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An island-inspired day spa in downtown San Diego offers locals and convention-goers a passport to paradise. WRITTEN BY HEATHER MIKESELL PHOTOGRAPHY BY IAN CUMMINGS
LOCATED IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN SAN DIEGO, Spa Tiki provides a taste of the islands with its tropical-themed treatments and decor. The brainchild of co-owner Katherine Stuart, the spa features a blend of authentic healing therapies and rituals of ancient island cultures. Situated in the Harbor Club, a high-end condominium complex with approximately 400 residents, the spa is ideally located across from the city's convention center. With no prior spa experience, Stuart, owner of an event-planning company, decided to open Spa Tiki after being approached repeatedly by various meeting planners asking why there wasn't a spa in the area. "I finally decided that if no one else was going to do it, I'd build one," says Stuart.
Working with her partner and business consultant Jerry Dressel, Stuart began doing the research. "I was smart enough to know that I didn't know enough," she says. "I've always had a strong business sense. [Jerry's] strength is in finance, and mine is in marketing." For everything else, they relied on Collier & Collier Spas, a spa consulting, planning, design, and development firm based in Whitefish, MT. Spa Tiki is the company's first full-fledged day spa project. Collier & Collier Spas is best known for its work on resort spa projects. Taking care of...