Here’s what you can do this Valentine’s day

Devigarh Resorts is celebrating its 10th anniversary and offering special packages for Valentine's day 2010. Email devigarhresorts.in for further details

1 A card from Sophie Creations is a must. These are greeting cards I design on my own with 100 per cent handmade paper, recycled materials and handiwork worked on by Indian artisans themselves. There’s no better way than a simple, personalized card to share your feelings. Rs 70 onwards. The link is on the blog webpage so go ahead, smile and order your cards on cardsbysophie@gmail.com
2 Pamper your taste buds with yummy and specially crafted Godrej Nature’s Baskets. The “indulgence” hampers consists of heavenly chocolates and confectionaries like Villars bar - dark chocolate with orange, Guliyan Twists Impulse - Mixed Flavors and Terry's Choc Orange Mint. And if you think your Valentine is way too health conscious to enjoy all these sinful delights, the hamper also has a host of scrumptious snacks and beverages like Venus Healthy Cuisine Saffron Pepper, Pfanner Green Apple Drink, Merba Patisserie Cranberry Cookies and Swell Apricot Nectar. PRICE: Rs 3,500 onwards. Available in Mumbai but you can order them in other cities too by calling on these numbers: World Trade Centre: 022- 22154706/22152006; Warden Road: 022-23526775; Powai: 022-25707706; Lokhandwala: 022 26300766; Bandra : 022 6425050
3 It’s time to gift your man a spa treatment. ESPACE, the spa at Radisson MBD, NOIDA, has introduced special spa treatments for men this Valentine’s day. The treatments, says the spa manager, keep in mind the specific skin care and detoxification needs of men. The ambience is, obviously, luxurious but the therapies aim at reducing body stress while removing harmful toxins from the system.
The Gentlemen’s Retreat (back, neck and shoulder massage): The massage works on the head, neck and shoulders, relieving tension and bringing in a sense of relaxation. The treatment provides relief from back aches, relaxes the muscles and other parts of the body.
Price: Rs 1,500
Duration: 20 min
Gentlemen’s Happy Feet: Time to heal thy feet. This promises to be reflexology at its best. Specialized massage techniques, concentrating on the reflex areas of the feet will have your man falling at your feet for sure.
Price : Rs 999
Duration : 50 mins
Call (0120-4300000)
4 Go fall in love all over again this Valentine's Day. NYC & Company, the official marketing, tourism and partnership organization for the City of New York, has announced special packages for Valentine’s day, 2010. Singles, you may want to join a “crash course in dating” with some relationship experts who will, apart from giving you gyaan will also serve you Love Potion Cocktail (yikes) at Havana Central Times Square. Tickets: $15 each. If that sounds dreary, the good part is that you can join a “Valentine Speed Dating” event at Havana Central at The West End. Tickets: $59.95 each, including tax, hors d’oeuvres and one Havana Central Classic Cocktail. Cruise holidays are passé, you might want to experience walking on the clouds this Valentine’s with Liberty Helicopters, which is offering Romance Over Manhattan tour lasting 25 minutes. At the end of the tour you’ll get a souvenir photo of you and your loved one. Price: $995 onwards. For more information, visit libertyhelicopters.com. Don’t come away without the special Park Avenue Romance Package at Oasis Day Spa, which includes complementary candlelight dinner vouchers too. Price is $300. Services at the spa include a choice from aromatherapy massages, French wine facials and much more. Prices range from $70–$125 onwards. For more information, visit oasisdayspanyc.com. Mandarin Oriental New York is offering, apart from other packages, special Midnight Magic Over Manhattan spa experience. Price: $1,750+ For more information, visit mandarinoriental.com/newyork.
For more information about what to see and do in New York City, visit nycgo.com.
5 Those of you in Delhi can head away from the maddening crowds and visit KBL Farm, Number 17, Mehrauli, where well-known aroma-therapist Blossom Kochhar has set up Ishwar, her brand new spa. You can choose from a wide variety of massages and treatments, which are based on the science of aromatherapy. We would recommend her signature, deep tissue massage, which Kochar believes removes negative energy and cleans the aura. Gift your Valentine detoxifying body wraps, scrubs and facials and enjoy the day with herbal teas and healthy organic snacks. For prices and other details, dial: + 91 9711862038/9711862039
6 The Altitude Store has brought out interesting hampers for Valentine's Day. For a store that specialises in organic products, we particularly like the store's "apricot hamper", which includes apricot face scrub, soap scrub with lemongrass extracts. The hamper also includes a special hand cream as well as apricot poil and herbal tea. Visit www.thealtitudestore.com for more details. Delivery within 48 hours.
6 Quickly book this treatment for your precious Valentine. Radisson's R The Spa has a special Chocolate Indulgence treatment that has been created for Valentine's Day. This includes chocolate facial, chocolate wrap, chocolate massage and -- wow -- chocolate manicure and pedicure too.
Duration: 240 minutes
Price: Rs 7,500 ++
Where: Radisson Hotel, Delhi
Dial: +91 11 26779065
Email: rthespa@radissondel.com

