With therapists trained as local folk healers, an apothecary where fresh plants are mixed into products and 5 acres (2 hectares) of ‘purification gardens’ featuring tropical pools and outdoor showers, it’s not difficult to spot the standout features of Spa Botánico.
The nature-inspired spa, complete with 10 glass-walled treatment pavilions and two tree house therapy platforms, is a centrepiece of Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve which opened in December 2012 on the Caribbean island of Puerto Rico.
The story of the 1,400-acre (567-hectare) development is rooted in the 1950s when Laurence S Rockefeller – a conservationist and one of the Rockefeller family billionaires – purchased a coconut and pineapple plantation close to the small coastal town of Dorado to build his second eco-retreat on. RockResort, a formidable creation of its time, quickly attracted the rich and famous who succumbed to its natural beauty and privacy.
With many changes in ownership following its glory days (including two Hyatts) the property did not fare so well. But, now, thanks to a US$342m (€264m, £227m) investment, it’s set to reincarnate itself as one of the Caribbean’s most exclusive getaways once more.
Simultaneously, the opening marks the arrival of the second Ritz-Carlton Reserve – an ultra, yet understated, luxury brand which, with rates for a double room starting at US$1,499 (€1,150, £1,000) a night, is clearly targeting the affluent elite.
While there’s typically been a tight grip on the branding of Ritz-Carlton sites – characterised by their elegant English-country look and feel – Reserve properties buck the trend. The design is contemporary and subtle and branding has been replaced with local and historical references – the four-bed Su Casa VIP villa has been restored from photos to pay homage to the plantation’s original 1920s hacienda which hosted pilot Amelia Earhart just a month before she disappeared over the Pacific.
Each Reserve will have an intimate feel and blend in with surroundings. The 115-bed Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve is built on RockResort’s footprint so that each bedroom is on the beach. Original plantation palm trees provide shade throughout and it’s been built to LEED® Silver standards.
Due to such requirements, the rollout of Reserve properties has – and will be – purposely slow (see p73). The Dorado Beach site, developed by New York-based Caribbean Property Group (CPG) and Puerto Rico eco-firm PRISA Group, was five years in the making and 28 residential units are still under construction.
Q&A - TRACY LEE
We talk to Tracy Lee, the owner of spa consultancy T Lee Spas, who was charged with creating Dorado Beach’s Spa Botánico
When and how did you become involved in Spa Botánico?
Staring in 2009, I spent four fulfilling years working on this project. Eric Christensen, the CEO of Dorado Beach Resort was previously with Auberge Resorts and I’m the vice-president of spas for the group (as well as the owner of T Lee Spas). Eric and I created two spas together at Auberge including the award-winning Solage Calistoga in California (see SB12/3 p76). We enjoyed that working relationship and were pleased to collaborate again.
What was your role?
To help fine-tune the size, components and style of the spa as well as to develop a unique treatment programme. I worked closely with Joe Andriola of SB Architects and Bill Bensley of Bensley Design Studios to create a facility that would stand out against regional and international competitors.
There was no formal document prescribing the design of the spa. Rather, we worked with CPG and PRISA to arrive at an aesthetically pleasing design and site configuration, and then layered in the modalities. It was a dynamic process.
What makes this spa unique?
Every aspect has been specifically imagined and designed for this project and there are many points of differentiation – from its immersion in local culture and the size of the site (5 acres) to the on-site apothecary and therapists who’ve been coached in Puerto Rican healing rituals and botanicals once used by the region’s natural medicine doctors known as manos santos.
How can you justify having such a big site for the spa?
Because of the guest expectation for a resort in this brand category, in this location and at this price point.
We were blessed with ample land and in keeping with the overarching principal of communing with nature we elected to spread out. An added bonus was eliminating corridors and many other typical constraints and functional limitations. Instead, we’ve introduced points of discovery in the landscape. Treatments, for example, can be performed in the tree tops in one of two tree house platforms, or in one of our 10 standalone glass-walled villas scattered throughout the grounds.
To heighten the senses beforehand, our Purification Gardens host a series of warm and cool tropical pools, waterfall showers and individual steam pavilions. While the reception/departure experience includes a Shade House covered with draping vines and delicate flowers which opens up to a lily pond and a pineapple garden beyond that.
