It’s New to Us by Jean Stratton

IMMEDIATE RELAXATION: “The benefits of coming to our spa is that you step out of your daily life, experience relaxation and stress relief.” Veronica Krieger, owner of OnSen for All wellness spa, is enthusiastic about the spa’s range of services, including the wood-fired sauna shown in the photo.

Variety of Spa Services and Treatments Are Available at OnSen for All in Kingston

The benefits of “time off” from one’s high power daily routine have never been more important. With more and more people working longer hours, eating lunch at their desks, and most likely cutting back on sleep, the need for down time is not so much a luxury as a necessity, notes Veronica Krieger, owner of OnSen For All, the wellness spa located at 4451 Route 27 in Kingston, at the intersection of Raymond Road. Its setting in the historic Jedediah Higgins house, dating to 1705, makes it all the more appealing.

“When you walk in our front door, your defenses are down — it’s immediate relaxation,” continues Ms. Krieger. We call it a ‘spacation’, a more affordable way to relax than a trip to the islands or some other far away place.”

Opened in 2009, OnSen is a unique spa offering a wide range of services, including four cedar wood outdoor soaking tubs (two private, two communal) and a wood-fired sauna, set in a tranquil Japanese-style Zen garden, surrounded by bamboo trees.

“The mission of OnSen is to support wholeness of body, mind, and spirit in an environment inspired by the Japanese OnSen tradition of hot water soaking,” explains Ms. Krieger. “In Japan, the onsen, or public bathing facilities around hot springs, has been a part of the culture for thousands of years. The hot tubs at OnSen for All use bromine salt technology to sanitize the water. No chlorine or other chemicals are needed. Our water meets all health department requirements for sanitation.”

Therapeutic Benefits

Inspired by her late husband, Dale Krieger, OnSen for All offers the therapeutic benefits of water and tranquility, and combined with individually tailored services and educational programs, creates an environment conducive to wellness, healing, and inner balance.

In addition to the outdoor tubs and sauna, OnSen features indoor treatment areas for facials, massage, body wraps and scrubs, also meditation, yoga and Pilates, juice and tea lounge, and retail boutique.

“We offer a full range of massages with expert massage therapists,” reports Ms. Krieger, “and our variety of facials all use organic or natural products. We also offer Phyto stem cell facials, which can smooth out lines and wrinkles with its revolutionary treatment. And all our therapists and aestheticians are licensed and certified and have on-going education.”

Facial and body waxing with all-natural ingredients are other services, as is “threading”, an ancient Eastern practice to remove hair gently from the skin. Long-lasting eyelash and eyebrow tinting, with vegetable dyes, is also available.

With or Without

In addition, OnSen offers a variety of classes, including yoga, Pilates, meditation, and nutrition. Treatments and classes are typically 50 to 60 minutes, while tub soakings are 30 minutes. “Clients often have a soaking before their treatment,” notes Ms. Krieger. “The body will receive the treatment better after the soak. However, you can choose to have treatments without soaking or soak without treatments. And soakings are often coupled with the sauna.”

Customers are all ages — children, teens, women, and men, she adds, and they come from the area and beyond — the shore, New York, Philadelphia, and even Washington, D.C. There are also many repeat customers, including men, and special treatments, particularly massage and facials, are specifically geared for the guys.

“In addition, the third weekend of every month, we have Couples Weekend, offering a combination of services, such as massage and soaking,” says Ms. Krieger.

Delicious non-sugar and preservative-free juices and teas are available, and OnSen’s boutique includes everything from the all-natural and certified organic skincare product line to handcrafted jewelry and artwork, most of which is on consignment from area artists.

One-of-a-Kind

The attractive changing rooms offer showers, dryers, and spinners for bathing suits, as well as robes and slippers. No detail has been overlooked!

Prices are competitive, with yoga classes at $15
(package of 10 for $135) and meditation classes at $10. A variety of combination day packages are value added, notes Spa Director Candiss Lynch, who enjoys observing the reaction of OnSen’s satisfied customers. “It’s wonderful watching people come to the front desk after a service and seeing their look of sheer relaxation and hearing them say, ‘This was the best experience of my life!’ There is really no other place like OnSen. The entire setting is relaxing. We are one-of-a-kind.”

“We want to make sure there is increased awareness of the benefits of our spa and what we have to offer,” adds Ms. Krieger.

So, if you want to nourish the mind, soothe the soul, pamper the body, and re-set your stress level to zero, OnSen for All is the place for you.

Current hours are Wednesday, Thursday, Friday 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 to 7, Sunday 9 to 5. (609) 924-4800. Website: www.onsenforall.com.

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