Studio Spa & Garden of Healing

Along with her partner, Arturo Diaz, Paola Salamanca decided to open Studio Spa Garden of Healing in 2009. A renovated two-story cottage lit by ample windows, the spa represents a tripartite marriage of Paola's interests in television and film, her family's work in the beauty industry, and Arturo's career in acupuncture and natural medicine.

This harmony among diverse elements becomes apparent as soon as one walks in the spa’s front door and encounters, amid shades of pale lilac, Arturo crafting herbal remedies or redirecting energy pathways with acupuncture. Not far off, beyond a skin bar stocked with Dermalogica products, guests sip sangria or herbal tea in a dimmed relaxation room as they await appointments for facials or a variety of massages, including deep tissue, Thai massage, and "tui na," a Chinese therapeutic massage.

Having traveled abroad to locales such as Spain, Colombia, and India, the spa’s staff boasts knowledge of basic skincare techniques as well as advanced or alternative methods such as vacuum therapy and fire cupping. For her part, Paola works with actors and models and often travels on-set to share her wisdom—a fact that may explain her penchant for adding a dramatic musical score to each of her treatments back at the spa.