Tucked away on the fifth floor of The Athénée Hotel (formely the ‘Plaza Athénée’), on Wireless Road in Bangkok, is the luxurious gem, known now as Athénée Spa. The hotel changed its and the spa’s name, after becoming a Luxury Collection Hotel. Athénée Spa offers a range of treatments, unique in Bangkok and specific to each guest’s blood type. This intriguing concept certainly merits closer inspection, to discover the potential benefits, and a good dose of high-end pampering is never amiss.
Athénée Spa is a distinguished urban retreat, and the setting fuses French style and grace, with the mystique of ancient Siam and the warmth of Thai hospitality. Seven treatment rooms, with all the comforts and amenities needed for an indulgent spa date, include a couple’s suite, complete with an oversized Jacuzzi, looking out onto the hotel garden. Retiring to one of these spaces instantly induces a sense of calm.
The signature treatments at Athénée Spa have been designed and crafted upon the premise that your blood type is key in defining a person’s individual physiological and personality characteristics. This is a belief and practice widely accepted across the globe. Whether you subscribe to this or not is of little consequence, when the treatments at Athénée Spa instill such a sense of wellbeing as they do. What is good for the mind and soul is surely good for the body, when it comes to luxurious pampering.
In deciding on which oils and aromas to use in their treatments, Athénée Spa has looked to the four major blood groups of O, A, B and AB, to tailor their treatments and help enhance a sense of wellness. Theirs is unique holistic approach, called ‘Immunetra Blood Type Therapy’. Taking different natural herbs and spices, fruits and gemstones into account with broad-spectrum research into blood coding, Athénée Spa has created finely attuned natural essences and blood-type-oriented treatments for their guests. “Our approach helps provide effective, preventative maintenance and revitalization. You know it is right, because of how it makes you look and feel,” assures K. Kanchana Wanma, Athénée Spa Manager.
If you would simply like to test the waters, before you go for the full four-hour Immunetra Blood Type Retreat signature treatment (Baht 8,200++), then try one of their 90-minute signature massages. The Immunetra Blood Type Massage ritual (Baht 3,600++) essentially matches your blood type with a certain focus and technique, together with the essences and nutrients needed for that blood type. “Many guests have never experienced this type of treatment before, so we recommend it to help improve both their health and well-being,” explains K. Kanchana. “If, for some reason, a guest is unsure of their blood type, we propose the O treatment. Just like O is a universal blood donor type, this treatment can also benefit everyone.”
Describing the focus for each blood type, she clarifies what the blood types benefit most from, during the full body massage. O blood types receive extra attention paid to the feet and the reflexology points thereon, which are said to affect all areas of the body; hence why this can be a universal treatment for all blood types. The oils and aromas used for O treatments benefit from ginseng and have detoxification properties for the entire body. ‘A’ blood type requires concentration on the stomach and digestive system, together with soybean oil, while the lymphatic system and lymphatic drainage are a main concern for B blood type guests, for whom anti-oxidant green tea is the key ingredient. If you are AB, then yours is a choice between either A or B Immunetra massage.
As fascinating as all of this sounds, the proof, as they say, is in the pudding. Putting the Blood Type O Immunetra Balancing Reflexology body massage to the test was a sheer delight. Spa Therapist, K. Nana, was as knowledgeable and fluent on the details, as she was skilled with her hands. She used these experienced hands, her massage technique and the reflexology touch to help stimulate the vital organs in the body and help balance hormones and body temperature, which in turn would contribute towards detoxifying the body.
Hot towels combined with sweeping unconventional strokes, for a surprisingly profound, calming and incredibly pleasurable massage experience. Long, deep motions, flowing up and down the entire body, at a perfect cadence, for an entire hour and a half, together with the aromatic oil, was akin to a reset button being activated, to erase all stresses and achieve a lasting feeling of balance.
The abdomen massage applied a comfortable pressure, which once released allowed the blood-flow to radiate a warm, tingling sensation, as it surged into the legs. The closing head massage also stimulated circulation, with a few final gentle tugs on the hair, before being sat up and masterfully stretched through the arms, shoulders, back and neck, to recover a state of here and now, at the end of the treatment.
As promised, the treatment quite simply feels right, and there is no mistaking that. It is a win for personally coded bliss defined by your blood type, for the expert hands of K. Nana, and for Athénée Spa, as for its guests. To take advantage of the Immunetra treatments, Athénée Spa is open from 10.00am to 11.00pm every day.
The Athénée Spa menu is extensive in Immunetra treatments and packages, with massages, body wraps, scrubs, steam, baths, facials and salon treatments, both for the gentlemen and the ladies. There are even bride and groom treatments for newly weds. Further of note is that the prices on their spa menu and mentioned above are subject to tax and service charge.
The Athénée Hotel is conveniently close to BTS Skytrain station ‘Ploenchit’, but both valet and self-parking are available onsite too.
For spa reservations, guests can contact tel. 02 650 8800 ext. 5001 or email: atheneespa.theathenee@luxurycollection.com. All treatment details can be found on their
website: www.atheneehotel.com.
