Spas in the News

Spa of Colonial Williamsburg Highlights 500 Years of Wellness Practices - Spa Visionary Sylvia Sepielli Lends Expertise for Specialty Treatments

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – From age-old herbal bathing treatments to 21st-century skin rejuvenation, The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg: A Continuum of Wellness will offer guests a full range of relaxing and rejuvenating therapies inspired by five centuries of wellness. Scheduled to open in early 2007, the Spa will feature a historically centered yet contemporary spa services menu, the latest creation of world-respected spa visionary, Sylvia Sepielli. The new, full-service 20,000-square-foot Spa rounds out the resort collection of Colonial Williamsburg, which includes four hotels, three golf courses and a range of recreational options, as well as ten restaurants within walking distance of the famed Historic Area.

“When developing the concept for The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, it was important that every element be authentic, educational and therapeutic,” said Sepielli.

“From the overall design of the facility to the friendly, Southern hospitality of the highly skilled technicians, each treatment reflects a continuum of time-honored practices and Williamsburg’s colonial heritage.”

The recipient of this year’s International SPA Association (ISPA) 2006 Visionary Award, Sepielli is renowned for integrating spas with the nature and culture of their environment. To develop the treatment menu for The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg, she conducted extensive research into healing methods practiced by Native Americans, English settlers, African Americans and immigrants from near and far to create 21st-century treatments designed to soothe, refresh and calm.

“We’re excited to work with Sylvia to offer guests a Spa that harmonizes with its historical surroundings, while at the same time honors traditions of wellness throughout American culture,” said John T. Hallowell, president of Colonial Williamsburg’s hospitality group. “Nowhere in America is there a Spa with an offering so unique.”

Sepielli’s century-inspired treatments range from a soothing aromatic foot bath and ginger and orange body scrub inspired by 18th-century apothecary practices to 21st-century skin rejuvenation. The new Spa features products from Naturopathica, True, Skin Bella, and Privé and offers 12 treatment rooms, a conservatory salon, steam room, whirlpool, dry sauna, fitness facilities and spa dining.

Kate Mearns, who currently serves as chairman of the International SPA Association, is director of The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg. “The combination of a truly unique setting, inventive concept, and extraordinary attention to detail in all aspects of the project development gives me confidence that The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg rapidly will be recognized as an industry benchmark,” said Mearns.

Established in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is the not-for-profit educational institution that preserves and operates the restored 18th-century Revolutionary capital of Virginia. The Colonial Williamsburg Company, a subsidiary of the Foundation, operates more than 1,000 guest rooms, ten restaurants, and 66,000 square feet of conference space in properties including the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge, Woodlands Hotel & Suites, 26 individual Colonial Houses, four Historic Area dining taverns and the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club, site of the 2007 NCAA Division I Men’s Golf Championship. Each purchase of Colonial Williamsburg products and services supports the Foundation’s preservation, research, and educational programs. Williamsburg is located 150 miles south of Washington D.C., off Interstate 64. For more information about Colonial Williamsburg, call 1-800-HISTORY or visit Colonial Williamsburg’s Web site at
www.ColonialWilliamsburg.com or www.GoldenHorseshoeGolf.com.

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