Sustainable spas incorporate the beauty of the outside world
The treatment rooms at The Tree Spa in Kennebunk are nestled in the trees, eight feet off the ground and connected by a catwalk. PHOTO: Courtesy of The Tree Spa
By Cynthia Simonds
In the steamy heat of Maine summer, imagine looking out through green leafy boughs as cool breezes deliver the sound of ocean waves in the distance. Smell the salt air and hear the gulls cry as you’re wrapped in the aroma of warm, wild blueberries. Stop for a cup of tea and enjoy the delicacies of a chef’s garden in the midst of your city shopping as you plan your next adventure. Wherever you are in Maine there are spas eager to help you take a well-deserved moment to pamper yourself.
We have entered an age of heightened environmental awareness where traditional spas have been eclipsed by new, eco-friendly alternatives. Mindful entrepreneurs have embraced the global shift toward sustainability. By actively reducing their environmental impact, these businesses are celebrating local ingredients, using non-toxic and repurposed materials in construction, and incorporating the beauty of the natural world into therapies unique to Maine.
Maine’s Environmental Leader program, launched in 2006, was created to highlight the efforts of restaurants, grocers and lodging facilities to incorporate specific green initiatives. When you see the Environmental Leader Logo you can be certain that the business has earned this admirable honor through a commitment to sustainability. According to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, more than 150 businesses have achieved this certification. Through their efforts, more than 19 million gallons of water have been saved and over 15 million pounds of greenhouse gas emissions have been prevented.
The couples treatment room at The Inn By The Sea in Cape Elizabeth complete with side-by-side beds and a soaking tub.
PHOTO: Courtesy of the Inn By The Sea
Situated at the ocean’s edge near Crescent Beach, the Inn by the Sea embraces its Environmental Leader status in everything they do. “Our commitment to our mission is all encompassing,” said Public Relations Manager Raunie Kew. The spa at the Inn by the Sea in Cape Elizabeth was consciously designed and constructed using reclaimed materials, composite cork and rubber floors, and low or no V.O.C. (volatile organic compound) paints on the walls. Each decision was made respecting the health of the planet.
“Experiencing this beautiful beach, seeing the vastness of the ocean, makes it easy to understand. We have to do everything we can to help it continue to be so beautiful.” she said. Their Casco Bay Stone Massage uses sea polished Crescent Beach stones that feel like they were warmed by the summer sun. Their signature Sea Waves spa treatment incorporates marine-based algae, sea salt and specially formulated mud masks to immerse you in their unique ocean-side experience.
Up the coast, Rhonda Nordstrom of Rheal Day Spa (now Green with Envy) on Main Street in Rockland chose to renovate an existing building in the downtown district. Nordstrom paid close attention to every detail of its energy-efficient, environmentally responsible retrofit. “Every decision we make, from what products we use on our person to what we use for cleaning, is mindful of the environment,” she said.
The wisdom and popularity of organic products has become the standard at these all-natural spas. Recognizing that the ingredients in the lotions and balms we smooth on our skin are as important as the foods we eat, select Maine spas are choosing organic, vegan and biodynamic products that utilize the fi nest ingredients without toxic chemicals.
Nordstrom carries a special line of skin care products that use plant extracts to restore and rejuvenate. Dr. Hauschka’s is a line that uses herbs and flowers grown biodynamically, with the rhythms of the earth. Their holistic products use many homeopathic ingredients to enhance efficacy while incorporating lovely aromatic notes. “When people come in to the spa, they are beautiful already,” Nordstrom said. She sees her role as a partner in helping her clients age gracefully.
In nearby Camden, Jenn Ross-Boshes, owner of Beauty Mark Spa, comes from an integrative nutrition background. Her interest was to look at the bigger picture; helping the whole person, inside and out. “Your skin needs vitamin A and all-natural raw ingredients,” Ross-Boshes said. “These can come from what you put on your skin and what you eat. We help our clients remember that.”
