Tanning goes hot in T-town

New tanners will dig the Urban Tanning Spa
by Jessica Corey-Butler
May 10, 2007

Setting: Lakes High, my junior year.  Mid-’80s. I was that square peg.

BMOC Rob Smith, perpetually tanned due to Mom and Dad’s clamshell tanning bed in the bathroom, said something to me in physics class like, “You’re ugly; your mom dresses you funny, and you have big hair.”

Rob Smith, at 17 years of age with a receding hairline, should not have messed with an angry Hungarian. This particular angry Hungarian said something to the effect of “Yeah, well at least when I’m 30 I’ll have all of my own big hair and all of my skin, too.”

I have no idea whether my physics nemesis had any sort of relationship with melanoma, hair loss or hair replacement, nor have I any idea whether or not he appears to be older or younger than his real age now.

But I do know that in the ’90s I witnessed a plunge in the tanning craze with the other Robert Smith’s The Cure version of pre-emo taking over one counterculture while the other counterculture took to Birkenstocks, sunscreen and tree hugging.

So witness me, perplexed, as I witness the new tanners.  They have the überexpensive lotions, the fast beds, and the killer tans.

Witness me witnessing Urban Tanning Spa, and witness me wanting to take part in that which I avoided 20 years ago. Witness me being willing to doff the Birks and pallor and go for golden.
Thing is Urban Tanning Spa, the new kid on the tanning block, offers a proximity to Matador that makes a tan make sense — there’s that south of the border (must be tan) vibe added onto the chic décor that includes granite, hot paint colors, ceilings reminiscent of some Seattle Chinese eatery, frosted glass doors reminiscent of Beverly Hills, and other amazing amenities. Urban Tanning Spa offers the sort of DeLorean meets Jaguar beds that provide quick tans with entertainment and air-conditioning and melds them with other spa services such as spray tan and moisturizing treatments, massage treatments, and even tooth-whitening services with entertainment value via a kick-ass white LCD television (because nothing says “tan skin” like “white teeth.” Or is it vice versa?).

The best thing about Urban Tanning Spa is that owner Aaron Delatorre is a totally laid-back guy who shares his excitement and dreams even in a sleep-deprived state.

He points out the beds in succession, from the “strongest bed ever created — I got the first one” by Ergonline (all the tanning beds are from this high-end company) — where you can get a three-minute tan on down to the bed with the extra special goggles that enable you to see behind your head as that’s where the television is.  But don’t get too comfy — it has a 12-minute max. The formed-acrylic bed may have you longing for a longer siesta though.
As we stop at the hot pink bed, which pops against a lime-green wall invitingly, Delatorre points out the feature any claustrophobe would love: your head sticks out of the bed while your face receives reflected rays.  In this tanning spa, even the entry-level beds have tanning shields and in-room intercoms for tanners’ comfort.

And then there’s the 10-minute bed-in-a-cola-box with integral changing room. It’s the kind of place where tanners can get pits and butt cheeks as golden as the rest of their bodies with a “Superman in a phone booth” mystique.

But wait, there’s more.  For tanners who don’t want that fresh-tanned dead cow look, there’s the spray booth with the same technology cabinet painters boast: A fine mist coats visitors with self-tanner, pre-UV spray, or an anti-aging, anti-wrinkle moisturizer that negates harmful effects, leaving the positive, vitamin D effects of the treatments enjoyed, not to mention the warmth of the experience.

Dried-up visitors can also try the hydration station with massage and steam, and if stressors haven’t been alleviated with skin love, there’s the massaging machine that works something like a heated water bed with directional jets hitting all points in need of love — with no embarrassing human contact.

Still to come in the next month or so, the Vichy room of eucalyptus shower love and Urban Juice Lounge will delight tanners in need of cleanliness and nutrients.  Additionally, the elevator-shaft bathroom stall will become a granite dream.

Delatorre was shooting for an October opening.  But he ran into some hurdles, especially concerning contractors, and found himself delayed.  And then, delayed, and delayed again.
His soft opening was set to have happened last week with some minor details needing resolved — a truck driver dropped a spray machine, an elevator door-as-art left to be hung, and some minor cleaning — but city officials were waited upon as were contractors.

But make no mistake, Urban Tanning Spa is here, and opens today. And as Delatorre plans to bring on Seattle and Portland locations in rapid succession, know that you’re on the entry level of a tanning spa revolution.

And it’s hot.

[Urban Tanning Spa, 717 Pacific Ave., 253.779.4SUN, www.urbantanningspa.com or myspace.com/urbantanningspa]

User comments

submitted 04:30 on May 24, 2008 by Aaron Delatorre

HOT

submitted 10:33 on Aug 30, 2008 by Ron Hines

While Aaron Delatorre may seem like a laid back easy going guy, he has bilked people for hundreds and thousands of dollars. He sold people multi-hundred dollar tanning packages the day before he closed the doors. Word from prior customers is that he ran their credit cards well after closing. As the building owner, he stole over $120,000 dollars of building improvements and attempted to steal the leased tanning beds... none were his. He almost drew in unsuspecting investors. He has left sea of red ink every where is goes. Beware of this man.

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