BoomerGirl Diary

Author’s note: Valentine’s Day rolls around once again, our thoughts turn to love, romance … and chocolate. But let’s get our priorities straight. Love and romance can fade. Chocolate endures. So, this is a quickie Valentine column for BoomerGirls who love their chocolate, in all of its myriad forms. Here we go!

I can’t be sure but I may have found a piece of heaven.

A chocolate spa.

No, not the building, which is 30,000 square-foot European style spa in the Hotel Hershey. In Hershey, Pa. Is the name starting to ring any bells?

The spa at the Hotel Hershey combines every woman’s desire to be massaged, pampered, treated like a queen … and chocolate.

Photo Gallery

Hotel Hershey

Think Chocolate Fondue Wrap. Cocoa Massage. Whipped Cocoa Bath. This latter is a patented (how does one get a patent for a bath?) foaming chocolate milk bath.... And who said not to slurp the bath water?

There’s chocolate massages and chocolate manicures. Chocolate exfoliations. Chocolate facials. Chocolate Immersion ... a Chocolate Bean Polish followed by a Chocolate Fondue Wrap.

Or go all out and have try The Chocolate Escape, which includes a Whipped Cocoa Bath, Chocolate Bean Polish, Chocolate Fondue Wrap, Cocoa Massage and lunch at the Oasis (the spa restaurant, a sanctuary with mosaics, multi-colored crystal chandeliers, overstuffed lounge furniture — all in all, the feel of an exotic harem retreat.)

The Hotel Hershey, resting on 300 acres of rolling Pennsylvania hills, was built by Milton Hershey and is now a National Trust Historic Hotel as well as a Mobil Four-Star and AAA Four-Diamond property. From the original tiles and fountain in the lobby, the hand-carved oak woodwork, stained glass, and circular dining room designed so that every table has a view, the Hershey is an original. It has 232 guest rooms, almost 25,000 square feet of meeting and conference facilities, panoramic vistas, two swimming pools, 36 holes of golf, fitness center, nature trails, basketball, tennis, bocce, carriage rids, free shuttles to Hersheypark and free admission to Hershey Museum and Hershey Gardens. The Hotel Hershey has history, elegance, class ... and, more importantly: chocolate.

There are assorted hotel and spa packages. Or just get a room and pay-as-you-go for treatments. But chocolate doesn’t come cheap, so be prepared to fork out the bucks. Go to www.Hersheypa.com for complete descriptions and contact info.

Is there really such a thing as “Death by Chocolate?” And could there be a better way to go?