From Salt Glows to Thalassotherapy

From Salt Glows to Thalassotherapy

A Turks Island Salt Glow, where the island's sea salt is mixed with gentle oils to exfoliate, smooth, and moisturize the skin, is just one of the treatments you can enjoy in one of the island spas. Being pampered spa-style has become as much a part of a Turks and Caicos vacation as sunning on the beach. Marine-based ingredients fit well with the Grace Bay backdrop at the Thalasso Spa at Point Grace, where massages take place in two simple, bleached-white cottages standing on the dune line, which means you have a spectacular view of the sea-blue hues if you manage to keep your eyes open. The spa at Reef Residences at Grace Bay offers similarly sweeping vistas at its two-story treatment center specializing in Ayurveda treatments. In this spa, guests are treated head to toe and through dietary recommendations and menu items to suit their body types. But the widest choice of Asian-inspired treatments (and the most unforgettable scenery) can be found at the 6,000-square-foot Como Shambhala Spa at the Parrot Cay Resort, which has outdoor whirlpools and a central beechwood lounge overlooking the shallow turquoise waters and mangroves. Provo also has a noteworthy day spa that's not in one of the Grace Bay resorts. Manager Terri Tapper of Spa Tropique (Ports of Call, Grace Bay Rd. 649/941-5720. www.spatropique.com) blends Swedish, therapeutic, and reflexology massage techniques using oils made from natural plants and products produced locally and within the Caribbean region. The Turks Island Salt Glow has become one of her most popular treatments.