Beatrice Foxman had to drag her husband Stanley to their first spa vacation eight years ago. It just didn't seem very, well, manly, Stanley says. But after a few active yet peaceful days in the warm sun--and as many deep-tissue massages--Stanley was singing a different tune. "Men are taking a different approach to remaining healthy and looking and feeling good," he says. Now the couple from Silver Spring, Md., get to a spa as often as time permits. They have been to the spa at the Ritz-Carlton in Key Biscayne, Fla., nine times in the past three years.
Stanley, a dentist, and Beatrice, an office manager at his practice, are both 65. They swim, read and take long walks on the beach during their spa visits--and increasingly they find themselves bumping into other couples their age and younger. It's no coincidence: the number of baby-boomer couples taking spa-oriented vacations accounts for 1 of every 3 spa-goers, up from 1 in 5 just five years ago, according to industry estimates. The most popular destinations in the U.S. are in Arizona, California, Florida, Texas and New York. Outside the U.S., top destinations include Mexico, the Caribbean, Italy, Thailand and Ireland.
Women have long appreciated the spa as a place to relieve tension and stress. Now the men in their lives are discovering the same benefits. KSL Resorts in La Quinta, Calif., surveyed boomer men in October and found that 20% of them had been to a spa. That's up from less than 1% five years ago, says Arthur Berg, vice president of marketing for KSL. "You used to see the wives in this age group go to the spas while the husbands played golf," Berg says. Now the men, driven to stay fit and attractive and to reward themselves for years of hard work, are enjoying everything from manicures to mud baths. "The stigma is gone," says Kirwan Rockefeller, a social and behavioral scientist and co-creator of the certificate program in spa and hospitality management at the University of California at Irvine. "[The TV show] Queer Eye for the Straight Guy has done a lot toward reassuring men that it is O.K. to get a massage."
Spa therapies also have proven medical benefits. Massages and reflexology, during which muscles are rubbed and soothed and blood flow is increased in aching areas, help lower blood pressure, boost circulation and alleviate arthritis pain, says Dr. Gisele Wolf-Klein, chief of geriatrics at the North Shore--Long Island Jewish Health System in New Hyde Park, N.Y. Her colleague Dr. Laura Herman, a psychiatrist, adds that calm surroundings and relaxing treatments help release to the brain more endorphins, which are chemicals that promote an overall feeling of well-being and happiness. As boomers begin turning 60 this year, they increasingly have the resources to afford that kind of upscale pampering. The average price for a resort massage is $120, reports magazine and website Spa Finder spafinder.com) Facials cost $120, manicures $35 and pedicures $60. Most spa visitors indulge in at least one treatment a day. That is on top of the usual airfare, meals and rooms that run several hundred dollars a day.