It was an innocent invitation issued to my mother– a little mother-daughter bonding and relaxation at a health spa for Mother’s Day. While the invitation was genuine, I did have an ulterior motive.
The real motivation was that I was worried about my mom’s health. The stress of her job had taken its toll on her, and I was worried about her many stress-related ailments and the medications she was taking as a result.
A firm believer in the importance of an overall healthy, active lifestyle, I wanted to introduce her to some good habits I’ve adopted that have helped me to lose and maintain my weight over the years and have made me healthier and happier overall.
So I offered my mom a vacation with sun, massages and a beachfront location. And I did make full disclosure of the Regency Health Spa’s focus on health, including an entirely vegetarian menu. She was free to enjoy as many or as few of the activities as she wished, and if she merely chose to lie in the sun and indulge in a few spa services, that was fine by me. Of course, I secretly hoped the Regency’s focus on health education would have a lasting impact on her long after our 5-day trip was over.
After researching spas around the country, I chose the Regency Health Spa, located on the beach in Hallandale, Florida (near Ft. Lauderdale). A member of the Destination Spa Group, the Regency Health Spa’s mission is to encourage healthier lifestyles through education about wellness and self-improvement and to provide guests with an optimal spa vacation experience with lasting benefits. It was exactly what I was looking for.
We spent our first day enjoying the abundant sunshine and beachfront pool. After soaking in the hot tub under the stars after dinner, we retired to our oceanfront room early, falling asleep to the sound of the crashing waves right outside our window.
Regency guests receive a free introductory consultation with the spa’s onsite physician, Dr. Sabatino, to review current health status and any health issues or concerns. While my visit with Dr. Sabatino was brief, he spent quite a bit of time with my mom reviewing her ailments and lifestyle and offered excellent suggestions for modifications to her diet to help her medical conditions. She was impressed with the information and seemed genuinely interested in making some of the changes he suggested.
Meals at the Regency Health Spa are creative affairs, made fresh daily and focusing on fruits, vegetables, pastas, grains, nuts, seeds and assorted soy-based products. Organic foods are served whenever possible. As a vegetarian myself, it was a real treat to have such wonderful, healthy, homemade vegetarian meals. To my surprise, my meat-eating mom enjoyed the majority of the foods and as a result of our trip made many modifications to her diet.
Guests can also participate in the physician-supervised juice fast program, an interesting option for those looking to lose a lot of weight or just looking to “cleanse” their system.
One of the highlights of our visit to the Regency was Dr. Sabatino’s daily health lecture. Knowledgeable and passionate about the healthy- living lifestyle, he looks far younger than his age and is in tip-top shape. The health lectures had the most significant impact on my mom. Not only did she enjoy them, but she also learned a lot about the impact that the things we eat (or don’t) or our activities (or inactive lifestyles) have on our health.
The Regency’s fitness classes provide a variety of activities to suit just about anybody. They gave my mom a great opportunity to try some new things she wouldn’t be exposed to at home. Some she liked (water aerobics) and others she didn’t (yoga). The classes were fun and the instructors were competent and professional. While geared more toward beginners, the classes are a great way for someone just getting started on their fitness journey to sample a variety of exercises.
To ease our tired muscles from all that exercise, we sampled many treatments in the full-service spa, including Swedish and deep-tissue massages (provided in a palapa by the pool so you can listen to the sounds of the ocean), manicures, pedicures, and reflexology. All were excellent and reasonably priced.
When we tired of all the activities and healthy eating, we snuck away for an afternoon in Miami’s South Beach and after people-watching and sunbathing on the beach, treated ourselves to shopping and lunch.
While I felt good about the time my mom and I spent together during our visit at the Regency Health Spa, I wasn’t sure it had the long-term effect on her I was hoping. However, within days of returning home, I was thrilled when she called and excitedly told me that she lost 4 pounds during our visit and her blood pressure was down significantly. Since then, with a concerted effort to eat more healthy foods like the ones we were severed at the spa, she has lost additional weight and her blood pressure continues to hover at a normal rate.
I guess my plan worked after all.
Regency Health Spa is a good value for the quality of the food and activities. In addition to the oceanfront setting, included in the room price are three gourmet vegetarian meals per day, use of the pool and hot tub, classes, and fitness activities ranging from aerobics, to yoga, to weight training, to stretching, and meditation. There are also several planned activities such as shopping excursions and a movie shown on the big-screen TV in the lobby each night. Cooking classes teach guests how to prepare healthy meals at home. For additional fees, guests can schedule personal training sessions and an assessment with a trainer to learn a personalized workout program to take home.Regency Health Spa is a good value for the quality of the food and activities. In addition to the oceanfront setting, included in the room price are three gourmet vegetarian meals per day, use of the pool and hot tub, classes, and fitness activities ranging from aerobics, to yoga, to weight training, to stretching, and meditation. There are also several planned activities such as shopping excursions and a movie shown on the big-screen TV in the lobby each night. Cooking classes teach guests how to prepare healthy meals at home. For additional fees, guests can schedule personal training sessions and an assessment with a trainer to learn a personalized workout program to take home.
Real Travel Adventures 