The Gideon Putnam and Roosevelt Baths & Spa

When you are ready to release your tension, relax as aromatic essences surround you and luxuriate in healing atmospheric waters, you’re ready for The Gideon Putnam and Roosevelt Baths & Spa, upstate New York’s historic resort and spa.

The Gideon Putnam is Saratoga Spa State Park’s only hotel, with more than 2,000 acres of verdant natural beauty that envelops guests and offers quality experiences that possess the power to restore mind, body and spirit. Established in 1935, the Roosevelt Baths & Spa opened thanks to President Franklin Roosevelt’s visionary act to preserve the Saratoga Springs area. Authentic and historic, today the Roosevelt Baths & Spa offers a transforming hydrotherapy spa experience with naturally healing treatments performed by an attentive staff known for caring and quality of service.

Dana Marciniak is director of communications for the hotel and enjoys the incredible uniqueness of the locale. “What’s unique about The Gideon Putnam and the Roosevelt Baths & Spa is that they both offer a really personal experience if you take advantage of it. Whether you want time away with your significant other or a getaway with friends, the resort provides the setting, the amenities and the right energy for you to walk away a little bit better than when you walked in the door. All you need to bring is an open mind and open heart,” she smiled.

The spa is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, and one historical fact that always stands out to Dana is that in the 1800s bathing in mineral waters was a common health treatment. Doctors prescribed bathing to their patients because they knew it was an important factor in reducing stress, improving the body’s overall functioning and in preventive health care.

Why would a woman come there versus another spa or hotel? Dana reiterated, “The Gideon Putnam is so much more than just a spa or hotel. It’s a destination where a woman can go to reconnect with herself and nature. Life slows down a bit at The Gideon Putnam, giving ample time to recharge, breathe and take care of yourself for a moment. It can truly be a mental, physical and spiritual makeover.”

She affirmed that The Roosevelt Baths & Spa has an official water wellness expert, Trent Millet. Trent is a leading authority on the history and benefits of mineral water, with a focus on the waters found in Saratoga Springs and at the Spa. He gives tours of the more than 15 mineral springs found throughout Saratoga Spa State Park and knows exactly which springs heal what physical ailments. “Trent’s a water genius,” she commented.

Rob Sgarlata, director of sales and marketing, believes there is much that is unique about The Gideon Putnam and Roosevelt Baths & Spa. “We are the last remaining of Saratoga’s original hotels. The Gideon Putnam reflects the quality and attention to detail that you don’t find in modern chain hotels. Then there is our location in Saratoga Spa State Park. This offers our guests the best of everything. You step outside of The Gideon Putnam to find hiking trails, golf courses, gardens, classic architecture, expansive green spaces, multiple mineral springs, waterfalls and much more,” he remarked.

Plus there is the Roosevelt Baths & Spa. Rob likes that this is a wellness spa, designed from the beginning to be a facility that heals body, mind and spirit. There are many spas where you can get a massage, a facial or a sugar scrub. But there is no other spa where you can combine those with the Roosevelt Baths & Spa’s unique mineral bath to provide a feeling of total wellness. At the same time, The Gideon Putnam is only a short drive or complimentary shuttle ride to downtown Saratoga for shopping, dining or just people-watching; or to Saratoga Casino and Raceway for year-round gaming action; or to Saratoga Race Course during the thoroughbred meet.

SPA is an acronym for salud par aquis, meaning health through water. The Roosevelt Baths & Spa is noted as far back as 1930 as the country’s “Original Spa,” providing modern drinking and bathing cures as well as traditional spa therapies and well-being services designed to cure from the inside out. Kimberly Rossi, spa director, is thrilled about the upcoming anniversary. “As a spa director and spa-goer for more than 20 years, I enjoy my job. The Roosevelt Baths & Spa is steeped in a long history of health through water, bathing in and drinking its mineral-rich water. Six hundred years ago the area was home to the Mohawks, a Native American tribe that believed their god endowed the Saratoga Spa Parks waters with healing powers. Saratoga Spa opened as an institution for the treatment of chronic disorders of the heart and circulatory system, arthritis and rheumatism, respiratory ailments, and gastrointestinal, gall bladder and nervous conditions, obesity and other metabolic diseases and non-infectious skin diseases, using the same water.”

Beginning in 1930, the mineral water was mixed with warm tap water, bringing the temperature from 55 degrees to a neutral temperature that is not cool and not hot, just right. Unlike many springs, the Lincoln Spring does not contain any sulphur, so it is not malodorous. The water contains high amounts of sodium and is naturally carbonated. One can notice tiny bubbles dancing on the water’s surface.

“The art of bathing is deeply relaxing, reduces stress and gives one an overall feeling of greater health and well-being. Combined with a massage, the bath prepares the body to better receive the massage and enhances the effects of the massage therapy,” Kim continued. “Today we are still known for authentic healing waters, nature-inspired therapies and expert care, all tested and sustained by time.”

“2015 marks the 80th anniversary of Roosevelt Baths & Spa. This marks a milestone not only for the spa, but in the history of our city and our state,” Rob praised. “It was President Franklin Roosevelt who set this park aside to protect the spring waters. That led to the building of the bath houses, including Roosevelt, and from that Saratoga Springs grew to become the destination it is today. We are thrilled to be the center of a facility that is good for our guests’ mind, body and soul.”

The Gideon Putnam will celebrate the 80th Anniversary on Wednesday, July 22. Workshops and seminars will be offered throughout the day. There will be a poetry contest, park tours, artist display, keynote speakers, park tours, water tasting and an evening soiree with light fare and live music. HLM

Call 518-584-3000, or visit gideonputnam.com for more information.