The spa performs nurturing facials implementing advanced skin care. “If we want our clients to make an investment in themselves, we want them to know why,” she said. Education is a part of every spa experience. “It’s about what we’re feeding our body and how we’re treating our body,” she said. “When you make changes that way, you get great results.”
Located in the historic Old Port district of Portland, Soakology is a combination organic teahouse and foot sanctuary. Soakology is a place where friends can gather, sip a hot cup of tea, have their feet (or hands) pampered and leave smelling, literally, like a rose. Beautiful and unique, the atmosphere caters to the communal aspect of self-care. “People can pop in after a long day at work, have a foot soak and 20-minute massage before heading home refreshed,” said Executive Director Sara-Lee Franklin. “Tea is the common thread. We serve snacks with tea in the recipe, alongside a cup of tea, then tea is used in the soaks and massages.”
The foot sanctuary at Soakology beckons with comfortable chairs and hand-crafted soaking tubs. PHOTO: Courtesy of Soakology
Foot soaks are a Soakology specialty. The unique array of ingredients they use was developed with Ayurvedic herbal knowledge. Essential oils, teas, herbs, milk and honey are combined in the soaks to give each client a nourishing experience. Soakology offers focused 20-minute massages for the head and shoulders, feet and lower legs, or hands and arms. “For so many customers, this is their first spa experience,” Franklin said. “If they come in and try this, more people can say, ‘this is that special treat I can do for myself — it feels so good and I feel good about it.’”
Each month Soakology highlights a different ingredient according to the season. Their menu includes snacks and cookies alongside larger plates of cheeses, olives, hummus and vegetables. Homemade lemonade mixed with their specialty tea is a staff favorite. “We use local honey and all our tea comes from fair trade estates,” Franklin said. “We believe in what we’re doing. Helping people and helping the earth is intertwined. We love what we do.”
Also in the Old Port is the Portland Regency Hotel and Spa, another Environmental Leader. Locally owned, the spa offers monthly memberships and day passes for those who would like to take advantage of their unique facilities. Their steam room, sauna and jacuzzi are meticulously maintained and offer easy ways for visitors to come in and relax.
Spa Director Sarah Herklots has created an environment where she wants every guest to feel special. “We want to create the best possible experience from the minute they walk in to the moment they leave.” She attends to every detail, from the organic product lines they carry, to the companies that have created them. “Ninety percent of our products are from women-owned businesses,” Herklots said. In addition, Executive Chef Alan Cook creates his spa menus sourcing local ingredients including some from his own on-site herb garden. Herklots loves how the menu changes with the seasons. Imagine a salad like this after a relaxing massage: Sliced pears, toasted walnuts, sundried blueberries and gorgonzola cheese on a bed of romaine, dressed with a blueberry-honey vinaigrette. Sounds delicious.
“It is a great opportunity and a gift to help people,” Said Herklots. She believes the spa experience does not end at the Regency’s door. Her hope is that clients will take it a step further and bring it more fully into their daily lives. “We live more consciously when our stress levels are down. Using the natural ingredients we do, we hope it changes the way our guests think about the environment.”
The Cliff House Resort and Spa in Ogunquit, another Environmental Leader, also incorporates stones from nearby beach cliffs into their signature Cliff Stone Massage. Natural ingredients are an important element to the spa. One of their specialties is the use of many products they create themselves like the blueberry antioxidant wrap, which is created by puréeing blueberries with a special organic algae that is then gently heated and applied to the body.
Another popular treatment, the Wild Rose Wrap, is also created at the spa. Luxurious hydrating cream is lightly scented with wild rose essential oils and lavishly massaged over the body to restore dry skin. “It feels good to be using natural products,” Spa Manager Mary Weischeit said. “It’s nice to have our own therapies with ingredients we create ourselves.”
Nine Stones Spa in Portland offers a wide variety of massage, facials and body treatments using primarily organic, natural, paraben-free products. Owner Pam Macomber believes it is important to stay as natural as possible. According to Macomber, essential oils have a homeopathic effect, and combining them with their massage treatments adds aromatherapy and healing facets to the experience.
