The “hot” spa treatments this year will actually be cold! 2011 spa trends brought the heat and 2012 is cooling it down. This year’s trends will include a focus on cold treatments veering away from hot treatments, which have been popular in previous years. Cold-themed treatments help reduce inflammation in joints and muscles as well as increase circulation throughout the entire body.

While many treatments will be cooling you down, this year special focus will be placed on your feet. You can never have enough TLC for your tootsies and foot-focused treatments will help to relieve the stress from the bottom up. Think of all the pain your feet feel after a full day in heels, it’s their turn to get a little pampering.

It seems like everyone’s short on time. Quick spa services are in and we’ve got just the fix for the time-crunched spa-goer. Spa Mio offers a list of “Tapas Services” featuring shorter versions of their most popular services. Think 25-minute manis, facials, waxings and more! It’s the perfect choice for our conference guests or people on the go.

Now to concentrate on the soul; treatments featuring vibration and sound therapy will help engage your senses. The sound vibrations of the bowls help align the body and your energy. This technique is one of the oldest in the spa world, being based on a sound massage treatment in Indian medicine over 5,000 years ago.

Keep an eye out for new treatments at our spa. Spa Mio is working on incorporating some of these items in their future spa menu.  For example, cold stones will be used on feet during massages and pedicures. Also, massage treatments may integrate Tibetan Bowls therapy during services.

Have you treated yourself to any services featuring these new spa trends? Let us know what you enjoyed best and what spa treatments you’re looking forward to trying in the New Year!

Below is a look at the seasonal savings you can expect on each day.

Tuesday, December 13
30% Off All Services*.
*Cannot be combined with any other discounts or specials.

Wednesday, December 14
It’s Better to Give & Receive.
Bring in a new toy with booked service and receive a savings gift.

Thursday, December 15
25% Off All Retail Products!

Friday, December 16
80min Massage + 50 Min Facial For $200*.
*Cannot be combined with Local Discount.

Saturday, December 17
Book any 80 min Massage for just $125*.
*Cannot be combined any other discounts or specials.

Sunday, December 18
50 min Facial for just $85*.
*Cannot be combined any other discounts or specials.

Monday, December 19
Book any 50 min Massage for just $75*.
*Cannot be combined any other discounts or specials.

Tuesday, December 20
35% Off All Services*.
*Cannot be combined any other discounts or specials.

Wednesday, December 21
Shellac Manicure for $45*.
*Cannot be combined with Local Discount.

Thursday, December 22
“B” Ready for the Holidays! Blow Dry for $55* with complimentary product from celebrity stylist Brandon Martinez’ hair care line.
*Cannot be combined any other discounts or specials.

Friday, December 23
35% Off All Retail Products.

Saturday, December 24
Last Minute Gift Idea!
Receive $15 Off any $50 Gift Card Purchase.

For the third consecutive year in a row, our resort has been honored with the Forbes Four-Star Award and for the second consecutive year our spa has also been recognized with the Forbes Four-Star Award. The M continues to take its place as one of only 177 hotels and 104 spas in the world to receive the awards. But, what do all those stars mean for our guests?

With a reputation for defining the extraordinary, Forbes Travel Guide conducts regular inspections of hotels, restaurants and spas across the nation and issues an annual guidebook listing the destinations on a ratings scale of One to Five Stars. The ratings reflect specific, strict standards regarding the facilities themselves and more importantly the service that the rated resorts, eateries and spas offer to their guests.

Forbes inspectors spend two nights and three days assessing each hotel in numerous different categories. They visit hotel properties unannounced and rate them as One, Two of Three Star hotels. If the inspector believes the hotel is a potential candidate for a Four or Five Star rating, another Forbes inspector is sent back to the hotel undercover to evaluate the hotel’s service with a checklist of over 500 items.

Properties must score in the 80^th percentile on the Forbes’ ratings scale to earnFour-Stars. The score itself is weightedheavily on service. A portion of the rating is measured by the experience that the inspector has while the facility itself is also factored into the score. Forbes rates about 8,000 of the approximately 50,000 hotels in North America. Of the 8,000 that they do rate, only a few earn a coveted Four and Five Star Ratings.

As any Spa Mio guest knows, our spa has a great selection of retail for you to choose from to pamper your skin, hair, body and even mind. Since this month is all about everything pink, any product you see in pink packaging is offered at 25% off. That’s right ladies, even those highly sought after Kérastase products will be 25% of until October 31, so be sure to stock up on your next visit!

After a long summer season by the pool, it’s important to treat your feet to a little something special! Spa Mio’s Pink Cookie Pedicure will leave your feet perfectly primped and ready for the fall season ahead. The pedicure is finished off with a cookie foot scrub that leaves your feet with that freshly baked scent without gaining a pound. The best part of this tasty treatment is it can be combined with Spa Mio’s local’s discount. All locals receive 25% off full-priced spa and salon services seven days a week so offering this discount on top of the special pricing is certainly a treat!

Along with the pink specials Spa Mio is also giving you a chance to “Win Pink”! If you submit the closest guess to how many gel beads are in a pink face mask you can win a basket full of pink goodies from our spa! Each guess costs $1.

With all these pink specials, you’ve got a lot of spa-going to delve in to. If you try our Pink Cookie Pedicure or any other October special let us know what you think!

The planning and details that go into a wedding are never-ending and planning your pre-wedding skin and beauty treatment is just as important as picking out the cake! Whether you have a few months or a few days before the ceremony, Spa Mio has services to help you get that sought after wedding day glow.

