15
January
2021
|
08:10 AM
America/New_York

The Spa At The Hotel Hershey Marks 20 Years

Since 2001, The Chocolate Spa has been pampering guests with sweet treatments and services

About The Spa

Twenty years ago today, The Spa At The Hotel Hershey welcomed guests for the first time, offering a unique twist on our town's sweet history. When the "Chocolate Spa" first opened on Jan. 15, 2001, it was a 17,000 square-foot retreat. Two expansions over the last 20 years created what today is 40,000 square-feet overlooking The Hotel Hershey's formal gardens and reflecting pools. The exterior architecture mirrors the original historic hotel in style and color and the interior décor was inspired by High Point Mansion, the home of Mr. Hershey and his wife Catherine (“Kitty”). There is a separate entrance for the hair and nail salon, which features a garden theme. 

Over the last 20 years, the team at The Spa At The Hotel Hershey has provided more than 1,708,000 treatments and services to more than 896,000 guests. That is a lot of relaxation, hot chocolate, reflection, chocolate muffins and Hershey's Kisses!

More than a sweet novelty

Upon its opening, our guests and members of the media offered glowing descriptions of The Spa At The Hotel Hershey, including:

  • The Spa features "several flavors of chocolate therapy."
  • "I just floated in a chocolate bath. I just kept smelling it and thinking, When can I eat?"
  • "Now you can indulge in your favorite treat without adding a single calorie to your diet."
  • The Spa is "an amenity that adds to the grand dreams one man had for a town he built from chocolate and a desire to honor his wife and her love of beauty."
  • "In the town that candy magnate Milton Hershey built, a tasteful resort hotel now beckons of the confection to a new $7 million 'Chocolate Spa' that wraps, scrubs and envelops its visitors in sinful luxuries." - Los Angeles Times
  • "Somewhere Milton Hershey is smiling." - Orlando Sentinel 
  • "...you can confirm the fact that you always knew that chocolate, in any form had to be good for you. How can anything that tastes terrific be bad?" - Main Line Today

Guest Experience

When we asked current spa director Shian Wing (she has been on the team since 2012) what guests love about a visit to The Spa At The Hotel Hershey, there was no shortage of amazing anecdotes:

Shian Wing:

  • "The Spa At The Hotel Hershey is truly a resort spa experience unlike any other in the area. Guests love the amenities1 such as access to all four relaxation areas in the Spa, as well as The Hotel Hershey's indoor pool and fitness center, including fitness classes. During summer, the popular Vacation For A Day package includes access to the incredible outdoor pool complex at The Hotel Hershey!"
  • "Guests recognize the exceptional quality of treatments and services2 offered. Many return not only for a relaxing escape but also for the incredible guest service provided by the team. The popular members-only Chocolate Spa Club started in 2011. Forty-five members have renewed annually for the past 10 years!" Insider tip: stay tuned to ChocolateSpa.com this winter for information on how to become a 2021 Chocolate Spa Club member.
  • "When open, guests can be found enjoying lunch in The Oasis spa restaurant & lounge. Exclusively available to guests of The Spa At The Hotel Hershey, dining in a spa robe is the norm! The menu features a fresh salad bar with a selection of seasonal toppings, a tapas bar, a variety of platters, soup du jour and a selection of signature desserts. Guests can also enjoy a selection of specialty cocktails and wine."

Treatments & Services

The Spa At The Hotel Hershey is not surprisingly famous for its signature chocolate treatments. It also offers traditional and seasonal spa treatments as well as services that pay homage to Cuba, where Milton S. Hershey owned sugar mills from 1916 to 1946. Here are examples of some of the Spa's most famous treatments:

  • Chocolate Fondue Wrap: This full body treatment includes a gentle exfoliation to prepare the skin, followed by a luxurious deeply hydrating and detoxifying dark chocolate mousse mask. A rich blend of cocoa, red mineral mud and organic cocoa butter is smoothed over the body. While cocooned in a warm body wrap, guests choose from a relaxing face and scalp massage or reflexology foot massage, followed by an application of cocoa-infused body lotion. Currently available as a Hydrating Body Wrap.
  • Chocolate Body Scrub: A full body exfoliation with a rich blend of organic cocoa butter, vitamin E oil and organic sucanat sugar is followed by a relaxing application of cocoa-infused body lotion to reveal soft, silky smooth, deeply hydrated skin. 
  • Whipped Cocoa Bath: A patented foaming chocolate milk bath that smooths and softens skin.
  • Cocoa Facial Experience: This rejuvenating facial incorporates the beneficial properties of the cacao fruit, high in antioxidants, which promote optimal skin health and stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. Following a thorough cleanse and cocoa bean exfoliation, guests enjoy a deeply relaxing face and scalp massage, rich chocolate anti-aging mask and hydrating cocoa moisturizer to instantly reveal more youthful skin.
  • Mojito Body Wrap: This full body treatment includes a gentle exfoliation to prepare the skin, followed by a luxurious deeply hydrating, detoxifying and energizing mojito mask. A rich blend of pure essential oils of lime, spearmint and helichrysum; white mineral clay; and organic shea butter is smoothed over the body. While cocooned in a warm body wrap, guests choose from a relaxing face and scalp massage or reflexology foot massage, followed by an application of mojito-infused body lotion. Currently available as a Hydrating Body Wrap.
  • Mojito Sugar Scrub: A full body exfoliation with a rich blend of pure essential oils of lime, spearmint, and helichrysum with organic sucanat sugar is followed by a relaxing application of mojito body lotion to reveal soft, silky smooth, deeply hydrated skin. 