Their Botanical Bliss Massage incorporates eight different floral and herbal essences including lavender, tea tree, wild orange and peppermint. Macomber recommends this aroma touch treatment saying, “It takes you through a sequence that helps with stress management, immune support, and muscle relief, and brings you back to balance in luxurious deep relaxation.” Heated towels, placement of warm basalt stones and elements of energy work make this a uniquely Nine Stones experience.
The Tree Spa at Hidden Pond is set amongst the beach forest in Kennebunk. Three spa cottages are poised eight feet off the ground with windows opening out into the leaves and boughs of a birch grove. Catwalks connect safely from the side of a hill to their doors. Spa Manager Wendy Ross loves how they immerse her clients in nature.
“It is so relaxing to hear the swaying of the trees in the wind, the birds chirping and when it rains we hear the pitter-patter of raindrops on the roof,” she said. “The rustic design of the cottages gives it the feeling of a small, intimate spa. It has a grounding influence and allows people to relax.”
Window boxes overflow with herbs and flowers in the warm weather, allowing the staff to pluck fresh leaves and blossoms to add into foot soaks and scrubs. They grow lavender, rosemary, calendula and use other natural ingredients, essential oils and rosewater.
“We like to have a place that allows people to get back to nature,” said Ross. “We help people get away from their hectic, everyday lives and focus on things that are truly important.”
Caring for the natural world, these spas use the finest Maine ingredients. Whether they are beach stones or blueberries, wild roses or local milk and honey, their treatments will transport you. By the shore or in the city, in the cradle of leafy boughs or caressed by ocean breezes, the purity and relaxation of a Maine spa will leave you feeling refreshed and invigorated, and ready to begin your next adventure.
Maine Green Spa Directory
BeautyMark Spa
250 Commercial St. Portland
www.beautymarkco.com
Specialties: all-natural facials including Deluxe Collagen Velvet and Vitamin Penetration facials
Cliff House Resort
Shore Road, Ogunquit
www.cliffhousemaine.com
Specialties: Maine Wild Rose and Blueberry body wrap, Cliff Stone Massage, lavender and rosemary sea salt glow
Green With Envy Salon
453 Main Street, Rockland
www.greenenvysalon.com/rockland-salon
Specialties: hot shell massage, organic biodynamic botanical therapies, Thai yoga massage
Harborside Hotel / Bar Harbor Club
55 West Street, Bar Harbor
www.opalcollection.com/harborside/club
Specialties: Champagne facials, sugar scrubs and hot oil head massage
Inn by the Sea
40 Bowery Beach Road, Cape Elizabeth
www.innbythesea.com
Specialties: sea waves massage, Casco Bay stone massage, sea flora hydrating facial
Nine Stones Spa
250 Commercial Street, Portland
www.ninestonesspa.com
Specialties: waterfall renew fusion, honey dust treatment, organic essential oil therapies
Sanctuary Day Spa
15 Elm Street, Camden
www.mainesanctuary.com
Specialties: violet clay wrap, five-element therapies, hot stone/raindrop treatments
Sebasco Harbor Resort and Spa
29 Kenyon Road, Phippsburg
www.sebasco.com
Specialties: all organic products, sea salt rub, seaweed wrap
Soakology Foot Sanctuary and Tea House
30 City Center, Portland
www.soakology.com
Specialties: tea house, beach rose and Maine woods bath salts, herbal aromatherapy foot soaks
The Spa at the Portland Regency
20 Milk Street, Portland
www.theregency.com
Specialties: Atlantic hand-harvested seaweed treatments, bamboo and coffee therapies, rain shower table treatments
Spruce Point Inn
88 Grandview Avenue, Box 237, Boothbay Harbor
www.sprucepointinn.com
Specialties: Eminence organic products, open air ocean view and zen garden massages
The Tree Spa at Hidden Pond
354 Goose Rocks Road, Kennebunkport
www.hiddenpondmaine.com
Specialties: Maine honey body buzz with warm remedy wrap, pure petal and lavender-infused foot treatment, bamboo-infused pure bliss facial
