Gayle Bulls Dixon, a principal owner of Daufuskie Island Club & Resort, conceived the new spa and said it is specifically designed to offer a more personalized approach to the overall spa experience.  Dixon appointed Colleen Stiers, an expert in spa development and operations to fulfill the Breathe Spa vision.  A second Breathe Spa is already being built at Carefree Resort & Villas in Carefree, AZ, north of Phoenix, and a Breathe Spa is under design for Ocean Place Resort & Spa on the New Jersey shore.  All three properties are managed by Carefree-based Tiburon Hospitality Management.

Jill Vitale has been appointed Director of Breathe Spa at Daufuskie Island Club & Resort and will oversee the day-to-day operations of the spa.  Most recently, Vitale was with The Cypress, a continuing care community on Hilton Head Island.  Prior to that, she was the administrator of a 2,000-member spa and wellness center in Bloomington, MN.

The Breathe Spa at Daufuskie Island Club & Resort will feature 45 different therapeutic treatments from facials to hydrotherapy to a variety of massage techniques, body wraps, aromatherapy and reflexology.

�Our philosophy embraces a wellness center approach that is based on balanced health, beginning on the inside,� said Dixon.  �We are dedicated to providing relaxing, giving and professional services in comfortable surroundings that encourage our guests to feel at home, to unwind, to receive, to understand and to breathe.�

Stiers said Breathe Spa is designed so both men and women feel comfortable in its surroundings.  �Unlike many other world-class spas, our guests are assigned a personal spa coordinator.  This coordinator will know you by name, understand your spa history and preferences and will be your personal spa contact throughout the duration of your visit.  Our goal is to ensure the Breathe Spa �experience� begins with your first phone call and continues until you return ashore at the Embarkation Center.�

Dixon said she was enamored by Daufuskie Island (which is accessible only by boat) from the moment she first visited last year and realized that the island was an ideal setting for the spa she had always dreamed of establishing.

�The natural surroundings of Daufuskie Island, combined with the island�s stillness and exquisite beauty made it a perfect environment to introduce the Breathe concept,� said Dixon.  She also approached the design of Breathe Spa using the Feng Shui methods of orientation as well as her own ideas she gathered from visiting spas around the world. 

Having somewhat become a spa connoisseur over the last several years, Dixon has traveled extensively and talked with scores of people with regard to their likes and dislikes of spas.  �My own personal experiences helped me come up with a design and concept that would appeal to one�s whole being � encompassing mind, body and spirit,� said Dixon.

Located within a charming, Southern plantation-style building with a view of the Atlantic Ocean, Daufuskie Island�s Breathe Spa includes eight treatment rooms, lounging quarters, separate men�s and women�s locker rooms and an extensive retail area.

The exclusive Daufuskie Island Club & Resort features 190 rooms, two championship golf courses, five restaurants, beach club, equestrian center and club memberships.