ABSTRACT
While each spa has its own culture, values and beliefs, the essence of the spa – a place of restoration and health – has remained remarkably constant, even as the popularity of spas has ebbed and flowed throughout their long history. As oases of wellness, activities at spas have revolved around baths, massages, and other health treatments. Above all, spas have been places apart from the work-a-day world. This chapter briefly explains how the threads of spa history have been woven with current day trends to create the spa industry as we know it today.
