Print Articles

As seen in JJ Magazine

Los Angeles Day Spa Le Petite Retreat Featured by Japan's Hottest Women's lifestyle publication - JJ Magazine

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Angeleno Magazine & The Style Group

Los Angeles Day Spa Le Petite Retreat Honored by Distinction Magazine as Top 10 Best California Luxury Spas

"Not only is Le Petite Retreat day spa (located in enchanting Larchmont Village) the only Day Spa in L.A. dedicated to couples treatments with multiple rooms (even the cabana) for massage, facials, body treatments - there's even a Champagne Bath For Two! Mmmmm. A near-resort like design with outside Lanai + large treatment rooms. Le Petite Retreat is a grand spa!"

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Urb Magazine

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in American Spa Magazine

When one thinks of visiting a day spa in Los Angeles, one doesn't imagine being able to leisurely walk there. But for visitors of Le Petite Retreat, it's just another factor that makes the spa stand out. "Even clients who drive here can have a more pleasant experience," says owner Lysa Kustek, whose vision for the 2,000-square-foot spa located in a residential pocket of the city was to create a holistic environment where her clients would feel safe and nurtured.

Designed by Roy Shabla; Fung Shui Master, the $300,000 renovation transformed a former art gallery into the day spa. Six treatment rooms (one outfitted with a copper tub, four for facial and massage, and one manicure/pedicure room) provide Kustek's clients with soothing and balancing body treatments utilizing the products and chromatherapy (color and light therapy) technology of Phytobiodermie. Kustek notes that Le Petite Retreat is the only spa in California that is using the line, which has created a niche for her spa. In addition to the treatment rooms, there's a wooden deck in the back with plants, where clients can relax before or after a treatment and even get a pedicure.

Because the spa does only natural nails, there is no acrylic nail odor in the air, furthering Kustek's aim of keeping the atmosphere holistic. "A lot of [day] spas in our area are mostly salons, and that sets us apart," she says. The customers are responding favorably to their natural approach.

Opened in July 2001, Kustek had arranged for the spa to be visited by Tibetan monks on September 13 for a private spiritual cleansing and blessing of the space. Then the events of September 11 unfolded; Kustek went on with the scheduled ceremony, feeling that it would certainly help bring about healing in the aftermath. When asked, Kustek recommends either the spa's California Dream, a 75-minute nurturing massage in the Esalen style (a combination of Swedish techniques and personal sensing work), or the Luminescent Lift, a non-surgical treatment that uses lymphatic drainage to remove toxins and lift the face through the vibrations of color light. Customers notice "a euphoric feeling several days afterwards," says Kustek. "It affects them spiritually." Kustek would have it no other way.

- Julie Sinclair

Chakra Balancing

Owner Lysa Kustek and spa and technical director Danica Horakova of Le Petite Retreat day spa, Los Angeles, are taking beauty to another level. Utilizing Phytobiodermie's Chromapuncteur machine they are offering the Wheels of Light/Chakra Balancing treatment, which focuses on clients' inner organs. By shining the right hue on a targeted area. "each color's specific vibration has as a signal or magnet to the chakra organs," says Horakova. The chakras are worked in pairs; first the root and crown, shining a red light on the root chakra and a violet color on the crown chakra. The amount of time the light shone varies from person to person based on his or her yin/yang balance, but it's for about five minutes. The lower abdomen (the sexual chakra, which takes an orange light) and the third eye, which is teal blue, are next. The throat (blue) and stomach (yellow) follow. The heart is last, on its own; it takes a green light. Designed to leave clients in a healthier state of mind, "It's very balancing," says Kustek. " We've even had people bring their cats in, with great results!"

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Angeleno Magazine

"This place is absolutely beautiful. I got a softer massage here. (Owner Lysa Kustek) did some sort of lymphatic thing with little suction cups on my back. I couldn't tell what it did but it felt good. I guess it hits your chakras. This place is really sweet. I was, like, floored by the decor when I first walked in. The atmosphere was awesome, really relaxing."

- Taryn Manning

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Privilege Magazine & The Style Group

Los Angeles Day Spa Le Petite Retreat Honored by Privilege Magazine as Top 10 Best California Luxury Spas

"Not only is Le Petite Retreat day spa (located in enchanting Larchmont Village) the only Day Spa in L.A. dedicated to couples treatments with multiple rooms (even the cabana) for massage, facials, body treatments - there's even a Champagne Bath For Two! Mmmmm. A near-resort like design with outside Lania + large treatment rooms. Le Petite Retreat is a grand spa!"

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Los Angeles Family Magazine

As you step out of your car a calming sensation begins with the soothing Zen-like music from speakers in front of Le Petite Retreat Day Spa. This is a favorite getaway for Hancock Park and Larchmont moms. Designed by Lysa and Ron Kustek and blessed by a Feng Shui master and Tibetan monks, this spa is based on the five Chinese elements. Wood is the teak wood furniture throughout the Asian-theme sanctuary. Fire can be found in the roaring fireplace in the center of main waiting/relaxation room. Metal is the custom-made copper whirlpool tub, large enough for two. Copper is known to provide relief from inflammation, chronic fatigue and headaches, especially with their signature green tea or peppermint-ginger soak. Water is the trickling fountain, and Earth the building itself. All five elements are married into a harmonious union to create a renewing experience.

This is where you get an Aquasonic Lymphatic facial to detoxify your lymph system or the Chromatherapy to balance your chakra and energy.

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Spa Finder Magazine

Lymphatic Drainage at Le Petite Retreat day spa

Lysa Kustek, the owner of this Los Angeles spa offers the Swedish Purifying & Green Tea Retreat which "helps purify the body's lymph system and break down cellulite to tone your skin." It starts with a feel-good Swedish Massage, then proceeds to "Color Therapy": suction cups are applied to the skin, attached by cords to a machine that emits colors - yellow promotes lymphatic drainage, which means speeding up the fluid that carries cellular waste back to the bloodstream for disposal. The treatment concludes with a relaxing green-tea bath in a copper tub (copper is known to be healing) big enough to hold a pool party.

< Back to Accolades/Print Articles Main Page | ^ Back To Top

As seen in Boulevard Magazine

"...the perfect place to go when you want the intimate touch of a spa that stands alone in quality, technique and style... the aromatherapy lures you into a beautifully adorned large living room with a serene fountain and wood-burning fireplace which paves the way for the beginning of a stress free, relaxed Zen encounter. This day spa is one of a kind and should not be missed."