Skift Take
While tourists can run hot and cold in their choices, the Nordic medspa trend seems going full-steam ahead. Maine is the most recent play area.
Leslie Barrie
When bros Tony and Nate DeLois opened The Francis, a shop hotel in Portland, Maine, back in 2017, they understood something was missing in the market.
“There has been a lot of hotel development in the previous ten years in Portland, and every brand-new hotel that has been constructed on the peninsula has actually been branded,” said Nate, the co-principal and primary monetary officer of Uncommon Hospitality.
“That’s not embellishment– that is every single one,” said Tony, co-principal and chief running officer.
Their objective with The Francis was to bridge the gap between a large, corporate hotel and a bed and breakfast.
“All the hotels in Portland are over 90 rooms or less than 9 spaces, and really absolutely nothing in between,” said Nate.
After opening, though, the fourth-generation Maine locals recognized they could go bigger. The Francis, embeded in a historic estate built in 1881, has just 15 spaces and no space for a day spa, gym, or meeting rooms.
So they are building throughout the street The Longfellow, which last week started taking bookings and will open in September. The 48-room residential or commercial property will be the very first full-service boutique hotel in Portland to open in 20 years.
< img width= "1024" height ="683" alt ="Lobby Bar Longfellow Hotel by Leonardo Merlos"data-src =" https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Lobby-Bar-Longfellow-Hotel-by-Leonardo-R.-Merlos-1024x683.jpg "src="image/gif; base64, R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw=="/ >
A making of the lobby bar at the new The Longfellow Hotel in Portland, Maine.
Picture by Leonardo R. Merlos. Source: Uncommon Hospitality. Maine Meets Scandinavia What gets Tony and Nate most delighted about The Longfellow is its Nordic medical spa called Astraea. The bros want to bring some of the Nordic spa culture to Maine. In addition to its treatment rooms, the 1,800-square-foot medspa has two sauna suites. “The concept is that someone will be in the sauna, then enter into the rain shower, soak themselves in cold water, and after that sit in a peaceful space with a somewhat warmer temperature,”stated Tony.”So, it has this extremely loosely Nordic-themed health club regimen.”
While Nate and Tony were working in 2021 on developing The Longfellow, they purchased a 5-acre home in Rangeley, Maine– just over a two-hour drive from Portland and near the New Hampshire and Canadian border. It’s comprised of 5 structures, including two motels, a home, a single-family home, and a main inn.
The plan is to turn that home into a full-on Nordic medspa location.
“Rather of being a hotel with a health spa it’s going to be a day spa with hotel spaces,” stated Nate.
The bros studied in Canada, where Nordic-style day spas have removed. Nordik Spa-Nature Chelsea, situated in Québec, opened in 200 and includes a comparable principle to what Tony and Nate are establishing. Meanwhile, Strøm Nordic Medical Spa, which has places all over Quebec, Siberia Health Spa in Québec and Scandinave Medspa in Whistler, have extensive Nordic medical spas (however lack accommodations). “We have actually become totally fascinated with [Nordic spas],” said Nate. “We have a very similar location and climate up in Rangely [to Canada], where we’re up in the hills, ignoring the mountains– you know, peaks and the lakes, and it’s winter for lots of months of the year.”
In Rangeley, Tony and Nate’s medspa, which begins building in 2024, will include all the Nordic medical spa trappings, like outdoor hot swimming pools, outdoor cold plunges, relaxation areas, treatment rooms, and visitor rooms for people who wish to stay.
< img width="1024"height ="683"alt ="Guest Room Longfellow Hotel by Leonardo R. Merlos"data-src ="https://skift.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Guest-Room-Longfellow-Hotel-by-Leonardo-R.-Merlos-1024x683.jpg"src ="image/gif; base64, R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw = ="/ > A rendering of a visitor space at the brand-new Longfellow
Hotel in Portland, Maine. Image by Leonardo R. Merlos. Source: Uncommon Hospitality. Tweaking the Store Hotels
As Portland tourism continues to grow, Tony and Nate are hoping to attract visitors from markets like New York (an hour-long flight or a five-hour vehicle ride away), Boston, and beyond.
Enhancing guest “wellness” is the through-line in their thinking. That’s with the health club, the blend of coffee they provide visitors, and the soaks and the creams in the spaces. They recently hired a sleep expert to assist improve the visitor experience at The Longfellow.
What keeps their residential or commercial property feeling like shops is an upscale-meets-relaxed aesthetic, such as with the interiors at The Longfellow Jou-Yie Chou of Post Company, the firm also behind the style of Marram in Montauk.
To help guests check out Portland, they purchased an all-electric BMW i7 as a free in-town shuttle bus service. They train staff on how to offer relevant, live-like-a-local recommendations to visitors, too.
“Portland is a port city right on the water, with gorgeous shops and restaurants, however Portland until 5 or ten years earlier had actually never been thought about a location,” Nate stated. Him and Tony are making a bet that the city has actually gotten here on the map with the sort of audience seeking shop hotels and Nordic day spas.