Colorado is known as a place that is passionate about healthy living. When meeting in the Centennial State, groups are building wellness elements into the ethos of their gatherings by booking standout resorts with top-notch spas.
Cvent’s list of 14 meeting and event trends for this year confirms that meeting and event planners are prioritizing health and wellness activities and looking for local tie-ins. The report notes, “For event venues, highlighting local wellness attractions and amenities—like a bathhouse, farmers market, picturesque park, or on-site spa—can bring in more planners who are looking to treat their attendees to a few days of mindfulness.”
Garden of the Gods Resort and Club
Integrating spa options into meeting agendas isn’t new for two Colorado-based planning companies, Imprint Events Group and Operation Altitude. “We have had several programs over the years that offer spa services to their attendees as an alternate to recreational activity choices,” says Nicole Marsh, CMP, DMCP, a partner at Imprint Events Group. “It is just like a choice to go jeeping or snowmobiling, for example. We often see it as an option in lieu of golf as well.”
Melissa Layton, principal at Operation Altitude, concurs. “Many of our groups offer spa [services] as an activity option for guests who prefer spa treatments instead of skiing or other outdoor active choices like whitewater rafting,” she says. “Our clients don’t select hotels based on their spas but expect resorts to offer outstanding spa amenities.”
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail
This landmark luxury hotel in Vail Village is only steps from the slopes of Vail Mountain. Completing a renovation in 2021, the resort now boasts refreshed guest rooms, suites, and corridors; several renovated private residences; and updated meeting and event space.
Encompassing 14,400 square feet and featuring 13 treatment rooms, the Four Seasons’ spa has it all. Highlights include a dry sauna, indoor whirlpool, coed lounge, steam room, slumber room, relaxation garden, and on-site barber shop. The spa offers specialty treatments such as the S’more Indulgence Facial, which maximizes hydration and reduces inflammation by incorporating cocoa for a full range of natural antioxidants, and a
marshmallow-whip hydrating mask.
Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail
Dublin, Ireland-based AerCap hosted 60 guests for a three-night, four-day customer ski trip at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail due to the availability of excellent restaurants in Vail Village, the generous size of the property’s guest rooms, and proximity to the gondola, notes Iona Boerleider, executive assistant to the CEO. “In addition, having our guests fitted with the right [ski and snowboard] equipment in the Four Seasons Vail
hotel was ideal.”
All attendees were also treated to time in the spa. “Skiing and snowboarding are intense activities,” she adds. “After a day on the slopes, finishing with a tailor-made spa appointment is extremely relaxing. Our group selected the Four Seasons special, allowing people to select their massage upon arrival.”
And the attendee feedback was excellent. “They thoroughly enjoyed the hotel and its services and were amazed by the spa treatments. We are returning to Four Seasons Vail in 2023, which speaks for itself,” Boerleider says.
Garden of The Gods Resort and Club
Perched atop a mesa in Colorado Springs and set among beautiful red rock formations, this property was established in 1951 as a private club, luxury resort, and residential community. A decade ago, new owners purchased the property and introduced the 30,000-square-foot Strata Integrated Wellness Spa, featuring a medical center, spa, and event center.
“Not only do groups have access to the spa, but also all the physicians and technicians who can lead the group on healthy lifestyle experiences,” says Conference Services Manager Kornelia Schee.
The spa’s team of service providers work to enhance an individual’s holistic well-being through a focus on preventative and integrative medicine and healthy lifestyles. In addition to nine treatment rooms, there is a salon, an Austrian weightless environment bed, a salt inhalation room for halotherapy, and an herbal sauna. The spa offers the Bamboo Massage, an innovative 75-minute massage technique that uses warm bamboo canes and rattan stalks of varying shapes and sizes to provide deep-tissue therapy.
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center
International Paper of Memphis, Tennessee, hosted an incentive trip for top performing sales leaders at Garden of the Gods Resort and Club. During the three-night stay, attendees were offered choices of spa treatments, golf, and other activities with Garden of the Gods Resort Outfitters. On the first night, a welcome reception dinner was held on a covered terrace and featured live music and interactive experiences such as falconry and a tomahawk toss. The next evening was an awards dinner at the View at Kissing Camels.
“We like for our winners and their guests to feel like they can experience a weekend away from all the pressures of everyday life,” says Donette Moore, International Paper’s project coordinator, office of the chairman. “We want them to enjoy a few days of relaxation, fun activities, and rejuvenation. This resort was the perfect location to provide these important elements.”
Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center
This is one of the few full-on resorts in the Denver metropolitan area. Opened in late 2018, Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center is conveniently located just minutes from Denver International Airport and features all you need in one place.
The resort’s Relâche Spa is a European-style, full-service spa and salon with 17 treatment rooms, comfortable lounges, Rocky Mountain rain showers, and aromatic steam rooms. The spa’s Lighter Legs CBD Massage includes lymphatic flushes and reflexology touches that leave legs feeling weightless and refreshed. This treatment is perfect for runners, skiers, and hikers for an après recovery. Legs are exfoliated and hydrated with organic hemp-derived CBD.
