When I first created Love to Spa, my goal was to be a combination of the Fodor’s for Spas and the Zagat’s of spas. A combination of all the travel details you need to know like in Fodors with the rating system of Zagats. You see, Zagat’s has always understood there’s more to a restaurant review than just food. Kind of like there is more to a spa review than just the service or treatment.
I look at several factors when I rate the spa, from start to finish from the time I start looking at the spa, to the booking and all the way through to settling my bill and leaving. I also consider whether it’s a destination spa, a resort or hotel spa, or day spa and only them within their respective category. I score the spa on each category based on my experience, my observations, my interactions with other guests, and any other notes I jot down in my Little Pink Book. Lastly, every time I review a spa, I assess its score in comparison to other spas in that range and in the range on either side. Just to ensure there is consistency in how they spas are getting scored and that the alignment of scoring is maintained.
So here’s how I rate spas:
- I look at several factors when I rate the spa, from start to finish from the time I start looking at the spa, to the booking and all the way through to settling my bill and leaving.
- Facilities – regardless of size, does the combination of treatment areas, relaxation and lounge areas, locker rooms and staff appear to be appropriate?
- Amenities – what other things do they offer, such as pools, steam rooms and saunas and what toiletries and other things are offered in the locker or changing rooms?
- Ambiance – décor, cleanliness, and sense of the place, does it fit in with its natural setting, or its type of spa and focus?
- Experience – does it live up to the its reputation, hype and advertisements? Is the experience consistent from booking and arrival, to the treatment and then finally paying the bill?
- Treatment options – regardless of size, is there a range of treatments, and what product lines are used?
- Price – again, regardless of the size, I am looking at value and luxury. I don’t provide specific dollar amounts, here because those vary significantly between type of spa (destination vs day spa) and by country. I use the price of a standard 60 minute massage as my benchmark, and will use an index to compare purchasing price power between different countries.
- $ – Value
- $$ – Superior
- $$$ – Luxurious
- $$$$ – Ultraluxurious
- Additionally, for those that offer it, I will consider spa cuisine – does food have appeal and taste as well as healthy preparations and nutritional value, and not just focused on diet trends.
- I calibrate each of these criteria to what is expected of the spa based on whether it’s a destination spa, a resort or hotel spa, or day spa. For example, destination spas and resort spas have bigger facilities, and more amenities than a smaller day spa. So I rate spas only within their respective category.
- I weight each one of the above criteria in terms of how much they contribute to your overall experience.
- Then, I score the spa on each category based on my experience, my observations, my interactions with other guests, and any other notes I jot down in my Little Pink Book.
- I multiply the weighting times the criteria to arrive at a total score.
- My hearts are based on range of scores, and so depending on where that score falls out, it will then be assigned the appropriate number of hearts.
- Lastly, every time I review a spa, I assess its score in comparison to other spas in that range and in the range on either side. Just to ensure there is consistency in how they spas are getting scored and that the alignment of scoring is maintained.
What you need from your spa experience can’t always be measured. Each experience is unqiue and L2S provides you with subtle and not so subtle variables that can affect your spa experience.
