21 Nov 2014
Spa opens on Catalina Island, owned by chewing gum magnate Wrigley
BY Helen Andrews
Twenty-two miles off the coast of Los Angeles, US, a five-star day spa has opened on the island of Catalina. The majority of the island is owned by the chewing gum company, Wrigleys.
Featuring treatments that have been developed using ingredients indigenous to the region, the Island Spa Catalina is a 15,000sq ft (1,394sq m) facility located in the El Encanto building.
There are nine treatment rooms, a sauna, steamroom, relaxation deck, soaking pool, courtyard, shop and café. There is also a studio for yoga classes. US-based spa contract management and design firm American Leisure worked on the project, advising its client – the Wrigley company.
Locally sourced ingredients used in the treatments include sage, eucalyptus, rosemary, aloe and a wide array of seaweed.
In 1919, the Wrigley family took a keen interest in the property, buying out nearly every shareholder until it owned a controlling interest in the Santa Catalina Island Company – a firm set up to develop the island. In the 56 years that followed William Wrigley Junior’s acquisition of the company, the island was transformed – adding a number of conservation practices, infrastructure and a variety of resorts, plus a casino.
When William Wrigley’s son Philip died, 42,135 acres (17,051 hectares) of the deeded land went from the Santa Catalina Island Company to the Catalina Island Conservancy, making up 90 per cent of the island. The Santa Catalina Island Company maintains control of most of the island’s resort properties and operations, including the Island Spa Catalina.
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