The challenge? De-stress a bride and her best friend before the Big Day. The challenger? Skoah Spa Vancouver. The results? Aaaaaaah. In November 2001 hands-on managers Chris Scott and Jamie McKeough opened Skoah with the slogan, “No whale music, No bubbling cherubs, No pretentious attitudes. Just sweet skin facials and melted muscles massage.” Obviously, they took a different approach to the spa atmosphere. It’s just what two friends with big stress and little time needed – no worrying, no thinking and no hassle. Despite its location in trendy Yaletown, Skoah managed to escape the pretentious attitude found in neighbouring spas that kept us at bay. At Skoah you get in and out service, pampering without the poodle talk and no strange looks if you ask, “Do I disrobe fully?” In the minimalist lounge – think Ikea meets Soho – we filled out paperwork, drank bottled water and relaxed in over-sized
Read more →Like any good traveller, I always have an idea of what I want to do and see before I leave for a place; the restaurants that sound fabulous, the off the path sites, the great hotels to stay in. But also like any good traveller, I leave my itinerary and mind open to doing new things, which came in particularly handy during non-stop travel month of February. Whilst staying at the Four Seasons Henri V in Paris (just off the Champs-Elysees) I discovered their elegant and well equipped spa, open only to guests. By the time I arrived at this hotel, I had already been on 4 planes, 1 train and done a weeks worth of driving. I was stiff, a bit tired and congested and in need of some desperate pampering. At first I thought perhaps doing the spa would be a waste of time; there’s walking to do,
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