Healing Lifestyles & Spas....

BERKELEY SPRINGS, WEST VIRGINIA:
AN ENTIRE TOWN OF HEALING

Many towns in the Mid-Atlantic claim, ‘George Washington Slept Here,’ as a tourism slogan. Washington traveled extensively in the region and the various towns and inns where he spent the night are well-documented. But few towns can claim that ‘George Washington Bathed Here.’

Washington enjoyed stopping in the historic West Virginia town of Berkeley Springs for the healing powers of the spring water. Today, travelers still flock to the town for the waters and much more.

I grew up about a half hour from Berkeley Springs and enjoyed the area’s various outdoors pursuits, like hiking, biking, and camping. However, I now return as often as possible for the various spas and other healing-oriented facilities that have sprouted in the small town. There’s a healthy Berkeley Springs vibe I feel every time I arrive--it must be the water!

“We have three times as many massage therapists here as we do lawyers,” says Jeanne Mozier, vice president of Travel Berkeley Springs. With a wide variety of spa services available throughout Berkeley Springs at stand-alone spas, as well as a very popular spa at Coolfont just outside town, the story of Berkeley Springs as a spa town has a long history with a modern twist.

WASHINGTON BATHED HERE

As with many historic spa towns throughout the nation, Berkeley Springs was first a destination of Native Americans. They frequented the area to enjoy the healing mineral- and gas-laden spring water, which flowed at a rate of 1,500 gallons per minute and at a constant temperature of 74.3 degrees Fahrenheit (as it generally does today).

This led to early settlers and surveyors visiting the area in the 1700s and, in 1776, the granting of a charter as the town of Bath (named after the health- and tourism-oriented Bath, England). The town quickly grew in popularity with both visitors and land speculators. One of Bath’s earliest proponents was George Washington, who originally surveyed the land and later visited the town often as a retreat before and after the Revolution.

The popularity of the water led to the construction of the Roman Bath and the Shower Bath Building in the 1780s. The Gentleman’s Drinking Spring was added in 1815. In the 1920s, an administration building, bandstand, swimming pool, and bathhouse complex were added. Incredibly, all or parts of these structures are still standing and in use as part of a unique West Virginia state park spa.

These facilities continued to be popular throughout the 20th century, operating under mostly public stewardship. However, in 1970, Berkeley Springs State Park was formed to preserve both the buildings and experience of this national spa treasure. In fact, in 1976, Berkeley Springs State Park was placed on the National Register of Historic Places.

But a spa town can’t survive on history alone. The 1990s led to a revival of the town of ‘Bath’ as a destination honoring its past, but also providing many modern spas and amenities.

Much of the success of modern-day Berkeley Springs as a spa destination is thanks to the creation of the “Winter Festival of the Waters” in 1991--a three-month umbrella event to alert the world that Berkeley Springs was a year-round resort. Winter had previously been a dead time for tourism business in the town.

For January, town officials created ‘Spa Feast.’ It is always held the weekend after Martin Luther King long weekend and has always followed the same format--a free Saturday morning fair that brings all the spa and health-related businesses together to offer samples of their wares.

There are typically lines for free 15-minute treatments--massages, facials, pedicures, manicures, and more. They also give away lots of door prizes, such as products and free treatments. Local companies, like Tari's Cafe (a popular restaurant) and Coolfont (a nearby health-oriented resort and spa featured below) offer spa food specials. The local shops also have health-related sales.

For February, they created the ‘Berkeley Springs International Water Tasting’ (now approaching its 13th year). This phenomenal event has grown from 24 waters in 1991 to 91 waters this past year. There are now five categories, including municipal, sparkling, bottled, purified waters, as well as one for packaging.

The March weekend went through several permutations, until Travel Berkeley Springs created ‘George Washington's Bathtub Celebration’ in the mid-1990s. The weekend basically celebrates Washington’s love affair with the area through a variety of events and activities. The events on this weekend include readings from George Washington's diaries about his time in Berkeley Springs, sales and specials, and Tari's traditional White House dinner.

TODAY’S SPAS

George Washington wouldn’t recognize today’s town. Mozier’s comment about three times as many massage therapists as lawyers is obvious the minute any visitor arrives. The town square features the varied facilities of the Berkeley Springs State Park, a health-oriented shop and full-service spa (The Bath House), a huge homeopathy museum, shop, and producer (Homeopathy Works), and a hotel and attached spa (Country Inn, which is currently undergoing ownership and management changes and is thus not further covered). Options like the renowned Atasia Spa, Coolfont Resort, and several independent therapists round out the health-oriented options of this long-time healthy getaway.

Berkeley Springs State Park is frequently the first stop for many visitors and it’s also often their first spa experience in town. Most clients opt for a ‘package’ that includes a 15- to 20-minute soak in either a walk-in 750 gallon ceramic tub or a Victorian-style bathtub, a shower, and a 30- or 60-massage. Each of these options are available separately, as are a heat cabinet, steam, and infrared heat.

Repeat business is incredibly strong, with children and even grandchildren visiting the park as their parents and grandparents had done. There are also several veteran employees, including Mary Stuckey, who has been with the state park for more than 35 years and is often requested by repeat visitors for massage.

The state park is part of a competitive, yet cooperative, atmosphere of spas in Berkeley Springs. In fact, just across the town square, The Bath House offers a very different alternative to the atmosphere of the historic park and spa. “We started more than ten years ago as a shop, with lots of spa-oriented items,” says owner Maria Spencer, who used a similar store in Eureka Springs, Arkansas as a model.

They added six treatment rooms eight years ago, ironically taking over space next door once occupied by attorneys. They even added modern apartments above the shop and spa, for those who want to create a spa getaway right in town.

