In a town known as much for cushy accommodations as red rock landscapes, it’s hard to imagine a spa that truly stands out.
Elements Spa at Amara, ,a 4,000-square-foot facility under construction at Sedona’s boutique Amara Creekside Resort, aims to try.
When completed in November, the $2 million project will become one of only five in the U.S. to offer treatments and products from Elemis, a London-based company known for upscale aromatherapy products and holistic spa therapies.
More than a purveyor of potions, Elemis offers a treatment program chosen by more than 400 spas in the United Kingdom and the largest cruise lines.
Elemis professionals will train the staff in an intensive program that includes classes, homework and a pass-fail grade. About 20 resort employees are enrolled, including aestheticians, massage therapists and front desk and concierge staff.
“We’re really excited; it’s going to be a great thing for Arizona and Sedona,” said Amara’s spa director, Melissa Siet, a former spa owner with more than 20 years of experience as an aesthetician and makeup artist “The whole Elemis philosophy makes it different.”
With spas in Miami, Las Vegas and Uncasville, Conn., Elemis can distinguish the resort by offering guests in-demand, hard-to-get products, she said.
“When you come out of a (typical) facial, you might buy some product but you can go home and find the same thing around the corner,” she said. “When you leave here, you really can’t find the Elemis.”
Consistency also distinguishes the program, Siet said. Treatments are ritualistic, so different people coming in for the same one, such as the Moorish Ceremony of Dreams or the Time for Two couples treatment, will get equal pampering.
The facility, which will be open to the public as well as guests, will include six treatment rooms, manicure and pedicure areas, weight-training facilities and a pre- and post-therapy lounge.
Both spa and resort were designed by New York architect Michael Leclere, who developed the resort with Scottsdale attorney Al Spector, a developer of the Scottsdale Princess Resort, and Canadian investor Jack Gechman.
The spa construction is a final step in completion of the 100-room property, which has been open since August 2003.
