Imagine cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and the sweet aroma of Christmas cookies and puddings, baking and steaming away, all wrapped up in a delicious December spa treatment. It is as if the spirit of Christmas spa has come to visit, with a sack full of heavenly holiday cheer.
Devarana Spa has been feeling decidedly festive this month, treating guests to a slice of this seasonal sensation. Found in Dusit Hotels around Thailand, in Manila, Guam, The Maldives, Nairobi and Cairo, they have been showing their Christmas spa spirit, with a December holiday rejuvenation package, known as Christmas Body Essence.
The name alone sounds delicious, and conjures up thoughts of seasonal well-being, but just wait until you experience it for yourself. If you’ve ever wanted to smear yourself in sugar cookie dough, bathe in Christmas pudding mix or cuddle a life-sized gingerbread man, then this is most definitely the indulgent Christmas spa treatment for you!
Available throughout December 2017, there is only a short time left, and if you had last year’s Sticky Toffee Pudding package, then you know there is no time to waste. This year’s 90-minute package, the Christmas Body Essence experience, includes a 30-minute gingerbread sugar body scrub, followed by a 60-minute aromatic oil massage of your choosing. Truly, this is a euphoric bundle of Christmas joy, in spa form.
The gingerbread sugar scrub is perfect for the winter season, spiced with Christmas flavours of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and grapefruit, together with brown sugar and oatmeal. It is a gentle exfoliating scrub to remove dead skin cells, rediscover vibrancy and replenish the skin with moisture. The spice mix is warming and has natural antibacterial properties, while offering a boost for the circulation and for the immune system.
Devarana Spa worldwide is always an impressive treat, but pampering there around the holidays just gets that bit sweeter. All of the usual courtesies that come with the signature Devarana Spa luxury are naturally included. Guests are greeted with a welcome drink and a cold towel, caring smiles and a thorough consultation. All of your spa needs and wants are addressed, before being guided through to your treatment room.
The spa therapists are experts in their field, and every care is taken to ensure your absolute comfort, whether you feel a little chilly or need a glass of water, nothing is too much trouble for them. My therapist Jan, in the Bangkok Devarana Spa, deserves a special mention. She instantly put me at ease, and went through my selected special requirements, to ensure that she was correctly informed.
She wanted to double-check that I was comfortable being scrubbed under my arms and such, in case I was ticklish, and warned me before placing hot towels or warm water with the scrub on my skin, to make sure I wouldn’t experience the slightest discomfort: the consummate professional!
It was, indeed, a glorious experience, but I wish I had remembered to have breakfast first, as the delectable scent made my stomach rumble more than once, which Jan politely ignored to save my embarrassment at the noise.
After the scrub, which I didn’t want to end, I was assisted to the shower, so I wouldn’t slip on the cookie-dough-esque layer on my skin. Jan first used a hot towel to wipe my feet for safety. With the shower set to the perfect temperature for me, the powerful blast from their amazing showerhead had me clean from top to toe in mere minutes.
For the massage portion of the package, I opted for a Swedish massage, with their custom-designed ‘Mellow’ oil, consisting of rose, lavender and chamomile essential oils. During the consultation, I was offered my pick of their four signature scents. ‘Cherish’ was a favourite, with hints of sandalwood. However, feeling ‘Mellow’ was where my mind went, and it is always advisable to go with your instinct, based on your mood, when it comes to essential oils. It is good to remind yourself that you can also go back to Devarana Spa and try them all.
The Swedish massage was so relaxing and fluid, as Jan seemed to effortlessly float around the table without so much as a squeak of a floorboard. She could well have been on a Back to the Future hoverboard for all I knew. My eyes were closed, face-down to start, and I was quickly, deeply and utterly entrenched in bliss-mode for the entire hour to follow.
The massage technique was just what was needed to tease out knots, press away stresses, and revive tired muscles, often overworked on the treadmill, spinning on bicycles, or hunched over a computer for far too long — the affliction of most of us these days! We all deserve a touch of Devarana Spa Christmas spirit, around the holidays.
The price of this festively inspired indulgence is: THB 3,450 at Devarana Spas in Bangkok, Pattaya, Hua Hin and Chiang Mai. In case you find yourself trotting the globe between now and New Year, then it costs PHP 3750 in Manila, USD 150 in The Maldives and Guam, KSH 8,500 in Nairobi, and EGP 1,650 (plus tax and service charge) in Cairo.
If you are not fortunate enough to have the chance to visit a Devarana Spa before the end of the year, never fear, as a new programme will be launched in 2018. Taking inspiration from traditional Thai recipes and medicines, known as ‘Tamrab’, six different spa packages
will be available throughout the year at all of their spas, mentioned above, worldwide.
Age-old traditions are called upon, for a variety of packages to suit the time of year in question. For example, in February ‘Devarana Sweet Tamrab for Love’ is a must for the romantic types in the run up to and after Valentine’s Day. May to July rains call for the ‘Devarana Herb Tamrab for Monsoon’, as an energizing treatment to combat the mid-year slump.
Whenever you find or make time, to pamper yourself, advance reservations are recommended, although walk-ins in Bangkok, are often accommodated in one of their numerous beautiful treatment rooms, including couples’ and single rooms. For more information on Devarana Spa and the full treatment menu, or to make a reservation at any of their locations, visit their website: www.devaranaspa.com.
DEVERANA SPA. DUSIT THANI BANGKOK. 946 Rama IV Road. For the Dusit Thani in Bangkok specifically. Tel. 02 636 3596. Email: bangkok@devaranaspa.com.
