Gotta love it: Spa treatments slashed to a crazy 50 bucks.
It's National Spa Week through Sunday, and hundreds of spas nationwide are drastically discounting massages, facials and microdermabrasion sessions from $100-$200 to $50 a pop.
National Spa Week was the brainchild of spa publicist Cheryl Reid, who launched the idea in 2004 for Manhattan spas that wanted more traffic but couldn't afford more advertising.
The idea caught fire, and it's clear why.
An hourlong massage can run you $110 at the most basic of spas. At a sumptuous hotel spa, it can cost twice that. Given the current economic gloom, until you can take a Thai massage home and hang it in your closet for another day, new shoes are likely to win every time.
As one friend of mine put it: ``Spas rape your wallet.''
There were 14,615 spas in the United States as of last summer, according to the International Spa Association. That's a lot of back rubs. Which is why a $50 massage is such a good idea. Spas get new clients, and clients get new treatments.
Hit spaweek.org for a list of participating spas, and you learn that more than 100 in New York City are offering the $50 rate. As of early this week, only 10 spas in South Florida were listed on the site.
In Miami-Dade, those included: Uhma Spa & Shop, Spa V at the Hotel Victor, Laser Cosmetica, Honeydoo Salon & Spa, Aquagene Spa at Doubletree Ocean Point Resort and Acqualina & ESPA Spa. In Broward, only Red Door spas and Contour spas were listed.
Book them while they last. And don't be afraid to call your favorite spa, or one a bit beyond your budget, and suggest it meet the $50 going rate this week.
