Ever since the Native Americans who once populated Saratoga’s magical landscape referred to the region’s spiritually filled mineral waters as a gift shaken down from their god, Manitou, the Capital Region’s natural elements have never stopped erupting or healing those in need. But I didn’t have to tell you that, did I?
As a youngster who owned his first jar of Lancôme anti-aging cream at 13 and grew up on the ocean 20 minutes from Napa and St. Helena, CA, I completely identify with all things pro-wellness and anti-aging. Throw in a decade of shiny Beverly Hills spa treatment immersion and travels with royalty, and an armload of garnet-colored passports—Montepulciano, Ischia, Capri, Baden-Baden—and I’m now happy to say that after all those global miles, Saratoga Springs is my latest long-term, dial-my-age-back haunt. And it makes perfect sense.
What I love about our location is the overabundance of energy-filled wellness that surrounds us, as well as the immense power our healing Earth and its potently charged water tables just beneath it possess—to help make us feel buoyant. The fact that Saratogians have both fought to preserve their regional organic cures and allowed the injection of modernity into their spa services is inspiring. Now, even in Saratoga, the term “spa” includes old, new and scientifically proven remedies.
Many of us spa aficionados are well aware that The Roosevelt Baths and Spa checks all of these boxes. But when was the last time we really perused their impressive service menu? I love that they haven’t rested on their laurels, while respectfully maintaining harmony and balance with the traditional healing properties of the water cures. Whether your skin is aging faster than you’d prefer or your bones feel achier than they should, each category on the menu has something for you. Perhaps on this visit shuck the traditional massage (I prefer deep tissue) for something different and truly transformational: How about craniosacral therapy, reiki (loved it!) or, if you insist on a massage, the classic shiatsu. Their Ayurvedic wellness regimen and acupuncture are also emphasized here—and can be a longevity game-changer, if you follow through with a series as a long-term course of treatment. And OK, men, no smirking: Try a Bach Flower Essence Consultation. The all-natural Bach flower remedies, developed in the 1930s by a British physician and homeopath, restore emotional health and centeredness and help you chart your own unique path to personal authenticity. This takes real strength, dude! Then, book the Back Facial—if not for yourself, then for whomever it is that has your back.
The Roosevelt Spa’s long list of body treatments and facials are categorized as “clinical,” because they’re results-oriented and range from the gentle, rejuvenating Collagen Facial to the more assertive Wrinkle Eraser or the Renewal Clinical Peel deep exfoliating treatment. I, myself, would splurge on the Roosevelt Signature Body Regeneration, an Ayurvedic-inspired balancing treatment designed to drain lymph nodes, exfoliate and stimulate cell regeneration from head to toe. Wraps, meditation and scent also help the feeling of orchestrated well-being. With a full-blown hair salon and heightened mani/pedi options, you can top off your spa day by making beauty the icing on the cake, or save it for another legendary spa day.
On Broadway, Complexions Spa for Beauty and Wellness, a premier Gold LEED Certified Spa is a must. According to their site, “mineral water from a natural spring underneath the spa is pumped directly into our hydrotherapy tubs and is used for therapeutic soaks, mineral-rich mud wraps and more.” How Saratoga is that?
It’s impressive to see some 6,500 square feet of state-of-the-art spa nirvana so far north of Manhattan, and I love that Complexions appeals to everyone—no one is an afterthought here: man or woman, teenager or golden girl and gladiator or grandpa. The service menus are in-depth, well appointed and results driven. I mean, how many beauty clinics can offer an extensive array of head-to-toe services under each category of “salon,” “spa” and “med spa,” and do them all really well?
At Complexions, traditional wellness and beauty is an absolute standard too. But so are advanced anti-aging aesthetics, meaning microdermabrasion, peels, I2PL treatments, LED light therapy, custom facial rejuvenation programs, and on and on. Providing more than just a classic haircut and blowout, the salon is a haven for renewal and transformation as well. And the male venue, the Barber Spa, is a separate destination experience, offering advanced barbering skin care, hair coloring and foot skin renewal. I’m obsessed! Complexions’ rare quality of care boldly shows you that they want to keep you a happy camper forever.
Scaled down but equally amazing, Ridha Plastic Surgery & Medspa provides a laser-focused medical approach to boutique-chic beauty. If you want to combine plastic surgery with a noninvasive new you, then your ramped-up cosmetic regimen could be a more heightened, expedited experience here. Dr. Jeffrey Ridha is credited with taking a great former sanctuary and improving on it with clinical technicians and super targeted massage therapy offerings. Whether it’s waxing, facials, med spa treatments, chemical peels or a separate day of awesome massage and injectables or fillers, this re-imagined sanctuary of Dr. Ridha’s delivers.
I’m so happy to be a part of Saratoga’s newfound confidence in its beautification and wellness journey. Let’s get our spa days in now so we’ll see each other looking rested and rejuvenated—and fabulous!—this summer at the races.