Long Island Couple Opens New Spa In Babylon Village

BABYLON VILLAGE, NY - A local couple recently opened up a new business in Babylon Village.

Seaford couple Genevieve Cancel-Horvath and Edward Horvath, who have been married for 3 years, opened up a wellness spa, Opulence New York, on 11 West Main Street this past May.

The couple, who have been together for 14 years, gave Patch a tour of the new spa. Check out the video of the tour below:

Later, we sat down and spoke to the couple about their new business. Check out the full interview below:

Patch: Tell us a little about your business.

Genevieve: Basically we're a luxury wellness spa trying to make everyone not only look good but feel good within. We offer every type of service from massages to facials to the wet room which has our muds, scrubs and wraps. One unique part of us is that we have a full line of products from Hawaii and the other stuff is from different parts of the globe such as Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Jordan, the Dead Sea, etc. We have a salt cave which is great for pure relaxation, it's going to be great for inflammations...

Edward: respiratory issues, skin issues and building up the immune system.

P: How did you first get started in this business?

E: We got involved in this business because we were approached several years ago about doing a cave and we were very successful in that cave and that spiraled into [Genevieve] wanting to do more than just the cave and massages she wanted to do all kinds of skin lines because everything is actually in correlation with each other. So that's how that came about about and we were looking for the perfect location and last year we stumbled into Babylon Village on going to a fair on Argyle Lake and we fell in love with this town. And it just so happens that we have neighbors here that we know the owners. They mentioned that this place was opened, we walked in and it just spiraled from there.

G: I am what they call a "spa queen" I like to look good and feel good myself and I like to do it in all different parts of the globe so when we are away, I do get massages and different types of treatment so this way I understand and I can compare and that's why I can bring those unique products here because I've experienced it and I know that it's great and I can bring it here to Babylon Village.

E: In today's world people don't have the time to take a break and travel so what we've done is we've brought those here and now people can relax and enjoy those services without having to travel far.

P: Is this your first business venture?

G: Not for my husband, he has a full extension of several different businesses but this is my first business venture on my own. We have another business together but we are not as active in it.

P: What's the best business advice you've ever received?

E: There's no such thing as problems, there are only solutions. When there is a problem, just sit back, relax and figure out the best way to solve it. Do what's best for the client and make the client happy in the end. That's the most important thing.

P: How long have you been doing business in Babylon?

G: We are just six weeks today.

P: What's your favorite part about doing business in Babylon?

G: We love the clients that come in. It's a very small-knit community so everyone knows each other and they all want to get to know you so that's what we love and we love giving back to the community as well.

E: It's like a small town USA, it's a nice close-knit community that everyone wants this community to grow and build and everyone gives back to the community. Everyone here likes to use the facilities within the community so that everything stays open.

P: What makes Babylon Village unique?

G: The most special part of it is that it's not only driving traffic there's a lot of foot traffic. What's unique for us, is that we happen to be in front of a nice [traffic] light so that when people are sitting waiting at the light and they look to the left or right they see us. They also have a lot of unique shops here.

E: Everything is centered around Arglye Lake and it all grows outside the lake, all the businesses are right past the lake but it's the center of the community.

G: There's a lot of wellness here I've noticed so we're trying to stay in that wellness atmosphere.

P: Did you ever make a business mistake that you ended up being glad you made?

E: Yes, reason being is that mistakes are building blocks. Any mistake you make, as long as you learn from it and build off of it, it's always going to make you a better person, it's going to make you a better businessperson.

P: What advice would you give to other business owners?

E: When you start a business it is hard work. If you have a good concept it will work eventually, as long as you work hard at it. Don't give up too early.

P: Tell us something about yourselves people might not know about you.

G: Even though he's not here full time, we get along very well. I don't know if people think we're kidding or not, but we always make jokes and make people laugh just by people talking to us. They crack up at us and we're like 'okay, this is just us.'

E: We don't find this work, we actually have a good time. If you're not having a good time while working, it's not worth doing because if you can have a good time while working it just makes life better.

Image via Patch