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ANNE'S BLOG

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Stories from my Serendipitous Spa Tour 2010 - February 16 - March 26.

Nemacolins Woodland Resort & Spa is our Family Resort of 2010 December 1, 2010

Spa at Grove Park is one of North America's top "experiential spas." August 5, 2010

Nature and Art meet at The Umstead Hotel & Spa, North Carolina. August 3, 2010

Golf is not the only attraction at Pinehurst, North Carolina August 1, 2010

The opening of Cinzia Spa changes the wellness spa landscape in South Carolina. June 5, 2010

Nature abounds at Amelia Island Plantation, Jacksonville, Florida
May 9, 2010

Spa pairs with golf and tennis at the oceanfront Ponte Vedra, Jacksonville, Florida
April 22, 2010

Spa at Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach, Florida.
April 12, 2010

Miami Lapis Spa a Gem. April 4, 2010

The Spa at the Ritz Carlton South Beach stays innovative. March 23, 2010

Hibiscus Spa at Westin Casuarina Resort & Spa
March 18, 2010

Cayman Islands: Silver Rain Spa - Heavenly
March 15, 2010

Spas at Sea: Ship Shape Spa - Navigator of the Seas
March 9, 2010

Day 3 aboard Navigator of the
Seas
March 6, 2010

Now you can LIVE at the spa.
March 6, 2010

First Impressions from a Cruise Newbie March 5, 2010

It's a hotel. It's a spa. It's a preventation health care facility. Canyon Ranch Miami is Healthy Living
March 2, 2010

Thirteen days, four spas, one LEEDs hotel, one Harvest Dinner, one moonlit kayaking excursion. The trip continues…
Feb 28, 2010

Green Complements Art Deco in South Beach
Feb 24, 2010

Holistic and Hydrotherapy Meet and Mingle at The Standard Spa
Feb 20, 2010

Canyon Ranch and Cayman Islands Added to Itinerary
Feb. 17, 2010

Heading out on the first Serendipitous Spa Tour. The plan? No plan. Feb. 15, 2010

Heading out on the first Serendipitous Spa Tour. The plan? No plan. Feb 15, 2010



In the close to 20 years that I’ve been a freelance writer – a mixed bag of travel writer, columnist, hospitality/spa industry journalist – I’ve travelled far and wide. Sometimes on media trips, more often on solo trips but always between two and 14 days in duration.

The itineraries have been planned: Flight or train booked or the drive mapped, hotels reserved, spa appointments confirmed, hiking/cycling/kayaking tours pre-arranged. Not this time. For this trip, I haven’t planned any further than the one-way flight into Miami and a two night’s stay. Where do I go from there? How long will I be on the road? Guess we’ll see.

Webster’s Dictionary defines “serendipity” as “the finding of agreeable things not sought for” and that is what will drive this trip.

While I’ve had a number of invitations and offers to “come visit” from hotels, spas and various destinations - in the U.S. and elsewhere, nothing has been confirmed. I know that over the course of the trip, many things will come across my radar screen - some I will jump at, others I let pass. I can’t help wondering where I will end up. Will I be away on the road for two weeks or six weeks? Excitement lives in the unknown.

So, the newspapers have been stopped, the house-sitter booked, suitcase stuffed with clothing for various types of weather and activities, travel insurance secured, office packed up to go mobile…so guess I’m ready to “hit the road” and see where it takes me.

To read about the spas, fitness adventures and healthy restaurants I stumble upon, follow me here or on Twitter

And, if you have any suggestions for places to go, things to do and see, please e-mail me at editor@traveltowellness.com I will respond to every e-mail. Maybe I will even run into you somewhere out there. Wish me luck!

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Canyon Ranch and Cayman Islands added to itinerary Feb 17, 2010



Well it’s day two of my Serendipitous Spa Tour and so far, no spas.

Nevertheless, the day has been bubbling with activity. First a run along South Beach, breakfast then a walk along the Liberty Road open-air mall and the famed Ocean Drive with its shoulder-to-shoulder art deco designed buildings. It could also be called “café corridor” as sidewalk cafes are line-up like film-goers waiting to see a James Cameron movie.

From my art deco, boutique hotel here in SoBe, I’m using this time to research, juggle invitations and correspond with my design/print team back in Toronto to finalize production of our next print issue: Travel to Wellness - Virginia. Thank goodness for free wireless Internet access. It makes working on the road so much more convenient.

So as of this moment, several new items have been added to my shopping bag of an itinerary:

Friday, I’ll be spending the better part of the day at the Standard Hotel in South Beach. I was there a number of years ago and I’m really looking forward to this return visit – putdoor mud bath and all.

I’ve confirmed a two-night stay at Canyon Ranch Hotel & Spa Miami Beachwhich I am very excited about. In all the years I’ve been travelling and writing about spas, the only brush I’ve had with Canyon Ranch is the Canyon Ranch Sports Club at the Venetian in Las Vegas.

And next week, I’m heading to the Cayman Islands. Last time there it was to swim with rays at the singular Stingray City. This time the focus is on spas, fitness activities and healthy eating.

Pending. A friend recommended I check out the Lapis Spa at the Fontainbleu Resort, newly enhanced to the tune of $1 billion. I’m working on that one.

The director of sales at one hotel in the Hollywood Beach area kindly invited me to have a cocktail on the beach – his treat. Nice gesture, but I write about spas and wellness travel.

The David Barton Gym at the Gansevoort South Hotel said I should contact them to schedule a
“walk-through” of the gym and spa. Hmmmm. That could be a short story.

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Thirteen days, four spas, one LEEDs hotel, one Harvest Dinner, one moonlit kayaking excursion. The trip continues… February 28, 2010

It’s day 13 of this opened-ended Serendipitous Spa Tour and, as I write this, I’m sitting at the Owen Roberts International Airport on Grand Cayman Island just waiting for my 70-minute flight to Miami. Since leaving Toronto on February 16, I’ve visited four spas:
The Standard Spa, South Beach
Canyon Ranch Miami
Silver Rain Spa, Ritz Carlton Grand Cayman Island (one of the most beautifully-designed spas I’ve been to)
and the Hibiscus Spa, Westin Casuarina also in Cayman.

This week I will be checking out the spa at the Ritz Carlton South Beach and then…nothing confirmed as yet.

That’s the serendipitous nature of this trip…taking things as they come, totally without a set plan. It's much like the Forest Gump proverbial box of chocolates – I never know what I’m going to get, where I'm going to end up.

While I do have a few invitations in my inbox – for instance, Exhale Spa for one of their Core Fusion classes and a treatment, Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in the Florida Keys plus others – but itinerary after March 2 is still up-in-the-air.

In addition to visiting spas (one cannot spa 24 hours a day), I’ve stayed at The Carlton Hotel, awaiting final accreditation at the first LEEDS Platinum building in Florida, ( Read the story), have enjoyed a Harvest Dinner at The Brasserie in Cayman and explored the Cayman mangroves by moonlight with Cayman Kayak. Will be posting stories soon.

In my spare time, I’ve run along the Cayman’s famed Seven Mile Beach and visited the island’s newest sustainable development, Camana Bay. Even found time to dip my toes into the ocean.

Over the course of the last 13 days, when I’ve explained to people what I do and what this trip is all about, I inevitably hear comments like “Wow, I’m so jealous.” “You have my dream job” and “Do you need an assistant?” While a trip like this might sound jet set and exciting and totally fabulous (and it is a bit of all that) it is also work. Actually, at the moment I’m about five stories behind so I'm signing off and getting back to work! Stay tuned.

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