Located on International Drive, Barbara Corzo’s luxurious Orlando Beer Spa draws curiosity and skepticism when tourists and locals initially visit.
A beer spa. Really?
“They’re not sure what to make of it,” Corzo said. “They don’t have any point of reference.”
But in private rooms, guests soak in wooden hot tubs in water loaded with hops and barley — the raw ingredients to make beer — while next to them is a tap flowing local craft beer from Ivanhoe Park Brewery Company.
Corzo’s soaking recipe is a secret, she said. She hopes to franchise her concept elsewhere in Florida next year.
Corzo, a certified public accountant by day, was on vacation in Prague in 2018 when she first visited a beer spa, something she had never heard of before.
“We were looking for something relaxing to do. We’d been running around for over a week, going everywhere. We tried the beer spa and it was absolutely a great experience. Like we came out of that appointment and I was in love. So I told everybody literally as I’m stepping out of the facility, ‘I just can’t believe this is not in the U.S.,’” Corzo said. “That was the beginning.”
Since then, her business has been open for four years in Orange County, drawing bachelorette parties, convention attendees who need some down time or couples looking for somewhere both romantic and boozy in a tourism area that’s grown with the arrival of Epic Universe.
Orlando Beer Spa.
Spa Industry Association President Allan Share said he hadn’t heard of a beer spa before like this, but he’s not surprised as more spa owners develop unique concepts while the public focuses more on wellness and stress relief.
“Everyone’s always trying something new,” said Share, who lives in Arizona.
At another similar beer spa in the United States, you can order a beer at the bar. But Corzo said her business stands out because you can pour your own drink, not sacrificing your private, relaxing moment.
“The idea is that once we close the door in that room, you’re self-sufficient essentially,” Corzo said.
The private rooms also contain an infrared sauna and a space to cool down that Corzo swears by: a hay bed.
The hot tub is not sticky, like lounging in a vat of Bud Light.
“We’re just being playful when we say it’s beer because it kind of behaves like beer, but it doesn’t smell like beer. It is not really beer,” Corzo said.
The tan-green-colored tint can stain a light-colored swim suit, so Corzo warns guests to wear dark bathing suits or their birthday suits.
Soaking in a brewers’ kit of ingredients, full of antioxidants and vitamins, helps moisturize the skin, Corzo and other spa experts said.
“Beer is a natural exfoliant. Rich in natural yeast, beer is also nourishing for the skin,” said Melinda Minton, Executive Director of the Spa Association. “Beer is a terrific addition to a masque for skin or hair and leaves hair naturally shiny and glossy. Beer ingredients listed are nothing but nutritive in a hot tub. Consuming beer during this type of treatment can be relaxing in moderation.”