Linda Higgs has been named director of spa & wellness at the upcoming Auberge Beach Residences & Spa in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, US, which is set to open an expansive two-storey spa at the end of this year.

Higgs will oversee all aspects of operations, staff management and treatment protocol at the spa. She will also implement all of the spa’s treatments, including pre- and post-service amenities focused on prevention and recovery for both physical and mental wellbeing, as well as anti-ageing treatments, her speciality.

Higgs joined Auberge Beach Residences & Spa after a decade-long tenure at The Spa at Shula’s in Miami Lakes, Florida, where she was responsible for the overall spa operation and marketing.

She also serves as the vice-chair advisory board for the Florida Spa Association, an organisation she has been involved with for several years.

The 10,000sq ft (929sq m) spa has been designed by spa consultant Tracy Lee of TLee Spas, who was inspired by the sea, sound, salt and sand in her creation.

“This inspiration came from numerous sources,” Lee told Spa Opportunities in 2016. “The experience of one of the owners who grew up on this site and was profoundly shaped by these collective forces of nature – their constant presence at this special location, and the positive impact they exert on the emotional, spiritual and physical aspect of wellbeing. We want to harness the sense of release, recovery and renewal that most of us equate with time spent at the seaside, and translate that attitude into a leading-edge wellness experience.”

The spa will bring a wide range of treatments and programming, including lymphatic massages, an Express Beauty Bar, self-guided vitality ritual programmes, and will include modern wellness amenities such as a meditation sound lounge, salt caves, infrared sauna and experiential cool deluge shower.