Posted by: Editor on Apr 26, 2005 – 12:39 PM
pampering  The One&Only Ocean Spa takes top honours as it marks the first Caribbean spa ever to be named top spa by Conde Nast Traveler magazine. Conde Nast Readers selected the One&Only Ocean Club Spa from among 521 cruise line spas, destinations, resort and urban hotel spas in North America and the Caribbean. The spa, located at the luxurious One&Only Ocean Club on Paradise Island is prominently featured in Conde Nast Traveler magazine’s April issue.
Youlanda Deveaux, Regional Vice President for Mandara Spa with responsibility for the Caribbean and The Bahamas said, “Being named the number one spa by the readers of Conde Nast Traveler is an incredible honour for the One&Only Ocean Club Spa, its professional staff and for The Bahamas.”

Deveaux said that the competition was very intense in that many of the spas in the readers’ poll are considered the finest in the world; the type of luxurious facilities that dream vacations and experiences are made of with first-class standards and treatments that are held up as industry icons and examples. She said for sophisticated readers of Conde Nast to select One&Only Ocean Club as their favorite in the Western Hemisphere is such a powerful tribute to the professionals who work at the spa, to the service they provide, the attention they bestow upon guests and to the experience of being pampered and reinvigorated.

“This honour also demonstrates once again that Bahamians can, with the right training and motivation, be competitive with their counterparts in the hospitality industry anywhere in the world,” Deveaux stated.

Conde Nast Traveler Magazine readers selected the One&Only Ocean Club Spa for its Rooms and Programs/Facilities.

Conde Nast Traveler informed that the selection process was developed by the independent firm of Millard Group Inc., which asked 17,224 readers to rate 521 cruise line spas and destination, resort and urban hotel spas in North America and the Caribbean that they visited in the past three years. Of these, 13 percent responded, and those 2,259 were tabulated. Using a five-point scale – excellent, very good, good, fair and poor- respondents rated various criteria. “Excellent” and “very good” scores for each criterion were then averaged. Spas with the highest total of “excellent” and “very good” scores were chosen as the best.

Six criteria were used to evaluate destination spas: Location/Setting, Treatments; Staff/Service Rooms, Diet/Cuisine, and Programs/Facilities. Resort Spas were judged on these and a seventh; Other Activities. Cruise line spas were judged on Workout Facilities, Treatments, Staff/Service and Cabins. Urban hotel spas were judged on Location/Setting, Treatments, Staff/Service, Workout Facilities and Hours of Operation.

Deveaux explained that the spa industry has exploded in the last decade and resorts around the world are competing to build the biggest, the best, and the most elaborate spas. She noted that with such a competitive new spa world, her team decided to create something entirely different at the One&Only Ocean Club Spa. “Our guests – often royalty, celebrities, highly-paid athletes and CEO’s – are very discerning and they do not necessarily want bigger, fancier or more ornate. They want an experience that soothes the soul and rejuvenates the spirit and that is what we have worked so hard to create.”

While describing the atmosphere at the One&Only Ocean Club Spa, Deveaux said we began with the ocean and used it as our inspiration- Balinese inspired artwork. We built eight, completely private, individual villas each overlooking the manicured lawns of the Ocean Club and the ocean beyond.” Deveaux continued, “A guest need never see another guest from the time he or she is escorted to his or her villa. They enter through their own enclosed patio, perhaps sip tea on a Balinese day bed, with a bamboo fan overhead, walk on soothing stones from Israel, have a pedicure with a mud rub from the Dead Sea as the breeze blows through. Then depending on the treatment they requested, they may shower with 100 fine sprays of water or go directly to the interior of the villa for a message. Soft music and candles light their way, dark woods, fresh orchids and fine appointments surround them…”

Mandara Spa (Bahamas) Ltd has an employee base of 200 of which 40 are employed at the One&Only Ocean Club Spa. Headquartered in Coral Gables, Florida, as part of Steiner Leisure Limited, Mandara Spa is the leading operator of resort and cruise line spas in the world. With over 50 luxury spas worldwide and more under development, Mandara Spa operates from Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Maldives, Micronesia, Hawaii, French Polynesia, Fiji, Las Vegas, Aruba, Puerto Rico, cruise lines and The Bahamas.