| Spa Sydell - Brookwood Plaza | |
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While I was in Atlanta for the Spacifically conference, I had an opportunity to visit Spa Sydell's newest location - Midtown in Brookwood Plaza, a new shopping center across from the Brookwood train station on Peachtree Road. This sleek, modern spa is the sixth spa for the Harris family who have been in the business for 20 years. Other locations include Gwinnett at Pleasant Hill Square, Buckhead Plaza, Cumberland Mall, Alpharetta at Mansell Point, and Perimeter Square West. Sydell Harris founded the company in 1982 with core face and body treatments and an original staff of five. She has remained true to her original vision - you won't find hair services or an exercise studio at any of the Spa Sydell locations. You will, however, find Sydell's family - Richard Harris is C.E.O. and President and daughter, Karen Harris, manages the spas. All of them - mother, father, brother, sister - are estheticians. Even the artwork in the Brookwood location was created by Karen's brother. And where there were once five, there are now over 350 employees.
The 14,000 square foot Brookwood Plaza spa occupies two stories. The first floor is a large open area that holds a central reception desk which is surrounded by retail shelves and display cases. Tucked in the back corner is a waterfall, one of a number of water features in the spa. From this floor, you can look up and see two bridges on the second floor. One leads from the elevator to the second floor check-in desk and the other leads from there to the locker rooms and rest of the spa. The decor is modern and sleek with lots of metal and concrete and lots of black and earth tones - actually very salon-like - at least on the first floor where there are few soft surfaces. An elevator leads to the second floor where there are 32 massage treatment rooms, 6 facial treatment rooms, 2 body treatment rooms, 2 hydrotherapy treatment rooms, and 6 manicure/pedicure stations.
I was scheduled to have a massage. I checked in downstairs, took the elevator up, and checked in at the second desk where I was given a robe and slippers. I changed in the women's locker room where there is a vanity area and steam room. Not feeling like a steam, I waited in the waiting area for my therapist. Unlike the areas of the spa I had seen so far, the lighting in this inviting area was low and there were soft, comfortable chairs - not many of them, though. Spa music was in the air and I could hear a waterfall at the end of one of the hallways. I was starting to relax. At the appointed time, Candice came to take me to one of the massage treatment rooms. She asked me about the state of my muscles. I gave my usual plea for extra attention to the neck, shoulders and back. She did a fabulous job unknotting those areas and managed to give the rest of me a good massage as well. When the massage was over, Candace gave me a glass of water and led me back to the locker room. She suggested I have a steam, which I did, but a steam is really better before a massage. I really longed for a soft, quiet place to sit for a while. There were no alternatives, so I sat in the steam room. And, thus, we arrive at my only complaint with this spa - for all of its many square feet, none of them were designated to be a recovery area. One should really rest for a while after a massage or any body treatment. The spa's waiting area doesn't have enough seating and, while there is a large gathering room, it is apparently only used for parties. I felt like my time was up and I was expected to move on. It kind of popped the relaxation bubble.
Spa Sydell offers a number of customized face (permanent makeup, facials, peels, microdermabraions, dyeing), massage (Swedish, deep tissue, pre-natal, couples, reflexology), body treatments (body polish, hydro-mineral body wraps, hydromassage and soak), nail services (manicure, pedicure), make-up application and consultation and hair removal.
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