{BEAUTY} - OUCH! HOW MUCH? - Spa-treatment prices are hitting new highs, and people seem all too willing to pay. Welcome to the era of the $200 pedicure.
IT'S billed as the "After Shopping Paradise," a "self-indulgence" that combines foot reflexology and "a truly spectacular pedicure to revive your feet and your spirits."
What is it really? A $200 pedicure.
It takes place at La Prairie Spa at the Beverly Hills Hotel. You slip into a terry robe and slippers and sip a cup of Introspection tea, then an attendant leads you into a candle-lighted massage room. Once you've disrobed (for a foot treatment?), you stretch out on the table and await your "reflexology." La Prairie lotion is lavished on your feet, which are then given a vigorous shake. But the reflexology never comes -- just some light petting. The robe goes back on, you're led into a pedicure room -- a really nice pedicure room, with a reclining chair that makes you feel like you're floating, and a view of a gorgeous garden. The pedicure looks and feels great -- this time there's real massage -- and then you relax in the garden while the polish dries.
It feels like real luxury. Until a couple hours later when you look down and say to yourself, "I just spent $200 on my toes." (The pedicure is priced at $180, but after a 20% gratuity, your wallet is $216 lighter.) That's $21.60 per toe.
The "After Shopping Paradise" is just one of a growing number of crazy-expensive spa treatments at luxury hotels.
Not so long ago, hourlong massages for $60 were easy to find, even at upscale day spas. Now a regular old 60-minute Swedish massage will set you back $220 at Montage Resort & Spa's ocean-view facility in Laguna Beach. For double the pleasure, two therapists will massage you in tandem for double the price: $440. That's $7.33 a minute. In the spa at the Peninsula Beverly Hills, a two-hour massage costs $385 -- but the massage oil is "infused" with rubies and emeralds.
Spa directors explain that there are reasons for the astronomical prices. As hotels and even some day spas build multimillion-dollar facilities, their owners say they're pressured to make a profit.
"In the '90s, spas were thought of as an amenity that would drive room rates," says Anne McCall, general manager of spas for Fairmont Raffles Hotels International. "But consumer demand and research show that people want them as mini-destinations within hotels."
And so the opportunities for profit are much greater than they used to be -- as long as they provide something extra: spa meals delivered from the hotel restaurant; the same high thread-count linens you find in the guest rooms; and sometimes a separate spa pool and sunning deck.