Three months until your wedding

If you have a skin care budget for your wedding, it’s a great idea to invest in a series of microdermabrasion facials or glycolic peels. These treatments will improve the texture and tone of your skin. It takes care of pesky problems like blackheads, fine lines, wrinkles and pore size while leaving the skin feeling silky soft and photo ready! The series should start three months before the wedding and appointments should occur every two-three weeks. Booking a series is the best way to see optimal results.

One month until your wedding

Never leave your hair and makeup as a surprise for your wedding day. Request a trial run of your hair and makeup so you can take the look for a test run. When booking your trial services, request someone who will be working the day of your wedding as well. Besides ensuring you know what the finished product will look like, it will eliminate some stress on the day of your wedding.  Remember, less stress means fewer breakouts!

Two weeks until your wedding

Facials within two weeks of your wedding should only be cleansing or hydrating facials. At Spa Mio, we would suggest our Brilliance Facial. The Brilliance Facial is a Vitamin C facial designed to fight free radical damage and stimulate collagen to hydrate and plump the skin.

Two days until your wedding

For that last minute shine, schedule a facial (still only cleansing or hydrating) at least 48 hours prior to your wedding. Pre-wedding facials will even help enhance the way the makeup lays on your skin. Since it is only two days prior to your big day keep in mind that you should request no extractions with your service, it will minimize your chances of breaking out.

No matter what regimen you decide on for your pre-wedding beauty remember to talk to the aestheticians that you will be administering your services. If you communicate your concerns and purpose for the facial, the aestheticians can customize the treatment to fit your needs.  Be sure to include important information such as allergies, current medications so the treatments work for you!

Gel manicures won’t chip, or scratch for at least two weeks after application! We know girls, this sounds too good to be true, but trust us it’s true. Best of all, there is absolutely no dry time (zip, zero, zilch) or ability to smudge your freshly polished phalanges.

Our Spa Manager, Katherine Wind, tested out the manicure herself to show its durability.

Want to test it for yourself? You can book your appointment now!

MoroccanOil and [comfort zone] products are known throughout the industry for providing top-notch products for treating hair and skin needs. So in talking with our spa and MoroccanOil and [comfort zone] we picked two must-have products for spring because after an indulgent spa experience, why wouldn’t you want to take the best of the spa home with you?

Some of the MoroccanOil products available at Spa Mio.

“The Original” Hair Oil Treatment by MoroccanOil^®

Revive your hair from the desert air with “The Original” hair oil treatment from MoroccanOil. Dried out locks can be instantly revitalized with this silicone-based serum.  You can use the oil on damp or wet hair as a prot

ectant from styling tools or on a finished hairstyle to add some extra sheen. In both uses the product prevents static and dryness – truly a must-have in our climate. It is also great to have when you’re out by the pool; your skin isn’t the only thing that can get damaged in the sun. Plus, it smells great!

Eye Supreme Cream by [comfort zone]

 

An assortment of anti-aging products from comfort zone.

Now that your tresses are taken care of, it’s time to look re-energized and youthful no matter how late you were out on the casino floor. [comfort zone] offers a line of anti-aging skin products including their “Eye Supreme” cream.  This cream will moisturize while reducing any dark circles or puffiness you may have from staring at your favorite slot machine all day. As an added bonus it even has anti-stress properties, in case lady luck hasn’t been entirely on your side.

These items are available for purchase at Spa Mio here at M Resort along with many others. Don’t let the spoiling stop at the spa, with these products you can feel just as luxurious everyday!

There’s no doubt you have an almost endless supply of choices when it comes to picking the hotel for your vacation, especially in “tourist destinations.” Many people (in fact most these days) begin their search for their vacation hotel online. The Internet is home to a bevy of travel rating websites. These can certainly be helpful, but they can also be a bit confusing. Why is it that Joe S. from Boston said “the room was amazing with a spectacular view and comfortable bed” and Donna G. from Sacramento said “mediocre view and the bed was stiff as a board”? 

On these sites, you’ll find answers to pretty much every one of those questions you ask yourself before making a choice – a LOT of answers. The problem is there are so many conflicting opinions, experiences and points-of-view. How do you know when a source is credible? Do you trust Joe or Donna? Were they having a bad day? Were they having an amazing day? Did Joe get a freebie or comp from that hotel? Does that hotel actually advertise or have a partnership with the travel website and everyone’s getting a cut when you book your room? 

What if there was a completely objective, independent, trusted source with more than 50 years of rating hotels for travelers? There is of course and it’s the Forbes Travel Guide, formerly the Mobil Travel Guide. Here’s what they have to say: 

“Sorting through the scores of travel ratings in the marketplace today takes effort—many are biased and the source of information is a mystery. There is a proven, time-tested gold standard for hospitality ratings, and we invented it. Forbes Travel Guide provides travelers with the most objective, most disciplined ratings for hotels, restaurants and spas in the world. The hospitality industry respects and reveres the Five Star rating system, and consumers have put their faith in it for 50 years as they decide where to stay, dine or play.” http://www.forbestravelguide.com/ 

There are about 50,000 hotels in the United States and Forbes Travel Guide recommends just 3,000. That’s just six percent. The standards are incredibly high and the anonymous inspectors have hundreds of criteria to consider when it comes to rating a property. What that means to you as a consumer, is that when you choose a Forbes Travel Guide star-rated property, you know what you’re getting and you know it’s high-quality. It means the guest service is exceptional. It means the hotel is squeaky clean. It means the amenities are abundant and top-notch. 

Bottom line? Star ratings DO matter and you should absolutely consider them when choosing your hotel. Here at M Resort, we’ve got four and we’re looking for more. And don’t forget, when it comes to spas, Forbes Travel rates those too and Spa Mio just so happens to have four stars as well.