The new hotel in College Park will bring another amenity to the area: a high-end spa.
The Hotel at the University of Maryland will include an Elizabeth Arden Red Door Spa when it opens sometime in July.
Founded in 1910 by cosmetics pioneer Elizabeth Arden, Red Door Spas still has a fairly exclusive portfolio, with just 30 spas, mostly clustered around New York City and the greater Washington area.
Red Door Spa locations tend to be in upscale areas. Other nearby locations include the Willard InterContintental Hotel in D.C., around the corner from Saks Fifth Avenue in Chevy Chase and at Pentagon Row in Arlington.
The Route 1 area already has a number of spas and nail salons, including Ivy Lounge in Riverdale Park and Essential Day Spa in Hyattsville’s Arts District, but the Red Door Spa is in another league.
For example, facials range from $85 for the traditional standard treatment to $550 for an ultrasonic exfoliation, lactic acid peel and “microcurrent” electrical stimulation followed by a vitamin C mask and LED light therapy.
As with grocery stores, restaurants and Starbucks, spas and nail salons have become a popular addition to new real estate developments because they are considered “Amazon-proof”—service-oriented retail that can’t be ordered more cheaply online.
Like the hotel and the nearby Iribe Center, the spa is also designed to help build the University of Maryland’s image as a cutting-edge university, but Route 1 residents will get to enjoy it as well.
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