Spa Review: The Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor
The spa sign greets guests as they arrive for their treatments.
Rarely has it been a hard-sell to retreat into a spa. However, the weather was so delicious and the Inn at Bay Harbor’s grounds so inviting, it was—briefly—one of those few times where being inside just felt wrong.
It was a feeling that would soon dissipate.
The Inn at Bay Harbor is all about creating custom Northern Michigan experiences and the spa lived up to that ethos. It was a place immediately welcoming with the feel of a beach resort.
Spa Profile: The Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor
Here’s what you’ll love about the Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor:
Check out their seasonal treatments designed to help you celebrate whichever of Michigan’s four distinct seasons you happen to be in. For example, the October seasonal treatment is a Pumpkin Spice Pedicure that incorporates LALICIOUS Pumpkin Spice Sugar Scrub and LALICIOUS Pumpkin Spice Body Butter to the steps of a Northern Luxury Pedicure.
After the treatment, you return to the relaxation lounge and are given a small tray with water, a thin bar of fine chocolate and a hot washcloth. You also get a warm neck pillow infused with the aroma of your service. It’s a lovely way to ease out of the service.
The salon is separated from the spa services by a boutique, superbly balancing the social hubbub of the former with the serenity of the spa.
The spa can be reserved for a group’s wellness retreat or exclusive after-hours events.
COVID-19 Safety Updates and Protocols:
All staff members wear masks while indoors and guests are encouraged to do the same. The resort will provide face masks to anyone who asks. All associates are given ongoing COVID-19 safety and sanitization training. The resort maintains a rigorous cleaning schedule using the highest classification of disinfectants recommended by the CDC and the World Health Organization. The resort has increased the frequency of cleaning and sanitizing in all public spaces and hand sanitizing stations have been added throughout the common areas.
The spa retail area carries many different brands including Eminence Organic Skincare and LALICIOUS.
The spa was busy the day I arrived. There was a wedding that was being held on the lawn later in the afternoon and there were several couples passing the time before the ceremony by getting spa treatments. There was even an excited mother and daughter pair—the mother was explaining how much her young daughter liked massages and that they’d done them together several times.
I wandered around the boutique, taking in the various salon and spa products. They had a selection of Antara CBD products which I am determined to try one of these days. There were Kerstin Florian products and LALICIOUS offerings that sounded truly yummy (Sugar Lavender, Sugar Kiss, Sugar Coconut, Brown Sugar and Birthday Cake).
After giving it a try in the locker room bathroom, I returned the next day to buy a Pure Eucalyptus and Lavender ShowerSpray mist that turns your home shower into a steam sauna.
The reception desk leads into the spa treatment areas.
White wood lockers carry the resort theme.
The spa boutique offers lemon infused water and tea for its guests.
Teas and lemon-infused water were available in the boutique.
The receptionist soon checked me in and gave me a brief tour of the spa, which included showing me how to use the lockers and making sure I had a large enough robe. The locker rooms were basic, but provided everything necessary to prepare for a spa treatment. White painted wooden lockers maintained the northern Michigan theme seen throughout the resort, and amenities such as deodorant, tissues, hair ties, Q-tips, slippers and towels were available.
I then sank into the armchair in the relaxation room—a muted space in beiges and sandy oranges that reminded you of the nearness of the beach, as did the sun streaming in through the tall windows.
The relaxation room offers a place of tranquility pre and post-treatments.
It wasn’t long before Scott, my massage therapist, came to get me and took me to the dimly lit treatment room with its corner shower and towel heating rack. On the bed was a small tray with products which he explained to me—the scrub (which he had me smell), the cream and the Petoskey stone.
Petoskey stones aren’t really stones, they’re fossils, and it is what the area is famous for. The Inn at Bay Harbor abuts the city of Petoskey, named for the round, smooth fossils that people come hunting for to make into jewelry or just to decorate with.
A tray presented the tools that would be used in the service a scrub a cream and a Petoskey stone.
My treatment was the Northern Luxury, one of their signature body treatments. It involves wild lavender scrubs and moisturizers rubbed into your body followed by a massage with warm Petoskey stones.
The treatment began with a gentle massage through the towels and blanket, a welcoming preparation for the service, an introduction to my massage therapist’s hands.
Scott then carefully draped and undraped me as he moved around my body, first applying a wonderfully exfoliating lavender scrub. The room was filled with the aroma and I found myself entering a deep state of relaxation. He used hot towels to clear away the lavender sugar scrub and prepare my body for the next step.
The scrub was followed by a moisturizer that Scott massaged deep into my back, legs, feet and arms. The Petoskey stones were heated and he used them to glide along my muscles, instantly relieving the tensions stored there. He placed warm stones into my hands and closed my fingers around them.
At one point, I was so completely relaxed, floating in a cloud of lavender, that my left hand fell open and the rock fell to the floor.
My treatment room at the Spa at Inn at Bay Harbor.
Scott spent extra time on my feet, using the lotion to expertly treat the dryness on my extremities. He also spent time on my right arm, which he rightly identified as being tight because of an excess of mouse, computer keyboard and mobile phone use.
After he had me roll over, he propped up my neck with a heated pillow, leaving it there until it came time to work on my neck and scalp. Once again, he began the applications of scrub, lotion and hot fossils.
Throughout, Scott paid careful attention to the messages my body was sending—whether it was muscles that were knotted or places that twinged. At one point, when I was still on my stomach, he moved my knees about and worked on my hips, pushing them until they popped and then repositioned my knee again to continue the work.
When the treatment came to its necessary end, I felt as though I had melted into the table. I stood slowly, redonning my robe and finding my slippers. When I stepped out, Scott was there to hand me a heated, scented neck pillow and to walk me to the relaxation room. I sat slowly and he placed a tray of goodies in my lap—a glass of cold water, a piece of dark chocolate and a hot, wet washcloth. I was so relaxed, I forgot to take pictures.
A white painted cabinet holds all the supplies the therapist needs.
After the spa service, I went to join my husband who was sitting in a couple’s lounger on the resort’s Lake Michigan beach. He said he could smell the spa on me from 6 feet away and I kept making him touch my arms, my legs and “rub my belly!” I don’t know if my skin has ever felt so soft.
The service was aptly named—for 90 minutes, I had just indulged in the most sumptuous of services, a luxury that left my body feeling pampered and well cared for.
The pedicure stations.
The salon is bathed with outdoor light.
Cost: Northern Luxury, 90 minutes, $230
Insider Tip: For the ultimate indulgence and an afternoon of self-care, reserve a tea service for right after your treatment. It has to be reserved at least 48 hours in advance, but you can choose where you want to have it—outdoors near the lake, on the front terrace, before a gently rolling fireplace or even in a guest room. They’ll bring you amazing tea and a three-tiered dish of scones, fresh fruit, sandwiches and handmade desserts.
Hours: Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Address: 3600 Village Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor, MI 49770
Phone: 231-439-4046
For more information and to book a service, visit the website. Follow on Instagram: @innatbayharbor
[Images by Bridgette Redman]
Bridgette Redman, who is a second-generation journalist, fell in love with spas and travel while working as a writer and editor for 16 years at the Educational Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. As a freelancer for the International SPA Association, she co-wrote two textbooks, nine workbooks and numerous case studies on spas. Her freelance career began in the 80s and she has written for publications in Michigan, Arizona, California, and Texas along with several regional and national publications. She is a committed storyteller who loves sharing narratives which improve people's quality of life and build community. Born and raised in Michigan, she currently lives in Lansing with her husband and son. See more of her writing at www.bridgetteredman.com