Native American Pampering

By Nancy Bearden Henderson

Not one to tolerate water streaming into my eyes, I first balked at the sight of the Vichy shower hovering over the padded table in the softly-lit treatment room. Soon, however, the warm cascade is raining over my towel-covered torso as the notes of a Native American flute serenade me from the shadows, sinking me into a luxurious alpha state in spite of myself.

Native American Pampering

As part of my spring body polish, Amy, my spa therapist, gently scrubs my road-weary body with sea salt, essential oils, and flecks of blessed thistle that she scoops from a bowl. Cool sweeps of the Vichy remove lingering particles, then she helps me turn over, repeats the process, and aims the jets at my chakras to balance my ‘energy output’. Then it’s time for a thirty-minute massage with sweet almond oil. By the time Amy rubs the soles of my feet, I have forgotten about traffic or deadlines or anything else except, perhaps, a scheme to install one of these blissful shower contraptions at home.

Such treatments are all part of the holistic pampering at The Ritz-Carlton Lodge at Reynolds Plantation, which opened a little over a year ago about eighty miles east of Atlanta. Billed as “the first new luxury destination resort in more than three generations” and “the only spa to feature treatments influenced specifically by the Creek Indians“, the elegant, fieldstone resort captures the opulence of other Ritz-Carltons, with slippers by the bed and a bath fit for an Indian princess, but offers a regional, masculine twist. Metal leaves adorn rustic, crown-shaped chandeliers, massive fireplaces support timber tresses towering over slate floors, and the gourmet entrees are heavy on country ham, black-eyed peas, and sweet potatoes.

In the spa, Native American herbal remedies correspond with the four seasons. In spring, for example, honeysuckle, Solomon seal, partridge berry, wild burdock, and ginseng tea usher in the warmth of the vernal sunlight, encourage new beginnings, and heighten stamina and strength. Dozens of Creek-inspired treatments are offered year-round, from Aklopita (hydrotherapy in a special tub) to the Sugar and Cinnamon Raindrop Slimming Wrap to Cilayie a manicure, pedicure and massage using white quartz pebbles.

John Winterhawk, a Muskogee spiritual leader who was consulted on the restorative treatments, hopes guests will gain an appreciation for his tribe’s culture. “I hope they take back the integrity that we have in our hearts for each other and spread that around the world” says Winterhawk, who at age nine learned the healing traditions from his grandfather. “I hope they just bathe in that honor, that respect for our elders and our guides, and the love of the land the Creator has given us here.”

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The Ritz-Carlton Spa at Reynolds Plantation, Lake Oconee Trail, Greensboro, Georgia, specializes in Native American therapies but also features a beauty salon, aerobic studio, exercise room and classes, three-lane indoor lap pool, body composition analysis, nutritional counseling, personal training and bio-terrain analysis. Treatments range from $120-195. Lodging ranges from $275, for a basic but indulgent double room, to $6,000 a night for the lavish, 5,400-square-foot presidential house.

(706) 467-0600

www.ritzcarlton.com