Spa Magazine

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It's 7 a.m. and I'm walking. It's part of a six-mile ritual I observe daily, but on this particular morning, in low-slung yoga pants and sneakers, I'm feeling like an anomaly, a modern woman sent back in time to the American South. 

"Fine hot beverage you're drinking, my lady," a tall man in knickers and a ponytailed wig says as he stops to greet me, pointing to my Starbucks cup. It's an odd exchange, and we laugh. He is on his commute to work as a keeper of America's largest living history museum. I'm also on a commute of sorts-to visit the town's most modern amenity, The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg.

Several years ago, when I first learned that a spa was being developed in this historical town, I was skeptical. Visions of staged reproductions and wigged spa attendants sprang instantly to mind. But upon further reflection, I recalled the rise of apothecaries during the Colonial era and Virginia's legacy as a hot bed for hot springs. When big spa names-like consultant Sylvia Sepielli, renowned for her work in bringing authenticity to the spa world-started circulating in affiliation with the project, I was intrigued. Within minutes of checking into the softly hued spa (and with no long-skirted therapists in sight), I was sold.

In true Sepielli style, the spa honors the region's healing culture via signature treatments. Each experience is 90 minutes to two hours long and celebrates the specific wellness traditions of the 17th to 21st centuries. "The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg was an amazing project to work on because of the rich history of Williamsburg and the surrounding areas," says Paige Megna, lead consultant at Sepielli's SPAd (Sylvia Planning and Design). "The idea that health and wellness have been viewed differently through the ages was the inspiration for our concept."

The spa's signature treatments begin in the 17th century with the Cleansing Hot Stones Spa Experience, which was inspired by the use of hot stones in many native cultures. A hot herbal linen wrap is followed by an application of cool towels and then a hot stone massage. The 18th-century offering, the Colonial Herbal Spa Experience-composed of a footbath, body scrub, and massage-uses then-exotic ingredients like orange and ginger, both heavily traded during that time. Water is the lead ingredient in the 20th-century portion of the treatment menu: the Williamsburg Water Cures Spa Experience, featuring a dry body brushing followed by a warm Vichy shower and soaking bath-a nod to Virginia's hot springs and the emergence of advanced spa equipment. To mark the 21st century, the Skin Rejuvenation Spa Experience incorporates the latest in skincare technology, including an in-depth skin analysis, particle-free microdermabrasion, and products by Skin Authority. 

For me, the 19th-century Root and Herbal Spa Experience-consisting of a body exfoliation, soothing herbal bath, and full-body massage-was the journey that sprang most vividly to life because it originated from a ritual I had not encountered before. Rootwork-the practice of digging for roots, then grinding them into a fine powder and, from that, creating a body paste for healing-was introduced to the area by the slaves who arrived at Virginia's Point Comfort. 

"Rootwork is an energy-driven healing technique," says spa director Kate Mearns. While slaves often applied roots and herbs via paste to their bodies for physical ailments, they also generously dusted a finely ground version onto bed linens, on furniture, in doorways, and on their skin and hair to bring love, happiness, wealth, strength, passion, and luck. The Spa of Colonial Williamsburg carries its own modern-day version of the mixture, called High Road Powder, which features a blend of herbal powders in a maize base.

Next: The history of Colonial Williamsburg.