2008 Woodie Awards
New spa rubs town the right way
Tamara Hilmes
Issue date: 11/1/07 Section: Local News
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As Middlebury students, we are all a little stressed out. We attend classes, write papers, study for exams and still find time to work at the circulation desk in the library, play two or three sports and attend orchestra practices. Many of us have just reached the end of a very stressful midterm period and - lucky us - the second round of midterms are already approaching. So it is really quite understandable for any Middlebury student to be on the verge of a mental breakdown. If you think your only option for relief is to guzzle down as much alcohol as possible once the weekend rolls around, think again. The Waterfalls Day Spa, which just opened last week beneath the Middlebury Inn, offers several treatments designed to relax, cleanse and simply help you chill out.
Co-owners Sara Daly and Laurie Webb were both in their mid-30s and working in Middlebury when they first dreamed of opening their own spa.
"I am a physical therapist and I worked for years here," said Daly. "One day I just realized that I just don't have time to go all the way to Williston for a good facial."
Webb shared Daly's sentiments, and the two began to scheme over plans to open a spa in downtown Middlebury. The initial idea for the spa was formed in November of 2006, and in a little less than a year, the business is now up and running.
"We started by using the resources at the Vermont Small Business Development Center," said Daly. "Then we wrote a business plan - it was really like taking a complete business course."
Soon after they had begun to get the ball rolling, the pair was contacted by the Middlebury Inn. After six months of negotiation, renovation began in August on the basement of the 180-year-old inn to transform the pre-existing conference rooms into a spa, complete with its own waterfall and "Quiet Room."
"Being a general contractor was the biggest hurdle in the process, and also the most recent - maybe that's why it seems so bad," said Daly. "Because this used to be a conference room, we had to make a lot of changes. We busted walls, but it's almost a 200-year-old inn, so there were some pipes that just couldn't be moved."
Co-owners Sara Daly and Laurie Webb were both in their mid-30s and working in Middlebury when they first dreamed of opening their own spa.
"I am a physical therapist and I worked for years here," said Daly. "One day I just realized that I just don't have time to go all the way to Williston for a good facial."
Webb shared Daly's sentiments, and the two began to scheme over plans to open a spa in downtown Middlebury. The initial idea for the spa was formed in November of 2006, and in a little less than a year, the business is now up and running.
"We started by using the resources at the Vermont Small Business Development Center," said Daly. "Then we wrote a business plan - it was really like taking a complete business course."
Soon after they had begun to get the ball rolling, the pair was contacted by the Middlebury Inn. After six months of negotiation, renovation began in August on the basement of the 180-year-old inn to transform the pre-existing conference rooms into a spa, complete with its own waterfall and "Quiet Room."
"Being a general contractor was the biggest hurdle in the process, and also the most recent - maybe that's why it seems so bad," said Daly. "Because this used to be a conference room, we had to make a lot of changes. We busted walls, but it's almost a 200-year-old inn, so there were some pipes that just couldn't be moved."
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