Business & Finance

Guests Can Renew, Relax and Refresh at Hyatt Regency Curaçao's Atabei Spa

Spa director provides tips for keeping an island glow even after winter vacation

January 31, 2012 - With a new year comes the opportunity to refresh the mind, body and soul. Guests staying at Hyatt Regency Curaçao Golf Resort, Spa and Marina can retreat to the resort’s Atabei Spa to unwind with a soothing treatment and experience the rituals of Curaçao’s first inhabitants – the Arawak Indians. Then, even after guests return to winter weather, they can continue to care for their skin with tips from Susan van Haperen, new manager of spa operations at the resort. Formerly the lead guest service representative at Atabei Spa, Ms. van Haperen is a licensed massage therapist, with a particular focus on Thai massage.

“We help Hyatt Regency Curaçao spa-goers understand the importance of taking vacation benefits and our island benefits home,” says van Haperen. “We have crafted island treatments and products that guests can easily reproduce at home and keep the sunny glow going, such as some of our aloe-based skin treatments.” She also points out that to keep skin beautiful, it's best to work from the inside. “Eating the right kind of foods can do more good than any medicine - and can go a long way in helping a body's own healing forces. We encourage guests to eat a balanced diet both while they’re here and when they leave. One easy tip at home, to combat dry inside air, is simply to boil water and let the escaping steam help add moisture to the nearby air.”

While staying at the resort, spa-goers can restore dry skin with an Aloe Curative facial, incorporating soothing aloe, a Curaçao staple, to repair sun damage and hydrate the skin. The Curaçao Laraha Scrub uses locally distilled Curaçao liqueur with brown sugar, citrus oil and orange peel to exfoliate and reveal glowing skin. Atabei Spa’s Stemps Massage offers a traditional Curaçao healing technique, using sachets of locally grown herbs dipped in warm organic oil.

The inspiration for Atabei Spa originated from the ancient culture and rituals of the Arawak people, and focuses on the heat of the sun, the rhythm of the water, the goodness of the earth and the pull of the moon to allow guests to get in tune with their true foundation. The spa itself was designed to mimic the area’s natural beauty, and playful elements incorporate light blue and tan colors, as well as dark wood accents. Each of the four treatment rooms offers a private changing area as well as an indoor/outdoor rain shower and relaxation patio. Treatments begin with a cleansing ritual on the suite’s private patio, where guests enjoy an herbal water foot cleanse using a Calabash bowl, made from the native Calabash Tree.

Resort room rates start at $229 per night and an all-inclusive option is also offered. For more information or for hotel reservations, please visit www.curaçao.hyatt.com or call 800.55.HYATT.

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