Renowned spa consultant draws upon three decades of experience to create authentic, innovative and effective wellness and cultural experiences
June 28, 2011 (New York, NY) – Amy McDonald is right where she wants to be: spreading wellness, sustainability, hospitality and healthcare through the spa industry with her consulting firm, Under a Tree. A 30-year veteran of spas and hospitality, McDonald launched the business under her own name in 2006 and five years later re-branded it Under a Tree as an umbrella for vibrant projects at health, wellness and resort facilities in North America and around the world. The firm, based in Tucson, Arizona but with offices across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, now counts a growing client portfolio and over 18 associates that are specialists in wellness and healthcare.
Recent additions to the Under a Tree portfolio include a new luxury turnkey spa for Hotel Matilda in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, recently named to Condé Nast Traveler’s “Hot 100” list for 2011; 51 Degrees, a new luxury residential project and thermal bathhouse in Leukerbad, Switzerland; and One Wellness, a new full-service spa set to open in Canmore, Alberta, Canada in Fall of 2011.
Other prominent addresses on the Under a Tree roster are Enchantment Group and its awarding-winning properties, including Mii amo and Enchantment Resort in Sedona, Arizona and Tides Inn in Irvington, Virginia. Under a Tree has also consulted with individual properties and with the corporate office of Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts .
Like McDonald herself, Under a Tree collectively embodies an innovative spirit grounded in operational expertise and general business savvy. The end result is the creation of authentic spa programs and award winning facilities that satisfy client needs and guest demands for relevant, innovative and effective wellness and cultural experiences. At McDonald’s behest, the firm is fully committed to a sustainable future and donates 1% of gross revenues to the global environmental movement 1% For The Planet.
McDonald’s Under a Tree team is dotted with bright lights from the spa industry and beyond. Among names to know are Michael Lahm, a leading spa authority who opened the original Bliss and The Core Club and led the development of the new spa at Hotel Matilda; Diane Trieste , an influential and inspiring wellness industry enthusiast, formerly of Canyon Ranch Health Resorts; Adriane Berg, a New York Times Age Beat Fellow in 2010 and acknowledged leader in adult, universal and inclusive design; Kristin Gladfelter-Johnson, formerly associate publisher of SPA Magazine, now president of Flourish Marketing & Public Relations; and the expert number-cruncher Loree Thompson, former CFO of Miraval Resort and Spa in Tucson.
Widely recognized as an innovator in transformational and wellness programming as well as an expert in related environmentally and economically sustainable practices, McDonald brings wide-ranging management and consulting smarts to each project, selecting the appropriate team based on scope and location. Her experience includes roles as Spa and Program Director at the innovative luxury eco-resort El Monte Sagrado Living Spa in Taos, New Mexico; Director of Spa and Programs for award-winning Miraval Resort and Spa; and General Manager of Rancho Leonero, a small resort north of Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
She has earned acclaim from Travel + Leisure and Condé Nast Traveler and provided expertise to O, The Oprah Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, Real Simple and many others.
Born and raised in Canada, McDonald is married with one child and lives in Tucson.