Evelyn Garcia is a long-time massage therapist with repeat devotees like me. She has been with The Bath House from the start and also teaches yoga classes at Coolfont.

Garcia says the LaStone Therapy has done very well, as has the addition of the AromaSpa(TM) and the Softtub(TM) as part of packages. Other options at The Bath House include botanical facials, salt glows, and many other skin care offerings. Garcia and Spencer relate that many visitors leave their appointments and head straight into the shop to purchase items used during their treatment.

Just a block away, Malaysian-born and Thailand-trained Frankie Tan started Atasia Spa four years ago. He had worked at the Country Inn’s Renaissance Spa for 10 years, where he provided more than 10,000 massages. To pursue his dream of owning his own spa, Tan gutted an historic building that had grown dilapidated (friends helped him haul out more than ten tons of trash).

Thanks to Tan’s business acumen, an interior design background, and lots of local help (who are now spa clients), Atasia has grown into a successful full-service spa with a wide variety of treatments and facilities. This has included adding a pedicure chair (he just added a second, thanks to its popularity), a steam room, creative post-treatment relaxation areas, and even a hair salon just down the street (he wanted to keep the noise and smells separate from the spa).

Tan’s Thai massage is extremely popular, as is LaStone. Atasia’s massage tables were custom-made by Tan, using solid oak from Mennonites in Pennsylvania and weighing in at 100 pounds each (without a squeak). The room where scrubs and other ‘wet’ treatments are done includes a custom-made stainless steel table with its own drain. This is where their new Nikali Liquid Sugar scrub is offered, which has garnered great reviews from clients.

Just outside of town, there’s yet another spa (and much more). Coolfont Resort, Conference, Spa & Wellness Center was founded by the Ashelman family back in 1968. Patriarch Sam Ashelman, who is still very active at 89, is a testimony to his premise of creating a retreat for relaxation, recreation, and improved fitness and health. He and his family have obviously succeeded.

Coolfont consists of 1,300 wooded acres just above Berkeley Springs. The sprawling facilities include: a lodge with 19 hotel-style rooms; a variety of popular A-frame cabins set in the woods; vacation home rentals; the popular Treetop House Restaurant (all meals are typically included in a package stay); a lake; lots of hiking trails; horseback riding; tennis (the new spa manager’s husband is the pro); a snow tubing hill in winter; and an incredibly successful spa facility that now includes an indoor heated pool, hot tubs, sauna, a huge aerobics room, a Cybex fitness circuit; a meditation room, lots of treatment rooms, and a full-service salon.

“The spa is a big part of what makes Coolfont such a special place,” says Mara Ashelman, wife of the resort’s president, who served as spa director and is now director of public relations. “People are taking more time for themselves, staying closer to home to do so and seeking what we have to offer,” she continues. “At the same time, we are building programs that will meet their needs, such as the new "Odyssey of the Soul" program.” Coolfont’s health-oriented packages have been extremely popular--this new one will feature a Sunday-to-Thursday package including exercise, healthy eating, varied topical lectures, a full body massage, and more.

As for specific treatments, Ashelman says massage of various kinds (Swedish, Chinese, Shiatsu, sports, pregnancy, etc.) are their most popular choices. They often give more than 300 a week. “I would say that facials are next, including the popular Aveda facials as well as the "dry, mature" Repacharge facials,” she says.

“If we could duplicate Dr. Lin Wang, I'm sure that Chinese medicine--acupuncture, massage, and Chinese herbs--would be among the most popular,” says Ashelman. I can attest to Dr. Lin’s success, having enjoyed the benefits of her acupuncture and Chinese massage several times.

Ashelman says the shop does very well with both visitors and locals. “We currently sell quite a bit of Aveda and Repacharge products for skin and hair,” she confirms. “We also sell a number of other items for massage, swim accessories, and some clothing. We sell a great deal of golden flax and flax (coffee) grinders, as well as the Omega 3 Diet Book, since we promote the "Coolfont Omega Ancestral Diet."

PRE- AND POST-SPA

As Berkeley Springs developed around the town’s waters and spas, other businesses sprouted to enhance a visit. Thus, spa-goers now have more to see and do before and after their treatments..

Along with resorts like Coolfont, where there are a range of activities, health-oriented businesses have also opened. Located right on the town square, Homeopathic Works provides a perfect example. An expansion of Washington Homeopathic Products, which started in Washington, D.C. in 1873 and moved to Bethesda in the 1960s, this Berkeley Springs ‘branch’ opened in the early-1990s.

Owner Joe Lillard says Berkeley Springs is an ideal place for his business, which has a great homeopathy museum, shop, and lab for visitors, locals, and mail order customers. He says, “The synergies are great. We often refer our visitors to area spas and many therapists refer their clients to us for specific ailments with which we can help.”

Other area businesses also support health-oriented visitors. From a health food store (Community Garden Market) and healthy food offerings at Tari’s to whirlpool tubs filled with mineral water at many lodging establishments, Berkeley Springs has grown into a spa getaway that would make George Washington want an appointment.

For More Information:

*Travel Berkeley Springs: (800) 447-8797 or www.berkeleysprings.com
*Berkeley Springs State Park: (800) CALL WVA or www.wvparks.com/berkeleysprings
*The Bath House: (800) 431-4698 or www.bathhouse.com
*Atasia Spa: (877) 258-7888 or www.atasiaspa.com
*Coolfont Resort: (800) 888-8768 or www.coolfont.com
*Tari’s Cafe: (304) 258-1196 or www.tariscafe.com
*Community Garden Market: (304) 258-8300
*Homeopathy Works: (305) 258-2541 or www.homeopathyworks.com