Spa types

A bed & breakfast spa

Club spa

A cosmetic spa

A cruise ship spa

A spa aboard a cruise ship providing professionally administered spa services, fitness and wellness components and spa cuisine menu choices.

A culinary spa

A hotel, resort, or destination spa which offers seminars, demonstrations, or classes which teach the best way to shop for, store, and prepare healthy food used in spa cuisine, focusing on dishes which are healthy, low fat, high protein or meet special dietary needs.  Culinary Spas can also include hotels, resorts and lodges which offer cooking classes with a regional flair, such as cooking with locally sourced or grown-on-site ingredients, historic or regional specialties, and kids-in-the-kitchen programs.

A day spa

A spa offering a variety of professionally administered spa services to clients on a day-use basis. Day spas offer many of the same services and procedures as cosmetic spas.

A dental spa

A facility which offers both professional, licensed dental care as well as relaxation and aesthetic treatments designed to relax the patient before or after dental services. These services may include color therapy, hand and foot massage, manicures and pedicures, body massage, aromatherapy, and skincare.

A destination spa

A destination spa is a facility with the primary purpose of guiding individual spa-goers to develop healthy habits.  Historically a seven-day stay, this lifestyle transformation can be accomplished by providing a comprehensive program that includes spa services, physical fitness activities, wellness education, healthful cuisine and special interest programming.

A mineral spring spa

A spa offering an on-site source of natural mineral, thermal or seawater used in hydrotherapy treatments.

A mobile spa

A mobile spa contracts with or employs licensed and trained therapists (which may include massage therapists, aestheticians, and stylists) who travel to the guest's residence, hotel, special event (wedding, church,  reception) or office (conferences, seminars) to perform skin care, body care, massage, hair styling, and similar services.

A ranch spa

A ranch resort or lodge which offers as its primary recreation a menu of outdoor activities including horseback riding, fishing, hiking, camping, swimming and trail walking, and, dining is more rustic and hearty, often outdoors or on the trail. The ranch spa should offer on site spa and wellness services.  Some ranch spas classify spa services as massage or hot-tub soaks, while others more appropriate classify it as offering massage, hydrotherapy, skincare, hand and foot treatments, and aromatherapy services, of a level more easily performed in a rustic environment (e.g., without more advanced services which require equipment not suitable for a rustic environment).

A salon spa

A beauty salon which offers primarily services for cutting, grooming, and styling hair for men and women, and also offers certain spa services, usually in a smaller space, including skincare, waxing, threading, and massage.   Typically there is neither a private quiet-lounge or relaxation area, nor sauna/steam/hydrotherapy services.

A spiritual spa retreat

A spiritual spa retreat is a wellness destination with overnight accommodations (lodge rooms, bunkhouse, dorm, cabins, or guesthouses) at a retreat centre (e.g., farm, monastery, school) conducted by individuals who encourage the use of  personal reflection, prayer, or meditation, as well as offering body and wellness services which could include yoga, massage, hydrotherapy, colon therapy, steam and sauna, and more. 

A vinotherapy spa

Vinotherapy or  Vinotherapie is a beauty therapy process in which either the residue of wine making (the pips and pulp) are incorporated into skincare and body care treatments (scrubs and masques) because the pulp is believed to have anti-oxidant, anti-aging and exfoliating qualities, or, wine (still in  drinkable form) is added to a treatment (usually hydrotherapy) to soften the skin.  Increasingly, the incorporation of grapeseed oil, a natural antiseptic, ground grape seeds as a "scrub", and wine extracts and scents in lotions and potions are also being described as "vinotherapy" as well, although this is more pleasurable than therapeutic.

A weight loss spa

A weight loss spa is a  facility which operates under the full-time, on-site supervision of a licensed professional, which may include a medical doctor, dietician or nutritionist, whose primary purpose is dietary and nutritional education, counseling, programming in order to assist guests in achieving healthy weight goals.  Additional services may be available,  but the primary focus of the retreat is a healthy weight by proper nutrition.   With respect to a Weight Loss Camp, the facilities and programs are geared toward the needs of children, teenagers and young adults.