Review: Omni Spa designed to entice locals, too

The Spa at Omni Amelia Island reopened a few months ago with a soothing, refurbished interior, enhanced outdoor space, and a curated spa food and beverage menu. The result of those renovations is an experience that will entice both hotel guests and island residents to engage in a “spa day.”

Prior to the refurbishment, the spa lacked some of the amenities that spa-goers enjoy if they seek a full-day experience, said Michelle Valle, director of marketing for the resort.

“We knew the spa had opportunity to offer more to both locals and guests,” Valle said on a recent, warm summer day in the spa’s courtyard. “Going into the most recent renovation of the resort, both the teams at the property and at our corporate office identified that they could make enhancements to the building and the space to truly make it into a full-day experience instead of coming in for just one treatment and leaving.”

The spa’s footprint is the same. Visitors will enter a spacious lobby with a wide variety of self-care products, jewelry, candles and other gift items. However, behind the lobby doors is where clients will find the biggest changes. The co-ed relaxation lounge, which has been greatly expanded and now features 14 chaises, is decorated in “low country zen,” with low lights, soothing marine-green colors and wallpaper depicting coastal oaks and shorebirds.

The design was chosen to reflect the unique Omni resort, a 1,350-acre property that is dominated by oak trees and native vegetation, said Valle.

“Everything is so custom to our location,” she said. “When you’re walking through our property and this particular spa, you have a true sense of place. You see the herons. You see the flora that’s very identifiable for this location.”

The biggest change to the spa is the outdoor space, which was intended as a meditation garden prior to the renovation. Now the space holds several tables for dining, chaise lounge chairs and hydrotherapy pools (two hot tubs and a small cold-plunge tub). There is no swimming pool at the spa. The outdoor area is uncovered; however, shade-seeking guests can relax under umbrellas.

“We knew that [the outdoor space] had so much more potential,” from its origins as a meditation garden, Valle said.

The cold-plunge pool “is something that is very unique,” she added. “We wanted to offer what is called ‘contrast water therapy,’ so that people can go from the hot water and then go into the cold water. There are definite benefits to that.”

The resort has also added a food-and-beverage service designed for spa clients. The menu includes appetizers (Southern corn salsa and tortilla chips, artisan cheese & charcuterie); salads, sandwiches (fig & turkey sandwich; coastal Mediterranean wrap), desserts (citrus honey cake; petit fours) and water, juices, wine and beer. Spa food items are priced from $16 for a salad to $16-$18 for a sandwich.

“We offer a food and beverage menu that has been specifically crafted for the spa,” Valle said. “It’s about all-around wellness and refreshing the body ... The menu was crafted by our resort chefs. Now people can truly spend the whole day.”

The spa attendants hold qualifications that one would expect for an AAA Four-Diamond resort. My masseuse, Amber, provided a restorative Swedish massage in a quiet and comfortable treatment room. The spa offers a surprisingly diverse menu of treatments, including: a body detox and renewal treatment, facials, scalp treatment, reflexology, body scrubs, body wraps, massage (many options); facials (many options, including microdermabrasion and peels); sound bowl healing and nail services.

Signature spa services include a Hanakasumi Body Ritual, which is a Japanese-style exfoliation of warm cherry blossoms, lemon, papaya and lotus followed by a paraffin foot massage and a rice-powder cream application. Another treatment features a quartz sand table massage.

The typical massage is around $175 to $195. Facials also average around $175. A 20% service charge is added to each spa service, to be shared among spa staff. The tip can be adjusted at the client’s direction.

The Spa at Omni Amelia Island also adopted an interesting policy that bars cellphone use inside the spa. At check-in, guests complete a form to help the spa staff cater to their needs, and they also agree to turn off their phones and leave them in their private lockers for the duration of their spa stay.

The policy is meant to encourage total relaxation for each client and to promote a serene atmosphere for all.

“They agree to put away the phone so that we’re not interfering with other people’s relaxation as well,” Valle said. “Just looking at trends, people are looking for those pockets of time and experiences where they can say ‘I can put my phone away for a little bit, just a couple of hours.’ We think it helps with the general experience.”

The Omni Amelia Island renovations, which also include upgrades to the restaurants, shops and the hotel, are almost complete, Valle said. She noted that a non-gated entrance remains open to the public for easy access to Marche Burette and other restaurants, the shops, spa and nature center.

“We want to be welcoming to the local community,” she said. “We want to be clear that we have a really big resort behind the gates, but we also have the shopping village that is heavily frequented by locals.”