Toxic Tongue

Spa Getaways

For my birthday this year, I wanted to do an affordable spa weekend down in South Beach.  Since SoBe caters more towards parties and not towards wellness,  i couldn’t find anything right on the main strip.  I heard of the Standard Hotel from several sources and since I knew some of their other hotels like the Standard LA, and the Raleigh South Beach, I thought the service would be great. Well, they actually lost my reservation and what could’ve turned out to be a really bad situation was quickly fixed by the manager with an upgrade to their best suite for less then my original reservation price. The room was bare minimal and from what I saw on their website the charge is very expensive and if I had paid full price, I would have left and stayed elsewhere… at first, that is.  The room has an outside old-school bathtub and there are white curtains that suround it so that if you are in the tub no one can see in. That is not a full proof plan if it is windy though, as one night I was there the curtains were swinging all over the place!

Now for the spa part.  It was AMAZING! They offered acupuncture, facials, massages, and they even had a Chinese and naturalpathic herbalist to prescribe medicines.  You could even purchase herbs to add to your room’s bathtub to get the full effects of those herbs in a relaxing atmosphere.   

I chose to have a facial my first day there followed by a massage.  My facialist was very knowledgeable.  There was no upselling on products. She asked what I used (see my facial article and online store for ideas) and said she uses the same products.  The spa is focused on natural products.  I did not have extractions and I’m not sure if they even offer them.  My facial was the standard facial that uses vitamin a and e combined with raw and organic ingredients.  I added on the revital eye to prevent crows feet from deepening… I smile a lot! I left my facial glowing for days. Especially after spending a few days in Miami’s sun, a facial with vitamin e is what your skin craves for.

My massage I opted to have in the spa, rather them my room.  I chose the “standard massage” which incorporates lots of different massage techniques together such as thai, swedish, shiatsu.  It was done on a table and for me the therapist used a great light touch.  I prefer this as I am very sensitive but she did not ask me if the touch was ok so I’m assuming that she doesn’t do much deep tissue.

Along with my facial and massage I did a few daily yoga classes. There was a fee to join in but the teachers were great with me and I am a sort of beginner at yoga, as I only do it on rare occasions.  

Overall, my experience with the Standard Hotel was one of great pleasure. I can’t wait to go back, though I really don’t think I would pay the price for their master suite.  Maybe they will mess up again!