Last Updated on 02/06/21 by Rose Palmer
I have never been to a spa. So this summer, when a girlfriend and I were planning a weekend in Hershey, PA, we decided to indulge ourselves to a day of chocolate spa treatments at the chocolate hotel, or as it is better known, the world renowned Hotel Hershey Spa.
The Hershey Hotel and Spa
The Hotel Hershey is a historic building that is part of the Historic Hotels of America, and is in itself an amazing destination. To reach it, you drive a long, uphill road, and then the hotel finally comes into view, sitting at the top of the hill, like a grand dame holding court over everything else that is Hershey down in the valley below.
The hotel was built to Milton Hershey’s exacting standards based on a hotel design Milton had experienced in the Mediterranean. The exotic hotel lobby takes you into a Latin Villa with its tiled floors, mosaic fountain and palm trees.
The Chocolate Spa at Hershey
The spa, or rather the Chocolate Spa as it is nicknamed, is in its own wing overlooking the hotel gardens, and takes up three floors. Everything about the facility exudes elegance and style. For a day, this was a haven, an oasis from everything else outside these walls.
In keeping with the setting, the Hershey spa is not just a few treatment rooms and a salon. My experience started with the luxurious ladies lounge where I changed into the plushest and most comfortable robe I have ever experienced – warm and soft, it was my uniform for the day.
In between the spa sessions, I had a number of choices of where to sit and relax. The Whisper Room was warmed by a fireplace and looked and felt like a comfortable wood paneled library with a balcony looking out over the gardens. This is also where snacks and drinks were available – including, of course, various selections of chocolate
. When the Whisper Room got too busy, across the hall was the Silent Room which was blissfully empty and quiet and was a good spot to continue that feeling of peace and relaxation after a treatment. Then there was also the Aromatherapy Room, another spot to relax and be soothed by calming scents.
If all that were not enough, the spa also has a steam room, a sauna, an indoor pool, a Jacuzzi and a fitness center.
My day at the chocolate hotel
There are a variety of Hershey spa packages to choose from, and they all sounded wonderful. But as they say, when in Rome……..or in this case Hershey which is called”The Sweetest Place on Earth”……. there was really only one choice for me. The town and the hotel were built upon an empire of chocolate so I went all out and indulged in the complete Chocolate Escape Package. This would be a whole decadently chocolaty rich all day event which included:
Whipped Cocoa Bath
Chocolate Sugar Scrub
Lunch at the Oasis-the spa restaurant
Chocolate Fondue Wrap
50 minute Cocoa Massage
The morning started with a chocolate bath spa experience. This is not a bath in a tub full of hot chocolate as you might imagine. Rather it was a bath at just the right temperature, with chocolate scented bubble bath and a dusting of cocoa powder. The bath was 15 minutes in a private room with subdued lighting and soothing music – just the right amount of time to begin to relax. Any stress and worries went down the drain with the bath water at the end of the soak.
Next came the chocolate cocoa scrub, again in a private room with low lighting and soothing music. Every body part was exfoliated with a coarse scrub that included cocoa nibs and other ingredients. I didn’t realize how much my back itched until the technician started scrubbing – it felt sooooo good.
At the end of the treatment, the technician rinsed me off with a large shower wand right there on the treatment bed so I did not even have to get up to do that. All “private” parts were covered with towels throughout the process and the whole treatment was done very discretely. This aspect of having to expose my body to a stranger was one of the things that worried me a bit. But I needn’t have worried. The technician was very discreet and professional and I felt very comfortable and was getting more relaxed by the minute.
Lunch at the Oasis
By this time it was lunch which I enjoyed in the Spa’s Oasis dining room. Still in my comfy robe and slippers, I had a choice of a variety of tasty salads and meat dishes, and of course desserts. For me, this had to get washed down with one of their signature chocolate martinis. If I wasn’t relaxed by this point, I certainly was by the time I finished that potent cocktail.
After the ninety minute lunch, the next treatment began: the fondue wrap. This started with a soft brushing of all exposed body parts. Then the technician applied a mixture made of special mud and cocoa ingredients. Finally, I was wrapped up in warm blankets to allow the mixture to detoxify the body. I think I dozed off for a bit as I was wrapped up in that warm cocoa cocoon. Once again I was rinsed off while laying on the treatment bed and after the rinse, the technician applied a lotion made with cocoa butter.
The final treatment was a fifty minute chocolate massage with a coco butter lotion. I think by this point I was getting my second wind, because instead of relaxing, I ended up having a very entertaining conversation with the young lady doing the massage. But by the time she was done, my skin felt silky smooth and my muscles were like (chocolate) pudding.
Unfortunately, before long it was late afternoon and my Hershey spa services were over and it was time to leave. The locker room provided all the necessary amenities to get cleaned up and was extremely spacious. The building’s Mediterranean theme extend to this space as well, making it very attractive and warming.
My friend and I ended our day at the Hershey spa hotel with a delicious dinner at the hotel’s signature restaurant, The Circular. As the name implies, the restaurant is round and is encircled by windows which overlook the hotel’s lush gardens.
As you may imagine, hints of chocolate can be found throughout the menu here as well. The cocoa dusted scallops were wonderful, and paired with a salad, it was not so filling that I did not have room for a dessert of chocolate cherry bread pudding.
The chocolate spa day and the dinner were all amazing. But I have just one regret – I should have also done a chocolate facial so that every part of my body benefited from all this special treatment. Oh well – next time.
To get the latest information about the spa at the Hotel Hershey, please visit https://www.chocolatespa.com/
For ideas on how to spend a girl’s weekend away in Hershey please read A Sweet Girls Weekend Away in Hershey, PA
Thanks for visiting.
Rose
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