Hilton Plans Fall Spa Re-Opening

The Hilton Short Hills is preparing to re-open its spa this fall, and it's to be the first Hilton-run spa in the United States.

Peter Webster, Hilton Short Hills general manager, said Wednesday the hotel is targeting re-opening the spa in late September or early October. It will be run by the Hilton rather than by an outside vendor, which was the case before Spa Chakra ran the service. Hilton officials announced the news about the spa on its Facebook page and on Twitter on Tuesday.

"We've been getting a lot of phone calls asking when the spa will re-open," Webster said. "We're hoping to operate a seamless experience."

Spa Chakra terminated its lease with the Hilton in January, and Webster said the outfit had been struggling when the economy went sour. Since then Hilton corporate officials have been examining how to offer a spa again across the chain, and Webster said the company decided to bring the business back in-house because it hadn't been a good experience. The Short Hills location will be the first Hilton in the United States to bring its spa operations back in house.

The name of the spa and what products will be offered is still being finalized and an announcement will be made in the coming weeks, Webster said. But the new spa will offer the same services that have been offered in the past, including a full-service salon, tanning, massages and facials.

Hilton officials recently renovated the spa, which cost $7.5 million. Webster said there won't need to be major changes, especially since Spa Chakra hadn't fully utilized the space. But he anticipates some enhancements will be needed, but the work won't cost more than $100,000.