The Cleansing Hot Stones Spa Experience draws on the 17th-century Powhatan Indian practice of using sweating to eliminate aches and pains. In the modern interpretation, the body is warmed by hot stones then wrapped in herb-infused, steaming linen to encourage the release of toxins. The experience concludes with a full-body, hot stone massage using oil containing lavender, cypress, juniper, and rosemary.
Doctors in the 18th century began to make connections between cleanliness and health, theorizing that dirt on the skin prevented the body from perspiring freely, considered to be an essential natural process. Herbs and botanicals were thought to be a cure for a variety of ailments, and these were added to cleansing baths. This ritual has been adapted for the modern-day patron in the Colonial Herbal Spa Experience, consisting of a foot bath, followed by an orange-ginger body scrub, herbal body wrap, and massage.
The Root and Herbal Spa Experience draws on African-American practices that used root powders to heal and strengthen, combined with the 19th-century fascination with spring waters thought to cure common diseases when ingested, applied topically, or used for bathing. This treatment includes exfoliation with an herbal powder of lavender buds, rose petals, and essential oils, followed by a bath infused with sage, lavender, and sea salts, and a massage.
Inspiration for the 20th-century Williamsburg Water Cures Spa Experience came from the development of technologically advanced spa equipment combined with the history of bathing rituals. This treatment consists of a full-body, dry-brush exfoliation, followed by a Vichy shower "rain" massage and a traditional milk bath to seal in the skin's moisture.
Among the newest services are laser treatments and microdermabrasion. The spa offers state-of-the-art, particle-free dermabrasion along with the application of pure oxygen to the skin as part of its 21st century Skin Rejuvenation Spa Experience.