The Spa At The Hotel Hershey  Facility, At A Glance

  • 40,000 square feet
  • 59 treatment/service areas including:
    • 16 massage treatment rooms
    • 10 facial rooms
    • Six wet treatment rooms
    • Four soaking tubs
    • One hydrotherapy bath
    • Two signature shower rooms
    • Six manicure stations and six pedicure stations
    • Four makeup stations
    • Four hair-styling stations
  • Three steam rooms and four saunas
  • One aromatherapy inhalation and relaxation room
  • Three additional relaxation lounges including a quiet room with a balcony overlooking the formal gardens and reflecting pools, a silent room and The Oasis spa restaurant & lounge with outdoor patio seating
  • Access to the indoor pool at The Hotel Hershey including a jacuzzi and water fitness classes
  • Access to the fitness center at The Hotel Hershey featuring state-of-the-art workout equipment; mind and body studio with fitness classes including pilates, yoga and tai chi

Notes from the team

We are proud to have 11 team members who have been with us since 2001. Here are some of their highlights over the last 20 years:

ALISHA, SPA OPERATIONS MANAGER
Give us a brief background on your history at The Spa At The Hotel Hershey.
- I was hired 20 years ago as a Nail Technician/Hair Stylist. After a few years I transitioned to Esthetics and was then promoted to Spa Operations Manager.

What is your favorite treatment or package?
- All things CHOCOLATE of course!

What are your favorite memories over the last 20 years?
- Highlighting a celebrity's hair (we do not reveal the names of any of our guests, famous or otherwise, so I am unable to share their name).
- When I was first announced at our Spa Staff Meeting as the New Spa Operations Manager - I received a standing ovation!
ALISHA, SPA OPERATIONS MANAGER
Courtney, Esthetician
What is your favorite treatment or package?
- Rose Garden Facial

What is your favorite memory over the last 20 years?
- All of our Spa family and friends growing together, and the Spa expansion in 2004.
Courtney, Esthetician
Jackie, Massage Therapist
What is your favorite treatment or package?
- Reflexology

What is your favorite memory over the last 20 years?
- All of the laughter through the years with our Spa family and guests.
Jackie, Massage Therapist
Kathy K., Spa Services Manager/Spa Operations Manager
Give us a brief background on your history at The Spa At The Hotel Hershey.
- I started as a Massage Technician in 1999 when we first started planning for the opening of the spa and became Spa Services Manager/Spa Operations Manager in 2003.

What is your favorite treatment or package?
- The Lomi Lomi Massage. In addition to the service being a truly unique and relaxing experience for the guests, our four-day training/certification was an amazing bonding experience for the technicians.


What are your favorite memories over the last 20 years?
- Pre-opening/opening of the Spa: getting trained on body services and setting up the treatment rooms and learning our way around the Spa and the Hotel. Then in a few short years, going through the Spa expansion and doubling our size, was really exciting.
- Meeting my co-workers, both in the Spa and throughout the Hotel, working with them, growing up with them and having them become my friends and my Spa family of 20 years is something I'm so grateful for.  
- Looking back and seeing how much we all have grown in our industry and how the idea of a Spa, up on the hill, part of The Hotel Hershey has been a huge positive impact on the legacy of Milton Hershey.
Kathy K., Spa Services Manager/Spa Operations Manager
Lauren, Massage Therapist
What is your favorite treatment or package?
- My favorite treatment is our Lomi Lomi Massage. It is a unique treatment that puts you in a state of relaxation that everyone should experience.

What is your favorite memory over the last 20 years?
- My favorite memory was watching all of the changes during the expansion in 2004. We doubled in size due to the demand and we were so excited. 
Lauren, Massage Therapist
Shelley, Esthetician
What is your favorite treatment or package?
- Hydrating Body Wrap

What is your favorite memory over the last 20 years?
- My favorite memories of the Spa was all the excitement when the Spa opened. It has really been life changing. Coworkers turned into your best friends, we have all grown so much together. One of my favorite guests was Hershey Entertainment & Resorts' board member Elsie Swenson. She was so proud of the Spa. It was one of her babies. 
Shelley, Esthetician
Steph, Esthetician
What is your favorite treatment or package?
- Lomi Lomi Massage and Rose Garden Facial

What is your favorite memory over the last 20 years?
- My favorite memories are all about the connections and friendships I have made.
Steph, Esthetician

Thank you to The Spa At The Hotel Hershey 's team members and guests for an incredibly sweet 20 years. Here's to 20 more!

Visit our website and follow us on social media to stay up to date with all of the sweet happenings at The Spa At The Hotel Hershey.

Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Pennsylvania Department of Health, Pennsylvania Department of State and the International Spa Association to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, The Spa At The Hotel Hershey has expanded and enhanced its already rigorous cleaning, sanitization and disinfection procedures above its already high standards. For more information about The Spa At The Hotel Hershey's enhanced health and safety protocols, visit this link.

1Select amenities are not currently available. Please visit this link for more information.

2Select treatments and services are not currently available. Please visit this link for more information.