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Spring, 2005
 Content: • A spa destination
NEW MARLBORO Brad Wagstaff and Leslie Miller have long been involved in the lodging and dining businesses locally as owners of Gedney Farm and formerly, the Old Inn on the Green. Opening a spa had never been a goal of theirs until recently. The husband and wife team opened Mepal Spa (pronounced "Maple" after the town in England for which it is named), last August at the site of the former Kolburne School off Route 57. The spa offers a range of salon, skin care, body treatments, massage, pedicure and manicure services, as well as yoga and Pilates classes, guided hikes and, new for male guests, "applied hydraulics." Its popularity took Wagstaff and Miller by surprise. "What we didn't know was how successful it would be," Miller said. "It is almost the norm that people expect there to be a spa where they are staying." Spa popularity They may not be omnipresent, but spas indeed are becoming increasingly popular. There were an estimated 12,100 spas in the United States in 2003, of which 70 percent were day spas, according to the International Spa Association, based in Lexington, Ky. The nation's spas saw approximately 136 million visits that year and generated $11.2 billion in revenue. "The spa industry has proven that it is more than just a trendy fad; it is a major player in the hospitality and leisure arena," the association declared. "The spa industry has arrived." The industry is well grounded in Berkshire County. There are nine local spas that belong to the Berkshire Visitors Bureau, ranging from larger facilities such as Cranwell Resort, Spa and Golf Club and Canyon Ranch, both in Lenox, to smaller ones such as InTouch Massage and Day Spa in Williamstown and Michele's Salon and Day Spa in Great Barrington. Numerous other spas exist in the area, and businesses such as hotels, health clubs and hair salons offer spa services. "Berkshire County is becoming a spa destination," said William R. Wilson Jr., president and CEO of the Berkshire Visitors Bureau. The spa industry "has been rather dramatic in its growth." Restored manor Wagstaff and Miller said they decided to buy the spa property on Route 57, which was being eyed for as many as 50 houses, to preserve the rural entry into New Marlboro. They purchased the property from the Kolburne School, a special-needs residential school, in 2000 for $1.4 million. The early 1900s manor house was built by Hildreth Bloodgood, whose descendants still live in the town and were able to provide the original blueprints for the home. Wagstaff and Miller named it Mepal Manor, after deciding that "Bloodgood Manor" was not an enticing name. Bloodgood had raised horses there and his prize horse was named the "Star of Mepal." The manor, with 12 guest rooms and private baths, a great hall and terrace overlooking the property and a dining room, opened in May 2001. Here comes the bride Miller explained that a large percentage of the business at Gedney Farm is weddings, and that she often found herself sending bridal parties and their guests to other places for facials, massages and manicures. The couple decided to pamper guests with their own spa. They built the facility in a more modern, steel warehouse that was erected in the 1970s and used by the Kolburne School for classrooms. The building houses four treatment rooms, a gymnasium and a salon. The business, which employs 12 people, has drawn a large clientele from South County and northwestern Connecticut for single-day treatments, while couples and groups travel from much farther away to stay in the guest rooms and partake in several days worth of pampering. Earth moving In a twist on the pampering theme, some male -- and even female -- guests help dig up or bury boulders and build stone walls on the property using Wagstaff's construction equipment, an activity the couple call applied hydraulics.
Wagstaff said construction is a passion of his, a "juxtaposition between power and finesse" that completes the "country experience" for guests from big cities. "We wanted to develop an experience for men that was unique," he said, explaining that many men have free time while their wives or girlfriends are receiving spa services in which they, themselves, do not wish to participate. Mepal Spa soon will offer outdoor yoga and massage in a wooded area near a pond on the property, the couple said. "Business has exceeded our expectations," Wagstaff said. "It never occurred to me that we would be as busy as we are."  RETURN TO TOP |
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