The spa consultancy and contract operator was involved with the creation of the food-based treatment spa, located within The Epicurean Hotel in Tampa, Fla.
The Epicurean Hotel has opened in Tampa, Fla., as a collaboration between Mainsail Lodging & Development and Bern’s Steak House. It’s the first new-build property in the US to join the Autograph Collection® of Marriott International, Inc.
Global spa consultancy and contract operator WTS International (WTS) was involved with the creation of the hotel’s Spa Evangeline.
WTS began by developing the concept for the new spa and continued its involvement right through to opening. “We worked with The Epicurean on design and then went on to support the opening,” said Susie Hammer, vice president of spa operations at WTS. “This included the development of marketing materials, the menu and other collateral, as well as the hiring and training of staff. Today, we continue our involvement by providing daily management services on an ongoing basis.”
WTS organized the layout and interior design of the 2,800-sq. ft.spa space, which provides food-based treatments in keeping with the hotels’ epicurean theme.
“Our team reviewed every aspect of the concept before it was translated into an effective design,” said Alfredo Carvajal, COO of WTS. “All of this was done on the back of a very careful evaluation of the financial and service expectations of our client.
“From there, we brought the final product to life with our pre-opening support and ongoing effective daily management. Our strength as partners is our capacity to find solutions and then to have a dedicated team to ensure they’re implemented.”
“Guests have the opportunity to work with a spa sommelier to create custom products using locally grown mint and cilantro, mixed with fresh fruit and essential oils,” Hammer said. “This creates a unique spa and culinary experience for guests.”
The spa’s innovative, interactive Chef-to-Treatment Spa Bar enables guests to pick herbs for use in their treatment from the spa’s Living Wall of plants.
Spa Evangeline’s product line comes from vinotherapie expert Caudalie, whose products use extracts from grapes harvested from the Château Smith Haut Lafitte vineyard in Bordeaux, France. In keeping with this, it has a feature wall covered in over 19,000 wine corks.
The spa also uses products from Farm House Fresh, a Texan food-based skincare company, whose products are 99.5 percent natural. This range includes liquor-based body polishes such as Butter Rum, Bourbon Bubbler and Watermelon-Basil Vodkatini.
The five treatment room facility has two couples’ rooms which feature chromatherapy lighting—one has a double rain shower and the other a double hydrotherapy bath.
The 137-room hotel also features a culinary classroom, rooftop lounge, wine shop, pâtisserie and the Élevage restaurant.
“As we envisioned how best to integrate the spa into our food-focused mission, we needed to source a partner that would fully grasp the concept and take it to another level,” said Tom Haines, General Manager of the Epicurean. “We couldn’t have asked for a better partner than WTS, as they brought all the ingredients together to make the perfect recipe for Spa Evangeline.”
“The spa and hotel was a groundbreaking project, having incorporated food and wine into every aspect of the guest experience,” said WTS president Gary Henkin. “This allowed our team an opportunity to be creative and develop one of the first fully executed, food-themed spas of this level of complexity. Our aim was nothing less than to capture the passions of those behind the vision that has become the Epicurean Hotel.”
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