Vedic Village: get well soon

Writing has been sporadic and will continue being so till next week. One, I've been caught up with too many things, including regular office work, theatre workshop, home management -- or lack of it -- and much else.
But what can one write when one of the premium spa properties in India is set ablaze by a furious mob. Yes, we are talking about Vedic Village, that amazing property tucked away 40 minutes away from central Kolkata. A resort which offers luxurious packages and therapies and is also home to many celebs and well-known personalities from different walks of life, Vedic Village had plans firmly in place for the upcoming Durga Puja. The Pujo Package for a deluxe room, for instance, is supposed to start from Rs 25,000 (two nights) and includes, besides other offers, also a spa treatment for a couple (Abhyangam or deep tissue massage/relaxing orange oil massage/vitalising back therapy and floral oil massage).
Considering the level of destruction caused due to the fire -- it didn't help that the property used a lot of thatch for its design aesthetics -- has been immense, one wonders if the packages on offer will still continue to remain for visitors.
Here's wishing the resort speedy recovery.

TT Footcare: Review

Shiivaz Spa in Mumbai also offers Shiatsu therapy









On Saturday night when I hit the sack, I experienced a throbbing ache in my knees. Though lying down in bed — after a silent prayer — should basically elevate one from all the stress, I felt just the opposite. Having had a long, tiring day at work, I thought that taking a nice shower, drinking a warm glass of milk (added to which was a pinch of turmeric), cuddling my pet dog Foxie, and hugging my husband later, would mean the end of all problems. But I suddenly experienced every tired limb crying out and despite all the comfort that one needs to sleep like a baby, I found myself struggling really hard.
It’s a reason why I took out this gift voucher from the bedside table that hubby dearest had given me nearly three weeks ago. It offered twin treatments of Shiatsu and foot reflexology: just what I needed. What followed was a trip to TT Footcare, a neighbourhood place that offers treatment for feet including the ones I’ve mentioned above besides regular pedicure too (Rs 400). I’ve always wondered how the place exists in the otherwise chaotic market which envelopes it from all sides. The market is always crowded, always buzzing and if there’s anything that exists there in perfect rhythm it is chaos.
It was, therefore, a pleasure to enter the premises of TT Footcare where suddenly one felt transported to another world altogether. First, away from the maddening din, this place was calm and quiet. There was soft, lilting music in the background (I think it was a typical combination of the Japanese harp and flute) and one knew that music therapy was already at work to soothe clients. I loved the silence, I loved the hush-hush conversations when my therapist ushered me to a room while asking her colleague to make sure that everything was in order for the therapy session. I also enjoyed my outing with a huge, leather La-Z-Boy chair, one in which I sank and curled and simply buried myself, surrendering myself to the therapist who was readying me for the sitting. What came into a small room, complete with wooden flooring, were two huge brass vessels and in one of these the therapist soaked my very tired and dull feet. But sadly, there were no rose petals floating in the brass vessels (mostly, that’s how sessions usually start in various spas). The therapist used good ol’ Dettol to clean my feet and knees after which I lay back to enjoy the session.
While her hands were deft, moving in rhythmic directions, teasing all the nasty knots in the soles of my feet, the massage with sesame oil seemed so uplifting that it made me feel instantly at ease. I could almost hear my feet thanking the masseur with every massage stroke. And even though she pressed my feet too firmly, one couldn’t complain. After all, there were nasty knots that were finally forced to disappear. If one was to write down notes on the best experiences in life, I’d certainly rate it high on my list. Ah, to close your eyes in a dimly lit, cosy room with music playing gently in the background while a therapist works skillfully to free all those aching knots in your feet, is stuff of paradise. Though I promised myself to make more notes, ask more questions, I simply sank into the plush chair and caught a blissfully lazy snooze for close to 20 minutes.
No wonder, I was reluctant to move to the first floor of the treatment centre for my 45 minutes of Shiatsu.
“Why can’t you do it here?”
“The mattress only on the first floor miss.”
Now, the first floor’s ceiling was excruciatingly low and had wooden beams jutting out and running from one end of the tiny room to another. I wish the entire session had taken place in just one room, without much movement, trudging from the ground floor to the first especially when a grand massage chair was there too.
The Shiatsu session — a Japanese therapy — where experts apply pressures on different points of the body was relaxing but somehow didn’t have the same effect as the foot reflexology session. This massage sans oils, however, is particularly good for those who don’t like the idea of undressing before therapists. So, while you’re fully clad the masseur applies firm pressures on different parts of your body. While I liked the fact that my therapist expertly massaged my shoulder region, on the whole Shiatsu didn’t work wonders for me.
What made it worse: a very nasty thud on the top of my head right after the therapy got over. I was in a trance after the massage and forgot — while the therapist didn’t warn me — of the wooden beam that lay dangerously low.
Sad.