How does the Apothecary Portal work?
This is the heart and soul of the project. Every spa journey begins at the Apothecary Portal where an 80-year-old fig tree marks the entry to the building. We call it a ‘museum for the senses’ and, inside, the 32ft high walls are lined with bottles of local botanicals, natural oils and dried and fresh herbs picked from our own thriving garden. It’s a befitting foyer for a great plantation estate.
The ingredients are used in a myriad of ways – to help aid a guest’s health, in a beauty treatment, for aromatic purposes and in the food and drink. There’s also an interactive Apothecary Bar where guests can safely smell, touch and sample three blends and choose one to use in a pre-treatment shower scrub.
What research went into creating it?
The diversity of plants and flowers that flourish on the island is profound. Some are completely indigenous and others were brought over from Spanish settlers and from Africa. We looked for local resources and experts to help in our research and found botanical guru Maria Benedetti. Maria wrote the book Earth & Spirit: Traditional Practices and Folklore in Puerto Rico and after several meetings created a reference guide detailing 70 medicinal plants for our spa.
How did you create the treatments?
It was a collaborative process drawing from a team of experts who I’ve worked with throughout my career spanning the US, Mexico and the Caribbean. The development of the menu started in 2009 and was finally published in 2012. The majority was made from scratch and is completely signature. Other parts of it, primarily for skincare, started with the effective services of our product houses Ila and Natura Bissé but with added details to make them Spa Botánico’s very own.
What are the standout therapies?
Our Infusions & Massage – starting at US$300 (€232, £200) for 90 minutes – treatment is delivered by our highly trained manos santos therapists who pick pre-blended botanical infusions from the apothecary to enhance wellness. The infusions are used in a bath, in compresses and in an oil for the massage which incorporates stretching and pressure point techniques. It’s an abbreviated version of the 3-hour ManoSantas Apothecary Ritual – which costs US$650 (€503, £431)– where custom blends and massages are put together.
Then there’s our Apothecary Play for couples – priced at US$950 (€735, £630) for 180 minutes – where the guests are presented with apothecary blends to mix with muds and exfoliants which they apply to each other in a private garden steamroom. To follow is an outdoor bath, sensual snacks and a massage for two.
How did you train your therapists?
Our 12 therapists faced a full week of training on the basics of Puerto Rican healing and botanicals with Camille Western. I met Camille in the 90s, back then she was a master therapist who went on to study herbal medicine in Thailand and set up Thaiyurveda which makes eco-friendly herbal spa products. Camille was born and raised in Puerto Rico and her grandmother was a healer.
In total, training lasted six weeks and also covered Thai and bamboo massage techniques, as well as product house protocols .
How did you recruit your therapists?
Several years ago, I met an amazing Puerto Rican therapist called Richard Trinidad who later opened a massage school on the island. We hired Richard to help assemble our team (we have 24 staff in total) and become our lead therapist. This, coupled with Ritz-Carlton’s hiring process and standards, allowed us to open with an incredibly talented group of therapists.
How much was invested in the spa?
Total investment was in excess of US$20m (€15.5m, £13.3m). It cost around US$16m (€12.4m, £10.6m) to build and we spent more than US$1m (€0.8m, £0.7m) on landscaping. A further US$3m (€2.3m, £2m) went on customised furniture and fixtures.
What does spa bring to the resort?
It’s a significant part of a guest’s on-property spending, leads them to stay longer and is an important addition to the recreational offering which also includes golf, water sports and the 11-mile Rockefeller Nature Trail.
Buyers of resort residences are among our most regular users – they often incorporate the spa into their daily routine. And it’s already a favourite with people who have a first or second home on the island as well as with day trippers from the capital San Juan, which is only 30 minutes away.
The variety of experiences attracts spa aficionados as well as both male and female first timers; and ensures that guests come back multiple times.
What are you working on next?
I’ll continue to keep an eye on Spa Botánico. Elsewhere, I’m working on the spa at The Edition Miami Beach in Florida and will remain involved in current and future Auberge spa developments.
One of my favourite spas in the pipeline is at Kohanaiki, a private community that’s being developed on Hawaii’s Big Island. The Big Island is a place that’s deserving of authentic interpretations of cultural healing. I get excited about inspired projects like this and Spa Botánico!
