Spa Cenvaree warms up for the holiday season with a winter-inspired spa package to relax into the festivities…
The Lad Prao area of Bangkok immediately makes you think of a hectic pace — traffic, noise, shopping, business, conventions and exhibitions. Yet, there is a quiet, sublime oasis of calm and serenity, amidst all of the bustle, which instantly transports you away from the hubbub and flurry of it all. Spa Cenvaree at the Centara Grand Hotel, in Central Plaza Ladprao, is that special place. Step inside and the doors seem to cocoon you away from everything even mildly disruptive, as the space, colours, sounds and setting are devised to act harmoniously on all of the senses.
For the festive season, the Spa Cenvaree Manager, Khun Natruja Aramsri, is delighted to introduce the ideal winter warmer to relax you and set you in the right mood for celebration, enjoyment and indulgence. As Bangkok drops a few degrees and welcomes cooler weather, or before you head off to colder climes in search of skiing, snow and real Christmas trees in their natural surrounds, treat yourself, and perhaps a friend or loved one, to the two-hour ‘Xmas & New Year Spa Package’ throughout December and the coming January. “The aromas and ingredients are inspired by the time of year, so it’s the perfect complement to the winter season and the duration of the treatment, we feel, is just right for people to have enough time to begin to relax and feel on top of the world,” she assures, and she is not mistaken!
After the cold towel, welcome drink and polite consultation, you will find yourself magically in your private room face down on the heated blanket of the spa bed, which keeps you nice and toasty. A lotus flower is hung outside the door to denote the room is well and truly occupied for no disturbances over the next couple of hours. Once horizontally comfortable, the reassuring single gong on a Tibetan bowl sounds the start of the slide into bliss, and the rejuvenating body exfoliation can begin. The scrub contains a gentle blend of black and white sesame seeds, oats and rice, which cleanse away dead skin, chocolate and black pepper for their antioxidants and a decadent warming aroma, moisturizing shea butter and enriching yoghurt, to bind it altogether.
A thorough sloughing is followed by the nourishing shea butter and black pepper body wrap, expertly concocted with yoghurt, white clay and milk powder. Black pepper is known for its anti-bacterial and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as being a warming ingredient in the mix, which enrobes you. The blend aims to achieve a beneficial exchange, drawing out impurities, while adding back antioxidants, moisture, lustre and a firmer-looking glow.
Post shower, the final stage of this festive fabulousness is a luxuriant vanilla shea butter body massage. The dexterous fingers and palms of the spa therapist work wonders, releasing tension, and helping to improve blood circulation on tired limbs, achy shoulders and stressed backs. (As a side note, for a take home treat, the nourishing shea butter cream used in the massage is already available for retail, at most Spa Cenvaree locations.) The air is rich with the delicious, familiar scents of vanilla, chocolate and shea, and you feel a strong sense of the holidays, as your body remains lightly warmed on the heatpad, until the sound of Tibetan bowl rings three times, to announce a peaceful end to the session. This coerces you softly back to planet earth, albeit still floating a little, in an incredibly chilled-out state.
The Xmas & New Year Spa Package is available from 1st December 2014 to 31st January 2015 and costs 2,500Baht++ per person, but if you bring along a friend or loved one, they have a great deal for 4,400Baht++ per couple. Your companion will thank you profusely! This package is an easy choice at this time of year, but do have a browse through their extensive spa and salon treatment menu, for both him and her, to get an idea of what else you might like to treat yourself to, this time or the next.
Something very unique to Spa Cenvaree, is also their ‘Signature Salt Pot Muscle Melter’ at 2,600Baht++ for 90 minutes. This involves camphor, pandanus, salt and other herbs put into a tiny pot, warmed through to activate the aromas and wrapped in a cloth, then applied to 11 points on the body in acupressure style with oil. Between the pot and the cloth, lightly crushed lemongrass and turmeric are added, for their anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which can be of great relief for weary limbs and achy muscles.
This thermal therapy treatment is meant to release tension and toxins, as well as to improve circulation, while the aromas stimulate the senses and have a positive effect on mood. The salt pot is a firmer massage than the traditional herbal compress, and also retains the heat longer, which allows for fewer pauses in the procedure for reheating. The Spa Manager suggests that this is a soothing and gentle treatment for new mothers, from at least a week after giving birth, although Caesarian deliveries should wait an advisable minimum of three months before trying it out. Spa Cenvaree does also offer a more traditional herbal compress massage, ‘Nuad Pra Kob’, for 90 and 120 minutes (1,800/2,200Baht++).
Whatever your pleasure, you will find that Spa Cenvaree is open, on the lower level from the lobby of the Centara Grand Lad Prao, every day from 10am to 11pm.
For a spa overview, take a look at
www.spacenvaree.com or call the spa on 02 541 1234 ext. 4292, or
E-mail spacenvareecglb@chr.co.th, to make a reservation or check availabilities. It is recommendable to book in advance, as the spa proves very popular with hotel guests, especially during peak periods. As a general tip, if you want to assure yourself a spot, then try to make it before lunchtime, or later in the evenings, as these are generally a spa’s least busy periods.
