No city anywhere near its size is as famous as Scottsdale is for spas. “Scottsdale spas” is among the most searched phrase with a city combined with a business.
That should be no mystery as Scottsdale is known for its resorts, golf, restaurants, and other tourism activity. So a high hit number for “Scottsdale spas” is understandable.
But what is meant by the term. What are people looking for.
There are really six types of spas in the city. Let’s examine them.
Scottsdale resort spas
Probably the best known internationally are the luxurious Scottsdale resort spas (which include Paradise Valley in their communal marketing), such as the Boulders, Camelback Mountain Resort & Spa, Four Seasons, the Phoenician, and the Andaz Scottsdale Resort & Spa (there are many more resort Scottsdale spas).
Facilities at these often over-the-top luxury hospitality destination are world famous. In addition to the high end spa services and finishings, these resorts offer to-die-for Sonoran Desert views, luxurious accommodations, world class restaurants, designer pools for adults and kids, and vacation opportunities fit for royalty. Many have hosted presidents, celebrities, and the icons of business and arts worldwide.
These tend to be the pricier of the spas, although Scottsdale locals should pay attention to the summer deals at these iconic resorts. They are also the most lavishly appointed and offer the widest and often most unique range of services.
Scottsdale medspas
Like the name implies, Scottsdale medspas have a much more intensive medical tone to them. While resort spas have luxury and relaxation built into them, medspas focus is on body and health improvement. You may or may not feel better after visiting a medspa, but the idea is that you will look better, at least eventually.
Scottsdale is home to many stand-alone medspas that provide these face and body improvement services without being attached to an internationally famous resort. That doesn’t mean those services aren’t available at the resort spas as most have a medspa within the resort. But the stand-alone medspas often operate in convenient retail space and are more oriented toward local clients or visitors who stay at the less inclusive Scottsdale hotels.
Scottsdale medspas offer services such as fat-freezing, where technicians “freeze” internal fat with the promise that it will slowly remove itself from the body over time; injectibles like botox, lip augmentation, and B12 shots; laser services such as hair and tattoo removal; light treatments to improve the skin and under the skin; and micro-needling and microderm abrasion, used to improve skin, aid hair growth and other benefits.
Depending on the range of services offered, medspas have medical directors to oversee the treatments. You can find these medspas all around Scottsdale, such as Revive Med Spa and Regenerative Medicine in South Scottsdale, the more central Zona on 91st Street, and Bare Laser Med Spa farther east on Frank Lloyd Wright – plus countless other medspas throughout the city.
Scottsdale day spas
Perhaps the most widely available Scottsdale spa service are the day spas, which range from a hair salon with a few other services like aesthetics and massage to big franchise operations with national marketing and a wide array of services, including laser and the other more advanced procedures.
Generally these are stand-alone operations tucked into retail or office space all around Scottsdale. While most take appointments, many of these offer walk-in services depending on demand. These are the most numerous of the Scottsdale spas.
Examples around the city include New Serenity Spa on North Hayden, Spa810 on North Scottsdale Road, and Serene Life Day Spa in South Scottsdale.
Master-planned community spas
These are spas attached to generally luxury developments like Silverleaf in Scottsdale and generally function to make living in the community more attractive. They are amenities designed to push luxury home buyers to buy a home there.
Usually the spa is but one of many fine features available to residents that can be as luxurious and inclusive as some resort spas. Other attractions can include golf, gyms, pools, sport courts, dining, entertainment, interest groups, events and more. The Silverlead clubhouse, for example, is 50,000 square feet of those features, and includes am 18 hole championship golf course designed by Tom Weiskopf.
Some MPC spas for residents/members only, and others allow non-members to take advantage of services (sometimes at a higher price).
Home spas
A quietly growing trend in new home development has been spa rooms designed into the home for use there.
These can range from a spare room with a massage table and sink to a full-blown treatment center built into a specially designed casita overlooking the pool and garden. They can be equipped with massage chairs, tanning lights, soothing music and natural sounds, showers or soaking baths, a wine bar and other mellowing features.
You also can get spas services in your home either through many brick-and-mortar businesses or independent experts who will come to your home and perform services in your own private area.
There’s even an app for that. Many, actually. l Widely available apps like Secret Spa and Ruuby allow you to schedule home visits from professionals ranging from massage to more elaborate or specialized services. So you can have many of the services offered at spas right in the privacy of your own home.
School spas
Students being trained to perfom all these treatments need practice, and many trade schools offer reduced price treatments for those who are willing to receive them from people learning the procedures. This is almost always under the guidance of teachers and trainers who have years of experience performing and teaching the applications.
Expect the treatments to take a little longer than at a more traditional spa. But if you truly want the results and can’t (or don’t want to) pay for the service.
One such places are the National Laser Institute med spa at 16601 North 90th St., which trains techs nationwide, and the Toni & Guy Hairdressing Academy at the Pavilions at Talking Stick, 8939 Talking Stick Way #B2.
