Here’s why a Fort Lauderdale luxury hotel’s massage establishment license is suspended
The Florida Board of Massage Therapy suspended the massage establishment license of The Ritz-Carlton Spa Fort Lauderdale earlier this month.
As of Monday, the Florida Department of Health website says the suspension that came down Nov. 5 remains in effect.
The Ritz-Carlton Spa’s manager didn’t return a message Monday from the Miami Herald.
What happened at the Ritz-Carlton seems to be the same thing that happened to Miami’s Mandarin Oriental earlier this year when the Mandarin got hit with an emergency suspension order. While the Mandarin was under suspension, it still offered facials and nail work, but couldn’t offer massage.
Each massage establishment license holder is required to have a Designated Establishment Manager (DEM), a massage therapist with a clear license who’s responsible for making sure the business follows all the rules of a licensed massage place.
When a state inspector swung by on May 25, 2023, the Ritz-Carlton Spa didn’t have a DEM.
The state filed an administrative complaint against the Ritz-Carlton on March 13 as no DEM had been named yet. The Ritz-Carlton, the final order said, didn’t “file a legally sufficient response disputing material facts in the administrative complaint or elect a hearing within 21 days of being served” with the complaint.
So, with no response, on Nov. 5, the Board of Massage Therapy suspended the massage license with a $2,500 fine.
This story was originally published November 18, 2024 at 4:36 PM.
