BLOOMING AT THE GREENHOUSE

Forty-five Sundays a year, the Greenhouse doorbell rings. The group has arrived. “It’s so good to be back again!” exclaims one of the guests, as she steps into the inviting foyer. Many Greenhouse guests return, which is one reason why this spa is one of the most successful in the country.

Fifteen years have passed since Stanley Marcus, his wife Billie, nutrition consultant Helen Corbitt, SMU dance instructor Toni Beck, director Molly Cullum, and the Great Southwest Corporation opened the doors to a garden-like building in Arlington complete with Romanesque arches and trellises, a courtyard with a heated pool, and balconied living spaces above.

The 38 women who appear on the doorstep ready for their week’s stay come in all ages and sizes. Most are surprisingly slim and not all are unusually wealthy. Weight loss is not necessarily their first priority – for a few, a week’s stay will remove only five pounds. They come for relentless satisfaction and a chance to escape the pressures of children and other commitments. They’re difficult to typecast and conversation around the pool reflects this – they have a variety of interests, from Connally and Bush to real estate in Nassau, sex, food, children and grandchildren.

Nothing is typical about a typical week at the Greenhouse. The women are examined by a physician to determine if they can participate in the fairly strenuous exercise program. He counsels them on diet; reducing, maintenance, or add-weight menus are available, but of course most women come hoping to lose weight. The 850-calorie-a-day reducing diet is surprisingly delicious, though the food is frugally proportioned. The late Helen Corbitt, creator of the menu at Neiman’s Zodiac Room, designed the menu; her assistant, Bertha Shields, now manages the kitchen to assure that its standards remain uncompromised. Specialties include seafood quiche, broiled chicken, lobster, filet of sole, prime beef, spinach salads, and mounds of parsley and watercress. “When you’re living on 850 calories a day, you’re bound to devour everything on your plate,” one guest remarks.

Each guest’s private suite is complete with a walk-in closet, mirrored dressing room, and bath with sunken marble tub. After the breakfast tray is cleared at 7:45 am, guests don navy blue leotards and tights and canary yellow robes for a 30-minute walk.

They gather in the solarium for “Swing and Sway” exercises directed by Toni Beck or Dorothy Lackland, then take a brisk jog about the pool. “Knees up, ladies! Hup-two-one-two!” By 10 o’clock, the women are ready for pampering and go their separate ways. A morning schedule will vary through the week, but it may consist of a 45-five minute facial followed by an aerobic exercise class in the pool, sauna, whirlpool bath, shower, and a 45-minute full-body massage. Lunch is served promptly at 1:00 by maids in yellow uniforms and white pinafores. The afternoon is spent on protein treatments for the hair, manicures, pedicures, and Charles of the Ritz makeup classes. Spot reducing and dance classes are the dreaded sessions of the day; classes of seven may dwindle to two or three by the end of the week. Because a stay at the Greenhouse is dedicated to pleasure, the guests are free to pick and choose which form of exercise interests them.

Dinner calls for dressing as one might dress when going out. Dietetic hor d’oeuvres are served in the living room, where Oriental screens and exquisite porcelain plates are on display. No alcoholic beverages are served at any time. After dinner, guests may retire to the library for a game of bridge or gather for an evening lecture, the subject of which could be anything from antiques to high finance. A Neiman-Marcus fashion show is held every Thursday night. Spokesmen from Merrill Lynch may arrive to offer investment advice. Attorneys and astrologists come and go. While the Greenhouse is a haven for women who wish to detach themselves temporarily from the outside world, many get restless or bored and welcome an evening’s discussion.

The Greenhouse experience, according to one appreciative guest, is a “perpetual process of building up, then breaking down. You may have your hair done one afternoon, then you’ll be back in the pool the next morning. You practice with makeup then go into the sauna. But everything is properly timed for your departure on Sunday; by then, you look and feel terrific.”

While a number of spas in the United States offer similar regimens, the Greenhouse reigns supreme. It might seem tempting to expand the spa, add bedrooms and living areas to accommodate more guests. “We refuse to enlarge our facilities,” says director Molly Cullum. “It’s not going to get any bigger than 38 women every week. We must stay small and intimate. Our guests appreciate that.” Some spas open their doors to both husbands and wives. “I can’t see that working here,” Cullum says. “This is a special place for women.” With the exception of the gentlemen who carry luggage, there aren’t any men at the Greenhouse. They’ve employed a few male hairdressers, but none of them lasted very long. The Greenhouse’s 15-year relationship with Neiman-Marcus and Charles of the Ritz has contributed to consistency of quality. Many of the beauty specialists, office workers, housekeepers, and exercise instructors have worked there since its beginning. “These are the things that make us number one,” adds Cullum.

