Star of Texas

November 1, 2008 By: Nicole Palmieri American Spa

The Stoneleigh Court Hotel, which first opened its doors in 1923, is located on quaint Maple Avenue in Uptown Dallas. Known as a gathering place for the city's elite, this luxurious boutique hotel once served as a hot spot for luminary guests, including Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn, Elvis Presley and artist Andy Warhol. Reopened in March after a $36 million renovation and restoration, the hotel now boasts a new name, The Stoneleigh Hotel & Spa, as well as The Spa at The Stoneleigh, a 5,200-square-foot haven for hotel guests and locals looking for a relaxing retreat. "The legacy of The Stoneleigh Hotel and the fact that there has never been a spa is really exciting," says spa director Terri Beckham. "The spa adds to the hotel's wonderful history with an entirely new and different venue for guests to enjoy."

The hotel's retro entrance pays tribute to its original structure and history.

In addition to making the spa an ideal place for pampering and relaxation, Beckham strives to ensure that it is also a place where guests can receive topnotch customer service and personal attention. One way she ensures this is by personally greeting guests as they enter and leave the spa. "Many large spas today have gone away from that personal connection that used to be evident at spas," says Beckham. "Here we've created a lovely upscale spa boutique that is not at all lacking in quality of services and options but stands out because we have amped up the high-touch nature of each guest's experience."

Female clients are encouraged to sit back and relax before and after treatments in the women's relaxation lounge.

Spa-goers feel right at home from the time they step foot into the spa to when they leave. Because the spa is located in the hotel's basement, clients automatically feel relaxed and secluded from everyday stresses. "It doesn't matter what is going on outside, when clients step foot down here they enter an imaginary place of sorts," says Beckham.

Flowers provide decorations to the lounge and complement the designs on the curtains.

Because the hotel's renovation conserved many aspects of its original space, the spa was created with this history in mind. Designed by ForrestPerkins, a Dallas-based interior design firm, the spa features subtle lighting throughout, bamboo flooring, and a muted and subdued jewel-tone color palette of soft aquamarine, taupe, and rose. Six private treatment rooms, including a Duet Suite and wet room with hydrotherapy tubs and a dry sauna, make up the spa. The Duet Suite is ideal for oft-requested side-by-side treatments. "We call it the Duet Suite because even though we do couples' massages, we also see a lot of girlfriends and mothers and daughters who request treatments together," says Beckham. "To me, the term 'couples' room' is a misnomer."