Posts tagged ‘Jennifer Lopez’

Jennifer Lopez finds solace at Cabo’s ultra-posh Las Ventanas al Paraiso

Between caring for twins, whittling down American Idol contestants and getting unhitched from a seven-year marriage, Jennifer Lopez hasn’t had much time lately to enjoy her favorite indulgence—the spa at Las Ventanas al Paraiso.


Located at the very tip of Mexico’s Baja Peninsua, this block where Jenny’s from (at least in her down time) has also been known to host such A-listers as Jessica Alba and Cameron Diaz. With just 71 suites (and every room is a suite with handmade Mexican tiles, fireplaces and lanais) and private pools in every size and shape, camera-shy celebs feel like they have the Sea of Cortez to themselves. Even the zip-lipped staff of butlers, maids and gardeners only appear when guests need something. The rest of the time, they navigate the property in specially-built underground tunnels.

At the spa that J-LO told Harper’s Bazaar was “her favorite,” she enjoys private treatments in one of three spa suites. The spa also has a walk-in rainforest shower and a fancy-schmancy holistic twilight ceremony that uses candles, sage, an eagle feather and an acting shaman to purify and balance energy. It should go without saying that each spa guest gets his or her own dedicated butler to cater to every whim.

Of course, the whim-catering is not just at the spa. Owned by Ty Warner, the mastermind behind beanie babies, Las Ventanas al Paraiso (translated, it means “Windows to Paradise”) is where many now-standard hotel perks were first innovated: poolside Evian mist spray, loaner I-pods (Kindles before that) and Sony location-free TV, to name just a few.

Every suite has a telescope (the display of stars in the sky is even more notable than the display in the spa suites), locally hand-crafted wicker dolls with inspiring messages are left on pillows at night and not only do guests choose their pillow preference, again standard at many luxury resorts, but they get a menu of linens. This hotel even has an official Department of Romance that has been known, among other things, to secretly create personalized “Will you marry me?” videos or, better yet, proposals delivered by a mermaid or in a message “found” in a bottle.

And while the Department of Romance concocts some pretty amazing “dreams come true,” it didn’t do a lot for Sean Penn and Scarlett Johansson who rendezvoused at the stellar property in early March of this year. Some relationships, I guess, even a Department of Romance can’t cure.

Spa within a Spa at JW Marriott’s Desert Springs Resort

Hanging out at the spa with Jennifer Aniston isn’t as much fun as you might think. For one thing, there’s the autograph issue. Instead of relaxing, enjoying the soothing New Age music, your mind is spinning, wondering, “Should I ask or shouldn’t I?”

Even though you’re at the spa to completely forget about your crazy life, you’re suddenly overly self-conscious, worrying about your unshaved legs, the middle left toenail you forgot to repaint. Instead of getting in the spa frame of mind, you’re obsessed with trying to remember if she’s still with John Mayer or is it Gerard Butler? Believe me, it’s much too stressful sitting next to a celebrity.

Which is why spas now have VIP spa suites, private rooms where the stars (and others who can afford it) can sneak in, get royally pampered and leave without the white-robed plebes in the waiting lounge being ever the wiser.

Desert Springs Resort in Palm Springs has two spa suites or sanctuaries as they call them. As the largest spa in southern California, it’s a good thing. Not only does it spare the A-list from having to deal with admiring fans, but it gives other customers the space to truly focus on their own bodies and needs.

Although no one’s admitting it, I have it on good authority that the largest of the two spa suites, ringing in at a massive 600-square-feet, is a favorite of Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony and has been rented by Oprah and the stars of the Housewives of Orange County.

It’s also perfect for girlfriend getaways, bachelorette parties and couple’s retreats. I recently spent the day at Spa Desert Springs in the very same suite. Staffed by a personal butler, the Sanctuary not only has a private entrance (a flag on the wooden double door indicated that no one else was allowed to disturb my party of nine girlfriends), but it has a private courtyard (allowing Howard Hughes-types unnoticed access to the resort’s two award-winning golf courses) and a tastefully decorated sitting room where we were served a luscious low-cal lunch. It has two adjoining (and private) treatment rooms, digitally programmable overhead rain showers, an indoor/outdoor fireplace, indoor and outdoor hot tubs, a wet bar and a flat-screen, high def TV. While no one’s about to ask for my autograph, I definitely felt like a star.

The spa itself, recently named to Conde Nast Traveler’s “Hot List,” rings in at 38,000-square feet with a whopping 47 treatment rooms. Part of Desert Springs recent $30 million renovation, the spa incorporates limestone and Brazilian walnut throughout. It has a gorgeous 10-foot waterfall adjacent to the check-in desk, Turkish-inspired hammams and uses products and treatments from the surrounding Sonoran Desert. Their signature treatment, the Desert Journey, is inspired by the scents of the desert in bloom.

Click here for more information on the spa and the JW Marriott Desert Springs Resort, located in the heart of California’s Coachella Valley.