersage (the same treatment Jeff had the day before) and a pedicure. I went through the same routine but this time noticed the basket with the aromatic neck wraps in the sauna to keep them warm.

Denise collected me from the women's lounge and escorted me to the massage treatment room. She asked me to select two of four types of stones arranged in a circle on the treatment table. She said each had certain properties and would be used during my massage to restore balance to my energy source.

Rose Quart, Tiger Eye, Hematite and Sodalite used in Rollersage at the Heavenly Spa in The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Crystal Spheres and Tool used in Rollersage

I selected rose quartz for love and heart-felt desire and tiger eye for optimism and intuition. The other choices were hematite to ground and focus and sodalite for confidence and creativity. She then had me select an aroma that I liked. She put a few drops of the selected aromatherapy oil blend in a bowl that sat under the table's face cradle. For each part of the body Denise massaged, she worked out the kinks with her hands in an excellent Swedish style then finished by going over the area with the heated crystals I selected. The crystals used were in the shape of a sphere and rolled smoothly over the skin in her hands. It was a very pleasant sensation and totally relaxing. When it was over, Denise gave me the two stones to take home.

*Massage Treatment Room at the Hilton Head Heavenly Spa

Salon

My last experience at the Heavenly Spa was a Sand and Sea Pedicure with Dee Dee. I climbed into the pedicure chair and put my feet in the tub to soak. Dee Dee then exfoliated them through a 4-step process using beach sand, quartz crystals, mineral salt and alpha-hydroxy acid. This was followed with a marine-algae mask, a pampering foot and calf massage, cucumber heel therapy and polish. For me, pedicures are great souvenirs of spa visits. They last over a month, and every time I look at my perfectly polished toes, it brings me back to the whole spa experience.

The Heavenly Spa also has a series of treatments designed to honor the indigo plant, one of Hilton Head Island’s historically prevailing crops - the Indigo massage, Indigo wrap and Indigo facial. These treatments were created to relax your body, stimulate and purify your skin, and open your mind through the energy of the indigo plant’s vibrant color. While I didn't try one, it gives me additional reasons to return.

Did I like everything at the Heavenly Spa? No, there were two things I thought could use improvement. First, I thought the design of the sinks in the changing room was simply awful. While I am sure the sink was selected for its unique design, it was terrible functionally. This "thing" occupied the whole sink, so you have to put your hands way above the sink to use it. Water splashes all over the countertop, and the sleeves of your robe will rest on the wet "thing" unless you roll them up to your elbows. How do they ever clean under it?

The Westin Resort Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa

Jeff and I enjoyed the rest of our time at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa. The beach is terrific. The sand is very compact, so you can easily walk for miles on it. Walk 5 minutes in either direction from the Westin, and you virtually have the beach to yourself - nothing like the NJ or DE shore! Jeff went golfing and thoroughly enjoyed it. He even saw two alligators on the course! We went to Harbour Town, climbed the lighthouse and did a little shopping (USAirways delivered Jeff's luggage on the third day). We had a fabulous dinner at the Barony Grill.

*King Guest Room	*The Barony Grill
The beach in front of The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa	*The Pools at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa
*Golf at The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa	Harbour Town Hilton Head Island

Located within Port Royal Plantation, The Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa is a AAA Four Diamond Award-winning resort overlooking a newly renourished Atlantic beach and includes more than 500 guest room accommodations. The resort offers a variety of dining options, outdoor and indoor swimming pools, a full-service health club, running and walking trails, beach and water sports.