In Season at the Spa: Autumnal Treatments at NoMi Resort Spas

By Rachel Pasche | Oct. 15, 2022

Fall is the time to treat yourself. As we prepare for colder months ahead (and a reliably hectic holiday season), taking a little time for ourselves can be just the thing we need to rejuvenate and refresh. And what better way to do so than with a spa day? Northern Express spoke with four spas across the North to learn about their top services and upcoming fall offerings and deals. May you be as relaxed as we felt just writing about these soothing, seasonal, and sometimes decadent treatments.

Spa Grand Traverse
Grand Traverse Resort and Spa, Acme
Spa Grand Traverse is a Traverse City local’s one-stop shop for all things relaxation, luxury, and pampering. The spa is full of elements designed to inspire serenity, starting with a team of highly-trained professionals; bonus facilities including a pool, hot tub, and sauna; and tea and fresh granola to enjoy in the relaxation area.

Spa Grand Traverse offers a large menu of treatments, ranging from their best-selling and moisturizing HydraFacials to the Stress Relief massage and wrap. They also offer mani/pedis and dozens of other massages, face treatments, and relaxation packages.

Dawn Olsen, the director of Spa Grand Traverse, personally recommends the “Grand” Stone Massage for anyone looking to get warm, relaxed, and cozy this autumn. The Body Renewal, she adds, is the most pampering option for spa-savvy guests. This 100-minute, personally tailored service includes a full body massage, a wrap, hot stones, and a scalp and facial massage.

Spa Grand Traverse offers a few other fall-themed menu items, including a Cozy Cafe mani/pedi using honey chai and paraffin wax and a Warm Amber Full Body Glow, a scrub using essences of orange and myrtle to refresh the skin. In addition to providing these festive services, Spa Grand Traverse is participating in their Spa Week of Giving from November 6 - 26, where they will be donating $5 from every treatment to the Traverse Bay Children’s Advocacy Center.

You can book an appointment online on their website, grandtraverseresort.com/spa, or call (231) 534-6750.

The Spa at the Inn at Bay Harbor
The Inn at Bay Harbor, Bay Harbor
Just outside of Petoskey sits the Inn at Bay Harbor, a gorgeous lakeside resort that offers the best in class Lake Michigan experience, and their spa improves upon the tranquility of the expansive lake views and resort grounds with their reviving services.

A deeply relaxing Lavender Blossom Massage (available as a 60- or 90-minute treatment) is one of their most popular menu items, alongside their Eminence Organics Custom Facial, which is customized to each guest’s skin type and comes complete with a recommended product regimen and samples for their guests to bring the spa home.

For anyone looking to treat themselves this autumn, Kari Skop, the director at the spa, recommends one of their Naturopathica signature body treatments: Espresso Awakening or Lemon Verbena. “These treatments exfoliate the body after a long summer in the sun and deeply hydrate to heal the skin before the coming colder weather of winter, which makes them perfect for fall treatments,” she tells Northern Express.

This fall, The Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor is offering some harvest season specials, including a Lalicious Pumpkin Spice Manicure and Pedicure, which boasts fall-scented scents within the sugar scrub and body butter made from brown sugar, cinnamon spice, and creamy pumpkin. The Eminence Pumpkin & Yam Facial, another fall staple at the spa, uses the natural enzyme content of yam and pumpkin to soften and tone the skin.

For more information, visit their website at innatbayharbor.com/spa or call (231) 439-4046.

Crystal Spa
Crystal Mountain, Thompsonville
Crystal Spa at Crystal Mountain offers a space of refuge and relaxation during the chilly autumn months in northern Michigan. Guests are invited to unwind with the popular Tranquil Massage, a traditional Swedish-style massage that uses light-pressure and is perfect for first-time or regular spa visitors. Guests can also enjoy an Essence Massage and add their preferred aromatherapy scent to their treatment.

This fall, the spa is introducing something for your tired feet: Crystal Sole, a soothing foot and leg treatment that combines reflexology, compression massage, and sound therapy techniques. And anyone looking to revive their summer skin should peek at the Honey Harvest Glow Body Treatment, a premier spa experience complete with whipped honey sea salt, honey heel glaze, and a Vichy shower rainfall rinse.

Deals abound, with Fall Spa Days running Oct. 1 through Nov. 30 and giving guests up to $40 off on select massage, facial, and body treatment services during the week and up to $20 off during the weekend. On Friday, Nov. 18, Crystal Spa and the shops at Crystal Mountain will kick off the holiday season with a festive open house featuring complimentary mini services, retail and gift card specials, light hors d’oeuvres, and prizes.

Find more information on the spa and the holiday open house at their website crystalmountain.com/spa-wellness/crystal-spa or by calling (888) 968-7686 ext. 7200.

Treetops Spa
Treetops Resort, Gaylord
Plan the ultimate color tour getaway this fall season with a trip to Treetops Spa at Treetops Resort, just east of Gaylord. Leaf peepers (and anyone looking to pamper themselves a bit) can take a break and give their feet the diamond treatment with the spa’s signature pedicure. The service includes a warm seaweed scrub, callus softener, a warm mask, hot towels to help the treatment last longer, and a leg and foot massage.

Connie Weaver, the spa director at Treetops, recommends a couples' treatment for anyone looking to get cozy with their significant other during these brisk days. Guests can choose whether they want deep tissue, cupping, dry brushing, and even opt for talking or no talking. Add an extra level of otherworldly “ahh” with a charcuterie board, chocolate-covered strawberries, a fruit platter, or a bottle of champagne to complete your spa day together.

For the autumn season, the spa is offering a “facial” that uses Repechage, a seaweed treatment that helps moisturize and detoxify the number one hard-to-reach area on the body: our backs.

Treetops Spa runs new specials every month, giving guests year-round ways to save a little extra money during their spa visit. During the month of October, guests receive $20 off Four Layer or Anti-Aging Facials, and in November, the spa offers BOGO pedicures and massages.

To learn more about the spa and its services, go to treetops.com/spa or call (877) 386-9535, option 5.