Press

We had the chance to speak to Jessica Renee Rose, spa director at Astral Spa, about the new spa. Here's the scoop on Astral Spa.

Tell us a little bit about the spa’s design? 

Our vision for Astral Spa was to create a unique experience that regional guests have never seen before. With multiple amenities, taking advantage of Hot Springs’ great history of entertainment, gambling, and relaxation, Astral Spa offers a throwback vibe with modern luxury which includes a cold room, steam room and infrared sauna, dipping pools, and needle showers.

Marrying crisp modern lines with historical overtures, Astral Spa’s design led by HBG Design and WTS International celebrates the history of Hot Springs and Oaklawn’s thoroughbred horseracing in an era when ladies and gentlemen donned their best bespoke styles to see and be seen. Relaxing in the lounges, we want our guests to imagine what Hot Springs was like in the roaring ‘20’s yet be in contemporary comfort. The interior design is complemented by the 21st century bathhouse-inspired program and spa services menu developed by leading spa consultants and operators, WTS.

Can you please describe each of the treatment rooms? 

Designed for complete relaxation, the 2,035-square-foot treatment area rooms contain beautifully dressed beds with soft organic linens and warm cocooning cashmere blankets. The Duet Spa Suite allows two guests to share in a meaningful spa experience. This beautifully appointed suite offers coordinated treatments complete with a specialty duet soaking tub, reminiscent of a vintage bathhouse experience. This exclusive suite allows guests to take pleasure in an intimate spa journey within their own spa suite.

What makes the spa unique and sets it apart from other spas in the area?

The resort’s new full-service spa and wellness experience is the first major spa to be built in the Spa City in more than a century. Guests can uniquely experience modern spa services in a nostalgic setting, including:

• An array of spa services, including couples' massages, hydro-facials, hot stone treatments, and a full-day Journey of the Springs experience with several additional offerings.
• Dedicated 1,925-square-foot women’s spa and 1,500-square-foot men’s spa, each with distinctly tailored parlors, dressing room areas and aqua thermal lounges featuring vintage-inspired needle showers that harken to historical bathhouses.
• A 750-square-foot full-service salon, multiple private treatment areas, and a co-ed lounge with upholstered chaise lounges and the area’s only Himalayan salt wall.
• Unique hot/cold wellness circuits in the large women’s and men’s aqua thermal areas, allowing guests to ‘Heat, Cool, Rest, Repeat’ in vapor rooms, infrared saunas, ice lounges, vitality pools, and thermal loungers.
• An illuminated wall of quartz crystal, an important healing element, in the reception area references crystal mining popular in this area of Arkansas, in celebration of the region’s natural resources.

I think what sets us apart is the level of service we provide to the guest, the beautiful aqua thermal areas that are located in each the men’s and women’s areas, and the services that we provide.

How would you describe your typical clientele? 

The typical clientele usually travels to Hot Springs for a weekend getaway from a city within a 200-mile radius of Hot Springs, AR.  They usually come in for the weekend to see a horse race, gamble at the casino, or are celebrating a birthday or anniversary.  Hopefully soon, we will be seeing guests that are specifically traveling here because of the spa. We see quite a few guests from Little Rock (the closest major city and the capital of Arkansas), as well as Memphis, TN, and Shreveport, LA.

How are you marketing the spa to your hotel guests? 

When a guest checks into the hotel, there is a key card offer from the spa for a $25 spa credit for a service 50-minutes or longer Monday through Thursday. Even if the guest isn’t here on a weekday, they could bring the card back during a week day to redeem their offer. The spa is also mentioned in their hotel reservation confirmation email, and present in the iPad compendium in their room.  The in-room toiletries are from our bodycare line, Zents, that state they are available for purchase in the spa.

How are you marketing the spa to local guests or those not staying at the hotel? 

We run monthly specials that we send out in an email to our spa database, as well as post on the spa’s website under the Seasonal Treatments Tab. We have a pretty large following on Facebook from local residents. We have weekday treatment prices to encourage local guests to come to the spa during those days. In December, we launched a Sip & Spa menu that is a spa happy hour to encourage local guests to come in after work. This promotion is only available from Monday through Thursday from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.  Guests can choose a package, or one of our express services during those times as well as use of our full-service locker rooms and includes one glass of bubbly.

Can you tell me a little bit about the creation of the menu?

I worked with Susie Hammer, vice president of spas at WTS International, while creating the spa menu. I researched spa offerings in the area, as well as other casino resort spas, and Forbes Five-Star-rated spas. I wanted to keep the menu simpler, so the guest didn’t feel overwhelmed trying to decide between too many selections. I really wanted the guest to feel like we were creating something incredibly special just for them. After quite a few drafts, it went to the management team and the owners for edits and approvals.

We do offer signature Journeys that range 2 to 4 hours. The Journey of the Springs was inspired by our location. After you have changed into your robe and slippers, you are greeted in the parlor with a warm neck wrap, and a heated mineral foot soak and a cup of hot tea made from one of the local hot springs. Then in the treatment room, you receive a scrub, a soak with a eucalyptus and mint blend to draw in the vapors, an 80-minute massage with chakra balancing with locally sourced crystals, and a Rose Quartz Lift and Contour Facial. Throughout the journey, the guest is given a flight of water from the local hot springs in town. When the guest checks out, they are given an exclusive Journey of the Springs bath bomb made local in the state of Arkansas from Cotton Halo.

What are most spa-goers looking for when they visit your spa? 

The majority of spa-goers are looking to relax and are typically celebrating a special event in their life. The top-selling service is our 50-minute Heavenly Massage, followed closely by our 50-minute Couples Massage. Massage is 68 percent of our business.

What treatments are a harder sell? How do you promote them? 

Our nail treatments are the hardest sell. We include them in our monthly promotions, and encourage other providers to cross promote.

What product lines do you carry at the spa?

Babor, Knesko, Foreo, NuFace, Zents, SachaJuan, Clove + Hallow, Jala Clothing, VitaJuwel Water Bottles

What do you find your biggest challenge to be, and how do you meet that challenge? 

The biggest challenge is what everyone is currently facing, COVID--challenges with staffing, business levels, product arrival time, etc. I am meeting the challenge by being as organized as possible. We have a very heightened sanitation practice, we maximize our revenue on the busy days, so the slower days don’t hurt as much, and try to make sure I’m allowing ample time for the ordering process.

What plans do you have for the future? 

For the spa, to become not only to be a great amenity of this amazing property, but to also become the reason people travel to Hot Springs.