Property Profile: Healing Arts Center and Spa at Cavallo Point
We hold our partnership with The Healing Arts Center & Spa at Cavallo Point very dear. The land, people and commitment to sustainability are unparalleled. Cavallo Point Lodge received Travel+Leisure’s World’s Best Award 2015 for Best Hotel in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Healing Arts Center & Spa is one of the most progressive spa concepts in the country—blending founding director Jenny Helling’s passion for art and authentic spa therapies.
Jenny brought us into the project long before her concept for the Center—‘Return to Basics, Return to Nature, Return to Self’—had materialized. This allowed us the opportunity to weave aromatherapy into every aspect of the concept and co-create signature blends that truly reflect this rare gem of a property.
Creating products with Jenny is a dream. A creative visionary who has traveled the world training and managing spas, she has opened luxury properties on three continents. She is also a Certified Massage Therapist with a Masters in Art Therapy. We had the chance to catch up with Jenny recently; here are some excerpts from our interview:
BB: Please tell us about Cavallo Point & the Healing Arts Center and Spa
JH: The property is like none other—I feel so blessed to work here every day. The property is located on the coastal wildland formerly home to military base Fort Mason. Cavallo Point Lodge is San Francisco Bay’s first national park lodge.
Our management company Passport Resorts is committed to preserving the historic buildings and restoring the natural habitat. LEED Certified green building elements at Cavallo Point Lodge include state-of-the-art unisolar panels fully integrated into metal roofing, low VOC glues, paints and carpets, and green building materials. We are proud that the Healing Arts Center and Spa received 2014 Green Spa Network Sustainable Spa of the Year.
Developing the Healing Arts Center and Spa brought together all my gifts. In addition to traditional spa treatments, we offer Integrative Medicine such as acupuncture, energy work and hypnotherapy. Nature and interactivity are woven throughout our menu. A good example is Healing Gardens a workshop where a trained herbalist and master gardener works with the guest to design a customized herb garden planter box.
BB: How did you start working with Body Bliss?
JH: On the recommendation of our mutual colleague Ann Patton, Nick came to visit me in my temporary office on the property. It was very important to Passport Resorts that we work with local companies when at all possible, but Nick won us over with his experience and background, as well as our mutual vision of crafting the products with local botanicals.
I love and admire Nick. I have all the respect in the world for him. There is no ego on his part – he is so willing to share and open to everything.
BB: What was the product development process?
JH: Spa openings are stressful under the best of circumstances. Nick calmly led us through the product development process and helped us establish an identity right off the bat. He was in agreement that we needed a signature scent to tie back to property.
I challenged Nick to create essential oil blends and bath and body products that capture the true essence of the resort. Nick walked the property and took in the smells of eucalyptus, cedar and pine, and our signature scent was born.
Nick spent a good amount of time walking the property scouting indigenous plants. For example, we built a custom blend around geranium when Nick uncovered it on the grounds. Geranium essential oil is an excellent hormone balancer, so it served a need of our clientele.
Collaboration has defined our relationship with Body Bliss from Day One. We have co-created the whole gamut of the spa menu – unique oils blends, products and treatment protocols. I come up with an idea and Nick makes it happen!
BB: Tell us about the products you created with Body Bliss?
JH:We carry Body Bliss lotions, salt scrubs, candles, a muscle balm retail and use body bliss oils, lotions and salts back bar. Nick developed 5 custom scents in our lotions and oils - the Cavallo Point signature scent and four other exclusive blends, each with unique therapeutic qualities. Each custom scent contains five essential oils, two of which you will find around the resort.
Our Signature scent is the most popular by far. It is a beautiful gender neutral fragrance, and our guests love taking the sensorial experience of the resort home with them.
We also created our own custom nut-free massage oil with local ingredients, avocado, olive and sunflower. It is nut-free to limit allergic reactions, and has a nice viscosity. A little goes a long way, which saves on treatment costs.
The next step for us is the integration of the Aroma Design Bar!
BB: Thank so much Jenny, and congratulations on all your success!
