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Spa review
SPA MONTAGE, MONTAGE LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA
by Anne Dimon
Spa Montage at the Montage Resort Laguna Beach in Southern California bills itself as a “resort spa” but offers more for the wellness-minded than you’d expect to find at a typical resort.
The sprawling, terraced property with its manicured gardens is situated right on the beach of this popular tourist town about an hour’s drive north of Los Angeles. Located on the ground floor of the resort in its own wing, Spa Montage is large and spacious with 21 treatment rooms, full salon services, a private outdoor pool and terrace, a fitness studio and gym where you can work out while breathing in the fresh ocean air.
In the ladies’ lounge, there’s comfortable seating around a gas fireplace and, steps away, a Wet Area including a good-sized whirlpool with a stone wall fountain. and lounge chairs in a garden-like setting. A dry sauna, a eucalyptus steam room and a small cold plunge complete the Wet Area.
The spa reception does double duty as a retail area with a variety of gift items, a collection of good quality resort apparel and beauty product lines. The plant-based Eminence and marine-based Spa Technologies are the spa’s two featured skin care lines.
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Assistant spa director Michael Conte boasts that therapists at Spa Montage are regarded among the best in the industry. He says all therapists are ASTECC (American Spa Therapy Education and Certification Council) trained and accredited.
I only had time for one treatment, but I can tell you that my customized Swedish Massage with Ester was excellent. Such customization is one of the growing trends in the spa industry and Spa Montage has recently redesigned their spa menu to allow guests the opportunity to book a period of time – 30 minutes to 120 minutes – and select a category of treatment – for instance, Ocean Coast Therapies, Cleansing and Purifying, Touch Therapies and Facials.
Following a consultation with a therapist, individual treatments under each category are then customized based on the client’s desired results (i.e. relaxation, pain/stress management, detoxification) and body type. What body type are you?
The signature program - called Surrender - begins at 120 minutes and, Conte says, can be customized and “expanded to an entire week or more.”
But there’s more here for those pursuing “wellness” than simple spa treatments, and that’s what gives Spa Montage a leg up on the average “resort spa” category. “Montage is more about a way of life,” says Conte. The Southern California resort has incorporated many of the elements of a “destination spa.” Read more about what Spa Montage has to offer.