With all this working to the benefit of the spa, it seems superfluous to mention that guests leave feeling marvelous. For many, the Greenhouse fulfills a recurring fantasy: to be totally catered to in a luxurious world, without future commitments or memory of past problems; to feel totally relaxed and content in the fact that the only decision to be made is when to schedule the next Greenhouse visit.

She’s both energetic and engaging, but it’s her eye for old-fashioned quality that makes the difference. For many regulars, Molly Cullum is the Greenhouse.

“When women call for reservations,” says Lois Smith, reservations director of the Greenhouse, “they ask me who’s directing. When I say, ’Molly Cullum’s back,’ they are delighted. Just knowing Molly’s here reassures them. They love her. We love her. She’s just that kind of person.”

What does the director of a health spa do? Some decision making, some socializing. But maintaining a certain presence and setting the predominant style is the real work.

Molly grew up in Pennsylvania and during the early years of World War II, she traveled in Europe with the Red Cross before starting an officers’ club in Miami Beach. She has many memories, many friends – including the late Elizabeth Arden, with whom she shared a passion for horse racing.

“We had assumed names,” Molly chuckles. “Miss Arden was ’Mr. Nightingale’ and I was ’Mr. French.’ I had good luck on the track but Elizabeth did better than I. She had a Derby winner.”

Arden’s health spa, Maine Chance, needed a temporary director. Molly had public relations experience and connections.

“She called me one New Year’s Eve in desperation. I said, ’Elizabeth! 1 have so much to do! I can only take it for a month.’ I ended up directing Maine Chance for eight years.”

When the Greenhouse opened in September 1965, Molly was there to oversee details. Her directing jobs have allowed her the freedom to keep track of her greatest love: horse racing. Between stints directing the Greenhouse and excursions to the races, Molly spends May through September working for Brenner’s Baden-Baden, Germany’s renown spa.



Spa Gazing



Below is a sampling of some of the better-known health spas around the country. They vary in their approaches, accouter-ments, and cost. It should be noted that they can only provide a beginning. You must be ready to accept what you learn at the spa and apply it when you leave. If you go there with the intention of only losing a few pounds and then returning to your old ways, then you are probably wasting your money. If you go there with an open mind or with the intention of possibly learning new ways to live your life, then the investment is well worthwhile. Generally these spas are booked far in advance, so make your plans early.



THE GOLDEN DOOR. (714) 744-5777. Located in Escondido, California (near San Diego), this is an exquisitely designed spa in the Japanese tradition. The emphasis is on natural foods, a total body awareness, and the adopting of a new way of looking at yourself. The physical surroundings at the Golden Door are luxurious and the ratio of employees to guests is three to one. The exercise classes are rigorous, but there is no end to herbal wraps, saunas, massages, facials and the like to soothe aching muscles. The food is low-calorie, low-fat, and extraordinarily good. For women only, except for designated men-only weeks eight times a year and couples-only weeks six times a year.



RANCHO LA PUERTA. (714)478-5341. Located in Tecate, Baja California (Mexico), this spa is the precursor of the Golden Door. Both are run by Deborah Szekely Mazzanti. The “Ranch,” as it is called, is located on 600 acres at an elevation of 3500 feet and is the biggest health resort in North America. It is co-ed and accommodates singles and families. The accommodations are very comfortable, but not plush. The all-vegetarian caloric intake for guests is between 800 and 850 calories daily. Coupled with the rigorous exercises, weight has a tendency to come off quickly for most people. There are tennis classes, swimming, yoga, and nutritional lectures and discussions. It is probably the best spa in the country for the whole family.



La Costa. (714) 438-9111. Located in Carlsbad, California, La Costa is more formal than Rancho La Puerta (there is no community dining) and considerably more elegant. Opulence is visible everywhere, but most noticeably in the health spa. There are Roman baths (guests wear togas) and virtually anything you could possibly want in the way of sports, including tennis instruction and a superb golf course. Exercise sessions, yoga, massages, and facials are all a part of the La Costa health spa program. Dr. R. Philip Smith examines every spa guest – usually checking blood pressure, pulse, and weight – and sets up an individual exercise and eating program.



MAINE CHANCE. (602) 947-6365. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, this deluxe Elizabeth Arden spa emphasizes beauty as much as health. However, there is a 90-minute exercise regimen and a 900-calorie-a-day Maine Chance diet, the combination of which will cause virtually anyone to lose weight. However, it should be remembered that the emphasis is on luxury and beauty, with a lesser emphasis on long-term preventive medicine.



PALM-AIRE. (800) 327-4960. Located in Pompano Beach, Florida, the Palm-Aire has good equipment and low-calorie fare as well as exercise programs and a full range of pleasing treatments such as massage and Jacuzzi. But, like The Greenhouse and Maine Chance, the focus here is on luxury. The surroundings are lovely and in the evening there are nutritional lectures. The food, although just 900 calories a day, has a reputation for excellence and imagination.

-John Pekkanen