Price: (I'm not too sure about the price since I received a gift voucher but I think it's around Rs 1,100)

What we loved
* The ambience was perfect in that it was quiet and peaceful once I stepped inside the spa centre.
* The LazyBoy is the best throne that man ever made
* The foot reflexology is awesome and for 30 minutes it really was a fantastic experience

What flopped
* The therapists at TT Footcare should ask clients which oils they prefer before the therapy starts. A friend of mine, for example, is allergic to sesame oil that was used for my foot reflexology session.
* What struck me later was the fact that TT Footcare didn’t take care to request clients to fill them in with details on oils, what they could be allergic to, whether lady clients who opted for Shiatsu had a problem lying on their stomach. Were clients suffering from other ailments?
* Though it can never be helped, the idea of shifting from one room to another for various therapies gets thumbs down from me.
* A lone orchid on the pristine white sheet, a brass vessel filled with rose petals where you bury your feet, a whiff of camphor in the distance; these are just some elements that make spa treatments more loving, more personal and more indulgent. TT Footcare doesn’t have much of all this. It should.

TT Footcare
Phone: 011 40514562 , 011 40514561
Address: 9, PVR Saket Complex, Ground Floor, Saket, Delhi- 110017
Landmark: Near PVR Cinema

Summer packages at Soukya, Bangalore

The Indian tourism ministry, on its website http://visitindia2009.incredibleindia.org/ has begun advertising a lovely spa centre from Bangalore. Called SOUKYA Indian Holistic Health Centre, http://www.soukya.com/ it has announced its 2009 wellness packages for tourists.
A Basic Ayurvedic Rejuvenation programme for 21 days, complete with accommodation, food (vegetarian cuisine which also includes fresh, organic herbal drinks), daily consultations and dietary advice, treatments, yoga programmes implemented twice every day, along with complimentary use of recreational and swimming pool facilities, costs Rs 15,812 per day.
Other programmes at the Soukya centre include Shareera (Body) treatment that concentrates on weight loss using Naturopathic hydrotherapy, Yoga and Diet Simple Ayurvedic package. (Rs.19,057 per day for a 14-day treatment) There’s also SUNDAR (Beauty) treatment that spread over 15 days this treatment offers over 66 different therapies that include natural Ayurvedic products which are anti-ageing. Additionally, guests are also given mud and herbal packs. (Rs 19,942 per day).
The most expensive treatment is Shakthi (power) treatment that’s designed to rejuvenate and soothe and calm the nerves through specially designed Ayurvedic revitalising treatments besides mud packs, reflexology and even acupressure. This is ideal for corporates and foreign tourists who obviously don’t have much time on their hands. Spread over just seven days (the minimum time you have to spend at Soukya, the programme offers as many as 42 treatments for a price of Rs 27,022 per day.

Actually, for those of you planning to travel to south India, where a plethora of spa treatments are available anyway (*beware of touts and unclean places that pass off as spa centres) it would be a good idea to make Bangalore your base, try out Soukya treatments and then proceed to different destinations. Better still, round off your India holiday with a trip to Soukya and the luxurious treatments that it offers.

*Soukya package rates (excluding taxes) valid from April 1, 2009 till September 30, 2009.
* Meals served are primarily vegetarian. Low fat, low salt and very little spice.
* No smoking and alcohol allowed on the property
* Select treatments cannot be done on women when they have their menstural cycle
* Cash, cheques, debit and credit cards (Visa, Master and American Express) accepted