Sweet Spa Treatments at The Spa at Hotel Hershey
by Julie Register

This year, Jeff and I celebrated our anniversary at The Hotel Hershey in Hershey, Pennsylvania - The Sweetest Place on Earth™. I was particularly excited about seeing the spa. Last year, Jennifer Wayland-Smith, the Director of The Spa at Hotel Hershey sent regular reports on the progress of the spa's construction for me to post on the Spa Site and I looked forward to seeing it in person. I finally got my chance.

The new $7million, 17,000 square foot, three-story spa opened January 15, 2001. The stained glass, marble landings and pecan paneling of the spa decor was inspired by Milton Hershey's home. The first floor houses the fitness center with personal training, cardiovascular and resistance equipment, a mind and body room for yoga and other meditative arts, lockers and showers across from the indoor pool and whirlpool. The second and third floors offer the spa reception area, lockers and showers, ten massage treatment rooms, four wet treatment rooms, two facial rooms, four soaking tubs, two signature shower rooms, two steam rooms, and two manicure, three pedicure, and two hair styling stations. Also offered are the Inhalation Room and Quiet Room where you can relax before or after treatments.

We had lunch at The Fountain Cafe. While the Hotel Hershey doesn't have a spa restaurant per se, all restaurants offer spa cuisine selections. Low fat / low calorie selections include Fresh Fruit Salad, Baby Greens Salad, Moroccan Pepper Broth, Gaspacho, Veggie Burger, Linguine with roasted tomato sauce and parmesan cheese, Grilled Ham Steak with dried fruit chutney, asparagus and red potatoes, Crab and Baby Shrimp Spring Rolls, Seared Scrod, Fountain Cafe Paella with shrimp, clams, mussels, fresh fish, saffron rice, chicken, sausage and green peas among others. However, be warned that Hershey Kisses and Mini Chocolate Bars are freely available everywhere in the hotel.

We exercised in the first-floor fitness area, relaxed in the whirlpool, swam in the pool and headed up to the second story spa for our separate appointments. I wanted to do the chocolate thing and chose a Whipped Cocoa Bath followed by a Chocolate Fondue Wrap. Jeff got his usual - a Traditional Massage. We went our separate ways after checking in at the spa reception desk. I was given sandals and a robe and given a tour of the women's locker area which housed the lockers, showers, baths, and vanity area. After I changed, I was escorted to the third floor where I met Jeff in the Quiet Room. The room is a replica of Milton Hershey's estate library. Cool drinks and snacks were available. There is also access to a small porch that overlooks the hotel gardens. Not surprisingly, the library had a large selection of books with "chocolate" in the title - Chocolate, Chocolate Cakes, La Mason Du Chocolat, All About Chocolate, and Chocolate Temptation. There were also more traditional spa books such as Natural Healing, Mind, Body and Soul, and the Family Guide to Natural Medicine. I just relaxed with my eyes closed. I was called first and my therapist, Joanne, escorted me back to the women's area where she had prepared a tub full of what looked like a latte - foamy and chocolaty. There I soaked in the jets of the whirlpool for about 20 minutes and enjoyed the chocolate aroma. The Spa at the Hotel Hershey is willing to share the secrets of this chocolate-centered signature treatment so you can try it at home:

Whipped Cocoa Bath

• 1/8 cup Hershey's Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
• 1/3 cup Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk
• 1/2 cup Whipped Cocoa Bath (a foaming product for sale exclusively The Spa at the Hotel Hershey)

For those who truly wish to indulge, this bath is best experienced in a whirlpool tub, creating a frothy, foamy effect. Add Cocoa Powder and Milk Powder while tub is filling. Add the Whipped Cocoa Bath, then turn on the whirlpool. The Milk Powder softens and soothes the skin, while the lactic acid contained in the diluted powder helps exfoliate and renew the skin.

After my Whipped Cocoa Bath, Joanne took me to the Inhalation Room to wait while she prepared my next treatment, the Chocolate Fondue Wrap. This nice, bright glassed-in room is at the bottom of the curving staircase and views the fountain. Soft spa music fills the air as does the scent of Aroma Vera Ambiance aromatherapy.

I was led back upstairs to a wet treatment room where a chocolate-scented candle burned on a tall stand. I disrobed and climbed on the table. The Chocolate Fondue Wrap treatment simulates the effect of chocolate by using Moor Mud, which is extracted from Moor Bog. Over the past 1000 years, plants, trees, and bark have slowly, with the help of the thermal waters, transformed into a rich dark mud, rich in minerals and trace elements. An analysis of the mud shows that it contains a true collection of plants, minerals and trace elements, organic substances such as volatile oils, amino acids, waxes, resins, phyto-hormones, vitamins, enzymes, and natural antibiotics - all in the most natural balance. The mud is used as a natural preventive medicine because of its curative properties. It improves the texture and tone of the skin, remineralizes the body and helps alleviate the pain in joints and muscles. At The Spa at the Hotel Hershey, an essence of cocoa, formulated specifically for the spa has been added to the dark, unscented mud. I was painted with chocolate-scented mud from neck to toe, wrapped in a silver colored "space blanket", and "baked" in my own heat for about 20 minutes with the lights dimmed - very relaxing. When I was done, I was rinsed off with the Vichy Shower then coated with a layer of Cocoa Body Moisturizer. When it was over, I was led back to the Quiet Room where I met Jeff. All-in-all, it was a very relaxing anniversary.

There are plenty of other things to do in Hershey, the home of Hershey's Chocolate World, Hershey Gardens, Hershey Museum, HersheyPark, Hershey Bears AHL hockey team, Hershey Wildcats professional outdoor soccer team, Hershey Theatre, golf and many seasonal events such as the Summer Concert Series, Halloween in Hershey, Christmas in Hershey, and Hershey's New Year's Eve. A stay at the Hotel Hershey provides free admission to Hershey Gardens and Hershey Museum.

One final thing worth mentioning is the Milton Hershey School, established in 1909 for orphan boys. It now has an enrollment of 1,200 boys and girls from families of financial and social need. The school provides free housing, education, food, clothing, and assistance with medical and dental care to all students. Milton Hershey had no children and left all of his assets in a trust to support the school.

Hotel Hershey

Spa Reception

Locker Room

Vanity Area

Showers and Sauna

Hershey Rain Shower

Central Staircase and Fountain

Co-Ed Quiet Room

Co-Ed Quiet Room

View from Spa Relaxation Porch

Whipped Cocoa Bath

Co-Ed Inhalation Room

Vichy Shower Room for
Chocolate Fondue Wrap

Massage Treatment Room

Hydrotherapy Tub

Facial Treatment Room

Pedicure Chair

Spa Retail Area
Gardens

Photos copyright 2001, Julie Register
Licensed to About.com