A destination spa is a short term residential/lodging

Lodging

Lodging is a type of residential accommodation. People who travel and stay away from home for more than a day need lodging for sleep, rest, safety, shelter from cold temperatures or rain, storage of luggage and access to common household functions.Lodgings may be self catering in which case no...

 facility with the primary purpose of providing individual services for spa

Spa

The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...

-goers to develop healthy habits. Historically many such spas were developed at the location of natural hot springs

Hot Springs

Hot Springs may refer to:* Hot Springs, Arkansas** Hot Springs National Park, Arkansas*Hot Springs, California**Hot Springs, Lassen County, California**Hot Springs, Modoc County, California**Hot Springs, Placer County, California...

 or sources of mineral waters. Typically over a seven-day stay, such facilities provide a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthy cuisine and special interest programming.

Some destination spas offer an all-inclusive program that includes facilitated fitness classes, healthy cuisine, educational classes and seminars as well as similar services to a beauty salon

Beauty salon

A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment dealing with cosmetic treatments for men and women...

 or a day spa

Day spa

A day spa is a business establishment which people visit for professionally administered personal care treatments such as massages and facials. It is similar to a beauty salon in that it is only visited for the duration of the treatment. Day spas sited in airport terminals are often called airport...

. Guests reside and participate in the program at a destination spa instead of just visiting for a treatment or pure vacation. Some destination spas are in exotic locations or in spa town

Spa town

A spa town is a town situated around a mineral spa . Patrons resorted to spas to "take the waters" for their purported health benefits. The word comes from the Belgian town Spa. In continental Europe a spa was known as a ville d'eau...

s.

Destination spas have been in use for a considerable time, and some are not used actively, but rather are historically preserved as elements of earlier history; for example, Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs

Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs

Gilroy Yamato Hot Springs, a California Historical Landmark and on the list of National Register of Historical Places, is a property near Gilroy, California famed for its mineral hot springs and historic development by early settlers and Japanese immigrants. The earliest extant Italianate–Victorian...

 in California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

 is such a historically used spa whose peak patronage occurred in the late 19th and early 20th century.

Resort spas are generally located in resort

Resort

A resort is a place used for relaxation or recreation, attracting visitors for holidays or vacations. Resorts are places, towns or sometimes commercial establishment operated by a single company....

s and offer similar services via rooms with services, meals, body treatments and fitness a la carte.

Types of services

Typical services include:

• Balneotherapy
  Balneotherapy
  Balneotherapy is the treatment of disease by bathing, usually practiced at spas. While it is considered distinct from hydrotherapy, there are some overlaps in practice and in underlying principles. Balneotherapy may involve hot or cold water, massage through moving water, relaxation or stimulation...
  
  
• Body treatments such as body wraps, aromatherapy
  Aromatherapy
  Aromatherapy is a form of alternative medicine that uses volatile plant materials, known as essential oils, and other aromatic compounds for the purpose of altering a person's mind, mood, cognitive function or health....
  
  
• Cooking
  Cooking
  Cooking is the process of preparing food by use of heat. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely across the world, reflecting unique environmental, economic, and cultural traditions. Cooks themselves also vary widely in skill and training...
  
   lessons
• Facial
  Facial
  A facial is a procedure involving a variety of skin treatments, including: steam, exfoliation, extraction, creams, lotions, facial masks, peels, and massage...
  
  s — facial cleansing with a variety of products
• Fitness
  Physical fitness
  Physical fitness comprises two related concepts: general fitness , and specific fitness...
  
   consultation
• Hair
  Hair care
  Hair care is an overall term for parts of hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair on the human head. Hair care will differ according to one's hair type and according to various processes that can be applied to hair...
  
   spa treatment
• Ionithermie
  Ionithermie
  Ionithermie is the name of a treatment offered in some spas that claims to*reduce the appearance of cellulite*improve and smooth skin texture*slim the body, causing the loss of between 1-8 inches on the very first treatment...
  
  
• Massage
  Massage
  Massage is the manipulation of superficial and deeper layers of muscle and connective tissue to enhance function, aid in the healing process, and promote relaxation and well-being. The word comes from the French massage "friction of kneading", or from Arabic massa meaning "to touch, feel or handle"...
  
  
• Medical treatment
• Nail care (manicure)
  Manicure
  A manicure is a cosmetic beauty treatment for the fingernails and hands performed at home or in a nail salon. A manicure treatment is not only a treatment for the natural nails but also for the hands. A manicure consists of filing, shaping of the free edge, treatments, massage of the hand and the...
  
  , pedicure
  Pedicure
  A pedicure is a way to improve the appearance of the feet and the nails. It provides a similar service to a manicure. The word pedicure refers to superficial cosmetic treatment of the feet and toenails...
  
  
• Nutrition
  Nutrition
  Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
  
   counseling
• Skin
  Skin
  -Dermis:The dermis is the layer of skin beneath the epidermis that consists of connective tissue and cushions the body from stress and strain. The dermis is tightly connected to the epidermis by a basement membrane. It also harbors many Mechanoreceptors that provide the sense of touch and heat...
  
   exfoliation
  Exfoliation (cosmetology)
  Exfoliation involves the removal of the oldest dead skin cells on the skin's outermost surface, and has been used for many years to help maintain skin. Exfoliation is involved in the process of all facials, during microdermabrasion or chemical peels at medical spas...
  
   — including chemical peel
  Chemical peel
  A chemical peel is a body treatment technique used to improve and smooth the texture of the facial skin using a chemical solution that causes the dead skin to slough off and eventually peel off. The regenerated skin is usually smoother and less wrinkled than the old skin. Thus the term chemical...
  
  s and microdermabrasion
• Waxing
  Waxing
  Waxing is a method of semi-permanent hair removal which removes the hair from the root. New hair will not grow back in the previously waxed area for two to eight weeks, although some people will start to see regrowth in only a week. Almost any area of the body can be waxed, including eyebrows,...
  
   — the removal of body hair with hot wax
• Weight loss