From Big City to Saltwater

By Gloria Reyes Spa Director

Hi my name is Gloria; I am the Saltwater Spa Director.

I was aware of the Casa Dorada Los Cabos project one and a half years ago when I recently had moved to Guadalajara (Mexico’s second largest city) from Puerto Vallarta with the idea of opening a family business: a Day Spa.

With my cherished friend Isela, I came to Cabo for the first time to celebrate a double birthday party (Isela’s and mine). That very same day Victor Gomez offered me the Spa Director position of this new project (Triple celebration!). We discussed about the position’s tasks and responsibilities and we set an appointment to look at the facilities. The Spa was under construction and didn’t look nearly as pretty as it looks now – you actually needed a great imagination to picture its final self! However, my experience was unforgettable, coming out of what would be The B Lounge, onto the soon-to-be pool… I was stunned seeing the infamous Los Cabos arch.

A last interview with Enrique Turcott was the final step to decide if I would be part of the opening team. Even though my prior experience in the Spa industry I was a really nervous because I had never actually worked for a hotel; so many thoughts came through my mind but I accepted and took the challenge!

Now that I am here I realize that this is what I like and that things happen for a reason. I made the best decision in coming to Cabo with only my 8 year old girl, Valentina. She loves living here – she really is a beach girl; in fact, she was born in Puerto Vallarta and didn’t move from the beach until she was 6.

We love spending our weekends playing on the sand while making some handcraft jewelry and snorkeling.

The experience at the Saltwater Spa has been very exciting and challenging… we have being working very hard to set everything up; I had forgot how painful it was to receive something from construction – al those ‘minor’ details. But all this stressful and complicated process has created a very bonded team… not without its toll though, since some of our therapists jumped ship in this first two months – a natural process, I’ll say.

We like to use our creativity in every field of the spa. For example, due to the fact that the Spa would not open at the same time than the hotel (in the end, it was one month afterwards!), we opened 3 temporary ‘Spa Villas’ on guest rooms at the 6^th floor, in order to offer the Spa services to guests. Ha! It was a blast! Now that we have the optimal facilities the happiness is there, all the therapists and staff members feel like they are at their second home when coming to work.

My everyday life has turned into a wellbeing journey to all! And after these months of running, stressing, worrying and else… I guess I need a massage myself!