Imagine being showered off during a clay body treatment in a room bathed in red light. Welcome to Christie Adam’s funky Vichy shower room. It’s the nicest spot in the spa—the rest of the rooms are rather plain and sterile. And it’s the only room where you’ll wear a robe and squishy slippers. In the other treatment rooms, you hang your clothes on hangars on the back of the door.
I had an appointment for a full body massage. The massage therapist, Stacy, led me away from the salon’s front desk and down a narrow hallway. We passed a triangle-shape dining booth where day of beauty spagoers can eat lunch. Then I peeked into the pedicure room, which was tucked behind a French door and felt grand with its private thrones—I’ve never been a fan of public pedicures. (A colleague later mentioned having a good pedicure at the Reston Christie-Adam, done by Maya—who, because it was slow, threw in a free hand paraffin treatment.)
We didn’t stop in the waiting area with its girly high-back chairs, Oriental throw rug, and patterned mod couch. Usually the spa has cookies, juice, wine, and water, but by 3:45 on a weekday there was nothing out.
Each treatment room is decorated by the therapist who occupies it. Few were cozy. Stacey has up posters of the human muscular system. A sign gives tips on how to enjoy the massage: Take deep breaths; keep talking to a minimum. Every so often she’d ask if the pressure was okay, and she checked to see if I was warm.
Christie-Adam Salon and Spa also at 11710 Plaza America Way, Suite 40, Reston, (703) 481-9006; and 11857-U Fair Oaks Mall, Fairfax, (703) 591-1810.
