TAKE CARE
OF YOURSELF!

Gain Control of Your Life
and Rediscover Happiness!

Day and evening appointments

Local Spas
Offer An Alternative

No waiting

JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER

A comfortable, private office setting

V Unhurried appointments

V Experienced and caring professionals

V Adjustable fees for out of network or no insurance

le

A & E COUNSELING

(810) 626-2323

Avi Aharoni, Ph.D.

Ell ie Kleinman, MA, CSW

Licensed Psychologist

Psychotherapist

t a historic Victorian-
style Detroit bed-and-
breakfast, what began
Aas a one-time spa event
has become a regularly sched-
uled weekend, catering to indi-
viduals s who can't get away to the
luxurious spas for week-long
stays.
At a West Bloomfield day spa,
some clients restore their per-
sonal energy with massage ser-
vices in between regularly
scheduled vacations.
Whatever the reason, day-

Above:The Blanche House Inn,
Detroit.

5745 West Maple Road, Suite 206, West Bloomfield, MI 48322

Participating Providers for Blue Cross/Blue Shield and Medicare, Value Behavioral Health, Options
Mental Health, Merit Behavioral Services, Aetna, and most other commercial insurance plans.

Left: Parish House Inn, Ypsilanti.

At Eastwood Clinic, we've been providing
healthy solutions and alternatives through
PSYCHOTHERAPY to individuals and
families for over 25 years.

THE DET ROIT JEWIS H NE WS

• Mental Health • Chemical Dependency
• Child & Family Counseling • Elder Care
• Eating Disorder Groups
• Women's Services • Brief Treatment
• Cost Effective Services

EASTWOOD CLINIC

One of many positive things you can do for yourself.

810-288-9333

3101 Woodward Avenue • Suite 200 • Royal Oak, MI 48073
Rosalie Schwartz, MSW, ACSW, Program Manager

Ca-r&foce eLub

Affiliated with St. John's Health System

!sit. OQ USE

i.

weekend spas are picking up the
business that destination and re-
sort spas leave behind. In fact, in
the past two decades most of the
600 day spas in the United States
opened their doors for business;
the field is expected to increase
by 10 percent this year alone,
said Kim Marshall, spokesper-
son for the International Spa
and Fitness Association.
Detroit area spas are no dif-
ferent, raking in regular clients
who travel up to an hour to par-
take in personal treatments.
Take the Blanche House Inn,
a Victorian manor in the Barry
subdivision near Detroit's wa-
terfront. Built in 1905, the eight-
room inn started hosting spa
weekends for women within the
past year and is already booked
every weekend through March.
The one-night stays, at $139
plus tax and tip on the weekends,
include a dinner, breakfast, a
massage, a facial and a choice of
manicure or pedicure. At times,
groups of up to 20 women have
booked the entire bed-and-break-

fast for a reunion evening.
Mostly, however, business
manager Bernadette Ciciora
finds that people just want to get
away for a little pampering, but
not go too far away from home.
"It is close, it is relatively in-
expensive and the service is won-
derful," Ms. Ciciora said.
While the Blanche House does
not attract as many male clients,
the Parish House Inn in Ypsi-
lanti brings them in through "co-
coon" weekends. Sort of a
mini-vacation for couples, the
$330 two-night stay includes a
light supper the night before ar-
rival, a therapeutic body massage
for both, afternoon tea and break-
fast in bed on both mornings.
"The people who come are
frazzled when they arrive," said
innkeeper Chris Mason. "They
come in with their faces all
scrunched up, and by Sunday
they are totally relaxed."
"The men love it," she said.
"When they arrive they are a lit-
tle skeptical, but by the end they
are ready to schedule another
weekend."

Day spas vary a little from
the destination spas, mostly in
that they don't offer overnight
accommodations or aerobic
classes.
Suzzette Wagner, owner of
Kitty Wagner's Day Spa in West
Bloomfield, said some of her
clients schedule up to one full
day of these services because it
would cost them at least 10
times as much to travel to a des-
tination spa. "A Day of Luxury
and Beauty" — a package which
includes a paraffin body treat-
ment, a massage, jacuzzi, sauna,
pedicure, manicure, makeup ap-
plication and lunch — costs
$250 and takes eight hours to
perform.
"Even if they can afford it, they
don't want to take a week off
from work and go away for what
they can get right here," Ms.
Wagner said.
For those who can afford a
Canyon Ranch stay, day spas
serve as a place to recharge their
personal energy in between spa
vacations. Also, because the spa
time can be scheduled into a con-
venient time, more people with
busy lives find it a convenient
luxury in which to indulge.
"This is like a mini-getaway,"
said Tamara Friedman, owner
of Tamara's Institut de Beaute
in Farmington Hills. "You need
to forget about your faxes, your
job. You can come for a whole
day. You an come in for the
hour." El

