New Paradise Valley Arizona – Montelucia Resort & Spa to open in August
The Valley’s newest resort spa will have a Spanish name, Moorish architecture, Moroccan décor and an Arabic ritual bath.
Welcome to Joya, Spanish for jewel, which will open in August at the 293-room InterContinental Montelucia Resort & Spa in Paradise Valley.
Reporters and other guests got a recent tour of the two-story, 31,000-square-foot palace of pampering designed by Sylvia Sepielli, a world-known spa expert and consultant.
“We’re very excited about the spa. We want to be one of the best spas in Arizona attached to a fantastic resort. The spa is our signature element,” said Valeriano Antonioli, resort managing director.
What the spa will look like when completed is left up to the imagination as construction work continues. But some of the finishing touches already are in progress from the installation of tiles to vibrant paint color choices.
Antonioli said the spa will offer space. There could have been as many as 41 treatment rooms, but there will only be 19.
“Space is luxury,” Antonioli said.
The spa will employ about 45 in the beginning. That number is expected to climb to 140 in a year or two, said Sabrina Cormack, spa and retail director.
“Joya is Spanish meaning jewel, but also we want it to mean to us that you’re having a joyful experience here,” Cormack said.
Treatments will include everything from henna tanning and tattooing, mineral and clay wraps, Moroccan-inspired organic facial and body care, and spa treatments featuring real gold and crushed diamonds.
One-hour treatments will start at $155. Private memberships will start at $15,000.
Discovering the Hammam world
Spa guests will be treated to seven “Jewels of Discovery,” which includes passing through a dome with an exact replica of the night sky in Granada, Spain, and partaking in a traditional Hammam experience. Hammam is an Arabic word for bathhouse, Cormack said.
The cleansing Hammam ritual bath will be a first in the Valley. Montelucia’s will include a warming room, scrub room, steam room, cold plunge, whirlpool, sauna, and relaxation lounge.
Hammams remain popular in Turkey and other countries and reportedly evolved from the Roman thermal bath.
“We are absolutely thrilled to see this resort and spa come to fruition,” Sacco said.
Almost 8 million people visit the Northeast Valley annually, said Sacco, adding that they are affluent and looking for reasons to come back and the new Montelucia would be one reason.
The resort, southeast of Lincoln Drive and Tatum Boulevard, will draw a new visitor, one familiar with the InterContinental name, especially the international guest, Sacco added.
“We’re really looking forward to teaming up with Montelucia for the incredible product that it has but also its ability to help us mine some new markets,” Sacco said.
Soothing views of Camelback
Visitors will be able to enjoy a rejuvenating treatment, she said, and the scenic Sonoran Desert landscape that sets the area apart. The spa offers views of Camelback Mountain.
“No matter what our lifestyle is like, everyone is wanting to decompress and rejuvenate, and especially the more affluent visitors who are so time starved,” Sacco said.
Antonioli said the goal is to create the perfect moment for guests.
“This is what we want to do is make the people happy,” he said.
But the spa also must be unique, Antonioli added. One package that will be offered will be a dinner for two at the spa.
“We will serve the dinner on a table, everything you need, and then we leave,” he said
Joya Spa
• 19 treatment rooms, including five couples’s suites offering private whirlpools and outdoor showers.
• The Palace Suite offers 850 square feet of privacy with a queen-size daybed, oversized tub, whirlpool, fireplace, treatment tables and floor-to-ceiling doors that open to an outdoor spa pool deck.
• A spa courtyard with a reflection pool.
• Two domed rooms with pedestals, the first contains a Moroccan scrub stone where guests can make a wish, the second a crystal ball pedestal lit by a fiber-optic representation of starlight in the sky over Granada, Spain.
• A 41-piece fitness center that overlooks Camelback Mountain. Sunrise yoga, sunset spinning, dance and other group fitness classes will be offered.
• A salon that includes 9 styling stations, 6 manicure and 5 pedicure stations, plus a private courtyard for relaxation or for outdoor manicures or pedicures.
• Product lines include Natura Bissé, Eminence Organic Skin Care, Charme de Orient, Phyto Fleurs, and Lillian Terry
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