“By far, our top treatments are the Custom Massage and the Signature HydraFacial,” says Spa Director Jocelyn Farmer. “We also have many guests who love our specialty seasonal treatments as we use a local line [from] Sweet Cheeks Soap Co., and the scents are just heavenly.”
The Lakewood-based company’s products—with scents like peach, eucalyptus, balsam and berry, chocolate, moscato, frankincense and myrrh, and pumpkin—are integrated into the spa menu. “We only use their scents for seasonal treatments, to keep it unique and fun,” Farmer says.
The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
For two decades, The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch has been at the forefront of mountain luxury and Rocky Mountain meetings in Beaver Creek. You can book Anderson’s Cabin, the original home of John Anderson (one of seven bachelors who settled the area in the 1900s) for up to 10 guests.
The Ritz-Carlton, Bachelor Gulch
The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Bachelor Gulch is a 21,000-square-foot retreat incorporating locally sourced herbs, plants, and minerals into signature treatments. The spa features 19 treatment rooms, a coed, stone-lined grotto, and relaxation lounges with steam rooms, saunas, and plunge pools. Consider trying the Miner’s Mineral Mud Wrap, which uses an activated charcoal mud from Colorado renowned for its detoxifying properties. Amethyst oil, rose quartz salt, and shea butter are also part of this treatment that includes a body wrap, scalp massage, hydrotherapy bath, and full-body exfoliation and massage.
“We were thrilled to bring an elevated guest experience and officially unveil the capstone of our multiyear transformation last summer,” says Daniel Dickhart, general manager of the property. “The project invites guests to live on the edge of the wild with our mesmerizing mountainside landscape as they enjoy the beauty of nature from the comforts of their refurbished rooms and elevated public spaces.”
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Avon, Vail Valley
The Westin Riverfront is a leader in sustainability initiatives and wellness travel, working closely with planners to offer Earth-friendly approaches and provide creative ways for attendees to embrace their overall well-being. Last summer, the property welcomed Stoke & Rye, a brand-new modern American grill concept by Chef Richard Sandoval. The restaurant has an extensive list of over 160 whiskeys and offers a Colorado Rye Flight.
The Westin Riverfront’s Spa Anjali has 27,000 square feet of spa, fitness, and wellness facilities, all with easy access to a 25-meter outdoor saltwater lap pool and three infinity hot tubs. There also is a full-service salon and Howard Head Sports Medicine Clinic. Spa treatments are categorized under three journeys: Rocky Mountains, Himalayas, and Alps. The spa’s Ponderosa Pine Therapy borrows from ancient Native American remedies to treat inflammation and pain through deep-tissue massage, light stretching, and a heated poultice of sage, pine, and lavender.
The Westin Riverfront Resort & Spa, Avon, Vail Valley
& Spa, Avon, Vail Valley.
“Planners are definitely thinking outside of the box and looking for experiences that align their team in a positive, healthy manner,” says Director of Club & Spa Jennifer Razee. “We have hosted several corporate groups in the past year who buy out the spa and allow a treatment for each of their attendees. Additionally, we have hosted yoga classes for 50 group attendees and utilized our certified master nutrition therapist for a talk on the foundations of healthy eating.”
Colorado’s Five-Star Spas
Two Colorado spas at standout resorts received Forbes Travel Guide’s Five-Star nod in 2022: Spa at The Broadmoor and Remède Spa Aspen at The St. Regis Aspen Resort. Four-Star recipients included Exhale at Park Hyatt Beaver Creek Resort & Spa; The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Denver; and The Spa at Four Seasons Resort and Residences Vail.
» Spa at The Broadmoor reflects European-style elegance with 40 treatment rooms, a salon, a coed lounge area with huge windows, and women’s and men’s locker rooms with steam rooms, saunas, and oxygen-infused relaxation areas. The resort is the longest-running five-star hotel in the world at 62 consecutive years and is a longtime recipient of the AAA Five-Diamond designation as well. The property can host groups of up to 12,500 and has 315,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including the 125,000-square-foot Bartolin Hall unveiled in 2021. There is also an outstanding selection of intimate off-site Wilderness Experience properties including Cloud Camp, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, and Fly Fishing Camp. broadmoor.com
The Broadmoor
» Remède Spa Aspen is the perfect place to unwind after a day in meetings or on the ski slopes with 15 treatment rooms spread across 12,000 square feet. The interior is a nod to the town’s Rocky Mountain backdrop with Colorado flagstone and blue tile lining the wet area walls, earth-colored couches and chaise lounges, and stone and wood accents throughout. The St. Regis has 33,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space, including the spacious Fountain Courtyard that holds groups of up to 800. marriott.com
The St. Regis Aspen Resort
