Linda Brigley, the owner and manager of Spirit Spa, thinks that doing a spa date breaks down barriers in a relationship. "You are sharing a therapeutic experience and enjoying each other's company at the same time. Then you come out of that feeling like a million dollars so you are energized for whatever you are going to do next," she says. "Couples definitely come out of these treatments closer, and with a spring in their step."
Brigley says that couples treatments are incredibly popular, so much so that when the spa changed location 18 months ago they added a second couples' room and now both of those rooms are pretty much always booked up (especially around holidays and anytime there is reason to celebrate).
It's worth noting that many extended medical plans cover certain types of massage, so if you both have coverage, this could end up being a very cheap date indeed.
Most spas these days offer couples' packages (they'd be fools not to given the growing popularity) and there are many variations on themes. The Spa at Ballantyne in Charlotte, NC, has a number of packages that cover facials, massage and pedicures but also goes a step further. Several of their packages offer couples the option of doing an instructional massage experience where they are taught how to make their partner's muscles melt. (See sidebar for more examples).
The instruction is more about bringing people closer than teaching them how to work the kinks out of a lover's back, and sees experienced spa-goers and spa virgins coming in to do this popular package.
"It's all about long relaxing strokes and getting to know each other better," says spa director Bill Toth. "In these stressful times, people want to connect with each other in any way that they can."