Luxury treatments from Phuket's top spas
by
Rungtip Hongjakpet Izmen
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Everyone likes a bit of a back rub from time to time, or
a neck massage. But until you’ve tried a spa treatment
in Thailand you really haven’t lived.
Thais turned the back rub into an art form thousands of years
ago, and have been refining it ever since. And in Phuket that
refinement is at its zenith. Ever dreamed of spending an entire
day being pampered and stroked? Or of being massaged with
honey, tea or chocolate? It’s all in Phuket. For some
of the island’s top treatments, read on.
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This elegant, spacious wooded spa village is quite unique. For
a start it is huge, set in 160,000 SqM of grounds and surrounded
by a beautiful tropical garden with brilliant flowers. Even though
it is right across the road from the biggest mall in Phuket City,
once you are inside, you are a world away from noise and stress.
The spa is separated into two main areas - one for individual treatments
and the other for groups.
The design is stunning. Check out the suite in the private treatment
section, which has a canal running through it, filled with colourful
fish swimming gently and freely from the garden to the room and
even under your treatment bed.
Two treatments deserve special mention. The first is the hot coloured
stones massage, (90 minutes, 3,500 baht). This treatment taps the
healing powers of coloured stones. Warming the stones allows a deeper-pressure
massage for a rejuvenating and energizing effect. It also helps
to increase blood circulation and provides a gentle, calming effect.
The second is the 60-minute head massage, costing 1,800 baht. Before
starting, your therapist will ask for your birth date and then select
the kind of massage oil that best suits you, based on the belief
that everyone is different at birth and the date of birth gives
clues as to the kind of person you are.
This massage is particularly beneficial in balancing the chakras
- the energy centres of the body. There are seven main chakras situated
between the crown of the head and the base of the spine.
At first the therapist will gently massage your head for five minutes,
then she will separate your hair into bunches before pouring oil
over your head and continuing the massage. This treatment releases
tension and restores energy, allowing both body and mind to feel
relaxed and rested.
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The Mandara has 40 different treatments on its “menu”
but for couples the Romantic Getaway at 19,500 baht is, frankly,
a must. It lasts four hours, starting with a floral foot ritual,
and followed in sequence by aromatic steam, aromatic salt scrub,
aromatic floral bath, aromatic massage, aromatic facial and finally
refreshments.
The Mandara also offers a healing traditional Thai massage, using
techniques going back more than 2,500 years, which means it just
has to be good for you. It costs only 3,500 baht for 90 minutes
or 4,200 baht for two hours.
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The Hilton’s spa is not simply a few beautiful rooms in a
corner of the resort. It’s a whole village dedicated purely
to sybaritic relaxation. The signature treatment is the re-energising
Equilibrium Therapy, a 90-minute journey that starts with a floral
foot bath – a foot massage in warm water with kaffir lime slices
and flower petals.
The next step is a literally delicious half-hour body scrub using
sesame and honey. Skin clean and tingling, get ready for the 60-minute
massage. This starts with 15 minutes of Thai massage techniques,
then the therapist will apply wild mint oil all over you and use
a Thai herbal heat pack to soothe muscle aches and stimulate blood
circulation. As the spa puts it, they promise to “put back
a little of what life takes out”, and for only 3,800 baht.
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For those who take their luxury seriously and are ready to spend
US$400 pursuing that end, the place to go has to be the Banyan Tree
Spa. The Day Package there consists of a mind-altering seven hours
of complete surrender to the spa’s therapists who deliver a
series of stimulating body treatments. These include a body scrub,
a body conditioner and a massage - and that’s just in the morning.
After a lunch of spa cuisine, it’s time to submit (oh no!)
to three additional treatments, for the face, the hands and the
feet. The only worry will be whether anyone will recognize you when
you emerge, shining and beautiful, in time for sundowners.
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Blowing hot and cold about spa treatments? Then Le Royal Massage,
combining techniques from chilly Sweden and tropical Thailand, is
probably just right. Just in case, there is also some aromatherapy
included, too. The therapist gently massages you, applying pressure
on your back and moving towards the legs. Turn over and get the
other side done, then finish with a head-and-face massage.
The treatment lasts about 1½ hours, costs 2,900 baht, and
leaves you feeling relaxed, revived and with improved blood circulation.
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Flying to Phuket can be a trial, leaving you aching and tired at
the beginning of your holiday. Le Spa has something that will be
just your cup of tea: Le Tea Retreat, a series of therapies over
three days but costing only 6,500 baht.
The program consists of a combination of gentle exercise and spa
treatments using massage products derived from different kinds of
tea - green tea, fruit tea, flower tea and others.
The course starts gently on the first day with a 50-minute session
of light leg therapy to help you relax and to counter the effects
of jet lag. Treatment on day two consists of a 50-minute massage
and 40 minutes of exercise, stretching or meditation, while on the
third day you get a choice: facial, body wrap or body scrub, lasting
50 minutes.
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Two treatments at the Aspara Spa deserve special mention: the Hot
Stones Therapy and the Aroma Meridian Massage. The Hot Stones treatment
(75 minutes for 2,600 baht) starts with heated basalt stones being
placed on strategic points of the body to decongest stressed muscles
and promote blood circulation. This is followed by a soothing massage
using aromatic oils.
The Aroma Meridian massage combines the benefits of aromatheraphy
with Chinese theory on Yin and Yang. A warm compress filled
with extracts of flowers and herbs is used to heat up the body’s
meridian pathways, stimulating acupressure points, before a pleasant
massage is delivered using aromatic essential oils. This lasts 75
minutes and costs 2,400 baht.
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Here, the signature treatment is the Sensory Spa Journey, priced
at 9,500 baht and lasting 90 minutes – though the spa says
the journey continues long after you leave the therapists’
hands.
A luxurious footbath, skin renewing treats, warm towels and fresh
fragrances are just the beginning. What follows is a unique variation
of the four-hands massage, with two highly skilled therapists working
in harmony. This is a truly non-traditional aroma body massage using
long, smooth synchronised strokes and finished with a cleansing
facial and a stress-relieving scalp massage. The natural desire
to concentrate on your treatment will disappear as the unusual sequence
encourages your mind to let go of stress and enter a deep state
of calm.
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If you thought tea was for drinking, honey was for toast, you will
have learned by now that they have other luxurious uses. So if you
thought that chocolate was just for eating, you and your loved one
should head on over to the Mövenpick on Karon Beach for the
Romantic Harmony treatment at 7,500 baht per couple.
In a double suite, lit only by candles, the relaxing two-hour session
begins with a pampering Foot Soak to soothe tired feet in nourishing
lavender extract.
Next comes, yes! the Chocolate Body Scrub, a sensory delight that
also softens your skin. After that, soak in a luxurious floral milk
bath before the final Hawaiian Lomi Lomi massage to release stress
and tension and increase a blood circulation.
The only problem with all of this is that a simple back rub will
no longer be good enough. You’ll be spoiled forever.
Tips
Most spas welcome guests from all age groups but you may want to
check with your doctor before trying any of the treatments above.
by Rungtip Hongjakpet Izmen
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