#TreatYoSelf - Charleston, SC Edition

September 19, 2018 1:20 PM

In a few weeks my raggedy crew is making our annual pilgrimage to Charleston to celebrate our friend's birthday. This year we've coalesced around the idea of adding a "pamper day" to our routine and it's fallen on me to plan. The problem: we're a granola group that's better versed in setting up tents than scheduling spa treatments. Can you help me plan an awesome pamper day? Snowflakes inside.

Most of the logistics/details are sorted, besides this pamper day:
Day 1: Arrive after work, stay in and catch up
Day 2: Hit the beach during the day, hit the town at night, eat someplace nice for the Birthday boy
Day 3: Pamper day
Day 4: Breakfast and leave

Our group normally tends toward grimy backpacking trips; so we think it'd be fun to lounge around in robes and get massages and manipedis and all that jazz. Except, I've never stepped foot in a spa nor had a manipedi and I don't know what I should be looking for or how to plan it. Can you help?

Some folks in our group are more price sensitive than others, so I'd like to keep it under $100 per person for the day--I know that's not enough to do everything, so how would you spend it? We can spend more if the costs can be concealed (for instance, a few of us informally rotate picking up the check for nice meals.)

We've all lived/spent significant time in the area, so I'm not looking for broader recommendations like restaurants or bars or things to see, just the best ways to get ridiculously relaxed and #treatyoself. Thank you!

Extra bits:
- Group is 5-6 men
- I'm flying in, so I don't want to buy/ship a bunch of robes
- I said massages and manipedis, but truly know nothing about this--if mud treatments and facials are cheaper/better, I'm all ears!

posted by matrixclown to Travel & Transportation around Charleston, SC (3 answers total)

You’re not going to fill a day with spa treatments for that price range, but (I don’t know the area), many nicer spas have wet rooms, pools, saunas, etc where if you buy a $100 service you can spend hours just hanging out in a robe with a magazine.
posted by OrangeVelour at 1:50 PM on September 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

Best answer: You might try contacting The Salt Spa. They offer a variety of services at varying price points, so you could all choose what you like from the menu. They have a two-hour package for $120 (hour-long massage of your choice, half hour on a massage bed, half hour in the infrared sauna), which is pretty decent as spa pricing goes. (Tip would be additional, of course). They don't do mani/pedis, but they do facials. Other services available too, at lower or higher prices, and it's possible you could get a group deal if you contact them. Maybe plan for a spa morning and then go somewhere for a relaxed long lunch?

You could also book a private group yoga session, if that would be of interest.
posted by halation at 4:57 PM on September 19, 2018

Best answer: If y'all are granola types anyway (and given your price range), consider starting or ending the day with a homemade face mask -- I like yogurt, honey, and ground oats. You could also probably pick up a bunch of sheet masks for cheap-ish!
posted by kylej at 10:09 PM on September 19, 2018