Last week-end a friend and I stayed at the newest Kimpton property,  Hotel Monaco located in Baltimore, Maryland.  I was curious to see how the brand translated into the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore, and to find out, “what ever happened to their spa?”

But first, let me turn back the clock to February 2009…

It was over a year ago that I opened the spa at the Lorien Hotel and Spa in Old Town Alexandria, VA~  which is also a Kimpton managed property.  It took a solid 5 months to open their 5 room spa.  Twelve hour days of orchestrating equipment delivery, retail set-up, staff recruitment and training, soft-ware installation,  tracking down gaseous sewage leaks, uncovering construction foibles, collateral approval and promotion, creating marketing plans, and a  whole lot of hand holding, teeth grinding, back stepping, vodka drinking, Subway sandwich eating … and the list goes on, and stops only at the point of a heart palpitations and blistering migraines. I loved every moment.

Wisely, one of the Kimpton brand standards is to use Kirsten Florian Spa products in their spas and/or guest rooms.  Kirsten Florian is truly a perfect spa product line, which is almost 100% organic, with a focus on a full spectrum line of essential oils, a caviar anti-aging line, and a killer Turkish body scrub and black facial mask dug up from the moors of the old country. (Don’t buy the retail version of the Moor Mud Mask as your towel, tub and tile turn black, and how do you explain that?) Their training is excellent as they send 2 expert trainers – with great skin to work with your staff, as well as set up retail and lend just an enormous amount of support during a “pre and post” opening.

OK so that is a snap shot, we are now in March 2009 at the Lorien’s grand opening, ground breaking and ribbon cutting event, and one of the owners of the Baltimore property finds me.  He mentions that he is opening a Kimpton Hotel in the old B&O Railroad Headquarters and is thinking of putting in a spa. He gives me his name and number, there are 400 people at our grand opening, my feet are killing me, I give the information to a corporate sales person, he goes his way and I go mine, a year later… I show up in Baltimore and no spa.

Selfishly, I was disappointed that there is not a spa. I understand why. The local business in that area as well as the hotel guests, just would not (yet) be able to support a full spa. But the good news is that they do offer  in-room treatments. I have to applaud them, because they offer an impressive amount of treatments;  5 types of massage (even hot stones, which is a pain for the therapist as she/he has to schlep an arsenal of equipment, let alone a hot and heavy pot of stones, rubber burn-proof gloves, tongs, towels, etc-  please tip well on this one) 3 body wraps, and how cute that they sell the retail products on-line. Well done Mr. Kimpton hotels.

On a funny note, located in each of the guest rooms is an attractive menu for the in-room spa treatments and TV fitness programs, they brand this as, “IN-ROOM MIND, BODY, SPA.”  That is a bit forced for me, too much trying to keep on brand, but maybe someone else buys into it. I say open the mini bar, crank up the huge bath tub jets and let the mind-body begin. So in that same brochure, the last bit of information regarding bookings says, “Any Massage Treatment may be shared by two guests at no additional charge.” Now, I am a girl that has been around the world and have written and read 100’s of spa menus… but Mr. Kimpton, what does that mean? Hmmm