All Things Possible
Story by Amanda Larch
Photos by Mary Baldwin
Plucking strings and tinkling pianos waft in each room from invisible speakers, rich tastes from the café delight the taste buds, the striking color of the salt creates a faint glow in the cave, the feel of well-trained hands deliver massages, and smells of essential oils aim to relax, rejuvenate, and restore.
I’m being guided throughout the lush property, beginning—where else?—with the salt cave itself. It may be man-made, but details were painstakingly taken to make you forget that detail. (In fact, I had to ask if the cave was natural, and I’m beyond grateful for Adrianna’s patience.)
Reminders of humanity’s past decorate the walls of the intimately-lit cave building, which forgoes traditional square walls, and the atmosphere here at Pomona Salt Cave and Spa, outside White Sulpur Springs, eagerly envisions a future of true healing and preventative health care.
When their son experienced health issues, founders Adriana and Marius Grecu’s search for answers and alternative, preventative health care evolved into the creation of their salt cave, the only one of its kind truly built underground, which in turn expanded and gave birth to the Pomona spa.
“The nature of what happened with our son opened our eyes to understanding that the most precious thing is avoiding a disaster, especially when it’s a family member or yourself,” Adrianna Grecu says. “Life in general is precious, so investing in preventing things from occurring means also we need to know ourselves better, we need to understand the body system and why it does what it does.
“This is why Marius became a naturopathic doctor, why we took on this direction of preventative health care,” she says. “We decided to create a salt room because of the benefits, and then we decided to also do other therapies with it.” Adriana Grecu set out emulating famous cave paintings found all across the world in the space, reminding everyone who visits the salt cave that we all come from the same beginnings and background. It also features a tree, representing that we’re all rooted in the same place. It’s easy to become centered within the borders of the salt cave, and you can’t help but wonder if early man healed himself the way Pomona strives to.
“We wanted a space that when you walked in, it left all things possible,” Adrianna Grecu muses. “We built this structure that is more, I think, the root of all humanity. We all tap into this field. Here, you come from peace into peace; it becomes more of a holistic treatment.”
The Grecus explored various salt caves throughout the country, researching treatments for their son, and getting inspired along the way to open their own halotherapy healing center. “We learned about the salt room when we tried it out; we felt the benefits,” Adrianna Grecu says. “When we moved here, we had this desire to share everything we were learning because when you learn something and you know it’s transformative, you want to stand on the mountaintop and tell everybody, ‘You have got to do this.’ It was that excitement and desire to share.”
It’s not just about self-care at Pomona—it’s about healing, and healing from within. The entire salt cave is composed of 18,000 pounds of pure Himalayan salt, creating an antiviral, antifungal and antibacterial environment charged with negative ions. No viruses or bacteria can live in the cave.
“Himalayan salt comprises about 84 elements including all the minerals that the body needs,” Marius Grecu says. “So it has a lot of therapeutic benefits; it’s not just for relaxation or design purposes. It helps with respiratory conditions.”
While many patrons enjoy a session in the cave before or after the spa’s many other services, some flock to the cave for its health benefits alone. The salty environment inside the cave is similar to oceans, rainforests, and waterfalls, creating a calming effect for the lungs.
“People have found a lot of relief from asthma and allergies, from a whole host of different benefits that trickled through the body,” Adrianna Grecu says. “It’s the ideal atmosphere for cellular regeneration. This allows your body to take that break, so that it can start working on its inner healing.”
Pomona, the ancient Roman nurturer goddess of the orchard, served as the inspiration for the next evolution of the salt cave and the Grecus’ vision. The salt cave proved to be so popular, partly due its affordability, they knew they had to expand their services due to this success. Evolution is constant—and a constant theme—at Pomona.
“It’s a branding evolution,” Adriana Grecu says. “We are evolving and evolving to the needs of our audience, our guests, what is required of us, so that’s where Pomona comes into place and her value in this whole dynamic.”
Perhaps the spa’s greatest asset—even more important than the cave—is its team of caregivers. Adriana Grecu makes sure they experience regular trainings. “We begin our training down to how we have our linens set up on the table, to how we drape people during the service, and what a quality massage is, in our estimation,” she says. “Quality of service means you have great product, but it also means you are passionate about what you do. You’re not just here for the paycheck, because people feel that. I have no interest in that.”
Adriana Grecu, who is also a licensed massage therapist, can’t resist an opportunity to brag on her team. It’s important to her that people remain open minded to keep learning, evolving, and getting better at their craft. “We have a great team. That’s the most important thing that we’re nurturing and cultivating here is a team of nurturers, people who take pride in what they do, who love what they do, because they’re in a nurturing environment,” Adriana says.
“When I’m here, there’s a sense of calm and peace that I can’t find anywhere else in my life, and that even goes with the people I work with. I feel as though I can come in, and if I need a moment of support, if I need any kind of understanding, I know I have a group of people around me who care, so I can be who I am and I can be at peace. That’s, I hope, what most people feel when they come here, that acceptance of self and understanding and care that comes from them. That’s my favorite part of everything we do.”
At Pomona, everyone is treated like kings and queens, so it’s no wonder they’ve had clientele visit from across the country and Europe. They’ve had 10,000 visitors in one year alone. And, of course, Adriana and Marius Grecu enjoy nurturing relationships with the local community. On the spa’s website, there’s a tab dedicated solely to shedding light on other local businesses and community events.
Adrianna Grecu speculates part of their success is the human element and personal connections of the spa. “One of the things I train my therapists and everybody that works here on is that we respect hard-earned money,” she says. “These people that come here trust us with their hard-earned money, and they have an expectation that when they come here they’re going to be treated well, that they’re going to relax and feel replenished by the time they leave. I tell that to them all the time, that is an honor to be part of that process.”
Recalling the overarching theme of shared experiences of all humanity through history, it’s no surprise the Grecus ensure their business focuses on those connections, something they didn’t give up even during the pandemic. “We want people to feel what it is again to connect with humanity,” Adrianna Grecu says. “I feel like everything is automated these days, everything is so disconnected and customer service has become that way too, people are tired of people and all of that—we are trying to reestablish that connection of care.”
