Festive specials at Indian spa resorts

Celebrations just got a little more enthralling at the Kenilworth Beach Resort and Spa, Goa. This year, add a special touch to your Diwali celebrations, with a leisurely getaway to this amazing beach resort and spa getaway in Goa. The festive package at this five-star beach resort, for a three-night, four-day stay (October 16, 2009 to November 10, 2009, is Rs 30,000 for a ‘sea view’ room, Rs 27,000 for a ‘standard deluxe’ room and Rs 25,000 for a ‘garden view’ room (per couple).
The costs for single occupancy starts at Rs 21,000 and goes up to Rs 23,000 and Rs 26,000 (‘sea view’ room) respectively. For children between the age group of 10-12 years to be accommodated in the same room, the additional charges cost Rs 2,400-3,000.
Apart from gorging on cashews and port wine, you can also indulge in some sightseeing to the churches, temples and some nearby spice plantation areas. For water lovers there’s the 17,500 sq ft pool and you can use the pool and the Jacuzzi. There’s also free entry to R.E.D, the hotel’s discotheque.
The prices include buffet meals (three breakfasts, three lunches and three dinners, to be precise and children will be entitled to free ice cream coupons too.
It goes without saying that you’ll be also pampered with some irresistible spa therapies at the resort. Do indulge and share your experiences by writing a guest blog for us at SPAlendor. You can mail me on spalendor@gmail.com and I’ll definitely include your write-up on the blog. Send us pictures too.
Contact:
The Kenilworth Beach Resort
Utorda, Salcete
Tel: 91 0832 6698888
www.kenilworthhotels.com
kenilworthgoa@kenilworthhotels.com

Aura, The Park: New Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Vishakapatnam
Three new treatments from the house of Aura, Park’s very trendy spa centre have been introduced for the festive season. These rejuvenating and relaxing offers at Aura will ensure that you detox well after endless rounds of eating and binging and late night parties.
Sweets Moments – One complete hour of bliss is what you will be promised when sugarcane extracts will be used to knead your tired muscles. The “lactic acid crystals” from the sugarcane ensures in restoring the natural elasticity in the body.
Duration: One hour; price: Rs 2,150+taxes

Soothing Pumpkin – Pumpkin is rich in beta carotene and contains anti-oxidant vitamins A and C, as well as zinc and alpha-hydroxyl-acids. These properties blended with the power of sesame seeds help to reduce signs of ageing and hydrate the skin layers.
Duration: One hour; price: Rs 2,000+taxes

Kesar Kulfi - This beauty treatment is a blend of fragrant saffron (kesar) and nourishing almonds. Kesar is best known for its power of reducing facial lines. The face is gently cleansed with milk and then polished with a concoction of jaggery and semolina powder.
Duration: 1.15 hours; price: Rs 1,850+taxes

Samudra Ritual with Exotic Sea Minerals at The Park Hyatt, Goa: This has to be the season’s best offering. The Park Hyatt, Goa, is bringing together the magic of yoga and ayurveda and exotic sea minerals in a wonderfully sublime therapy called the Samudra Ritual. The three-hour luxurious and rejuvenating spa ritual with uplifting properties of natural sea based ingredients, starts with micronized marine algae body wrap, followed by marma massage and a detox facial.
The treatment begins with a steam in the private hydrotherapy room attached to the spa suite where an aromatic steam bath is prepared to optimize your experience with the therapist and the therapy. Beginning with specially blended aromatic oils that will be burning on your arrival and a private plunge pool with warm water smeared with floral extracts, the purifying welcome ritual of soaking the feet in water filled with rose petals also includes an exfoliating rock salt cleaning treatment.
The therapy commences in aesthetically-designed suites complete with soft lighting, comfy beds and aromas of oils and candles. After a “marine algae wrap”, used to dry brush the body, the warm marine mineral mix is then gently smeared over and cocooned around the body to generate heat and induce detoxification.
What follows is a traditional Marma massage, a combination of energy point stimulation and gentle strokes designed to stimulate the natural cleansing processes in the body and improve the mind-body balance. The grand finale includes a revitalizing “marine facial” where sea minerals are used to hydrate and enrich the face. This replenishing treatment helps to combat the signs of premature ageing by restoring the natural balance of the skin. Additionally, there’s an ancient herbal concoction where one could conclude with a mineral bath salt soak or saffron infused milk bath soak in their private plunge pool. A cup of organic tea in the tranquil tea lounge that follows the treatment is the best way to say a quiet thank-you for the rich experience.
Duration: 3.5 hours; Rs 9,000+tax

So stoned: Hot stone therapy session review

At Vidya Tikari Studio, besides other therapies, hot stone massage treatment is a big draw

Towards the middle of my hot stone therapy session, I find myself struggling to stay awake. My therapist has deftly cleaned my feet and massaged them in a rhythmic motion and allowed me to rest and enjoy the process of what is called hot stone massage therapy.
It’s only the beginning and I’m already comfortably – and happily -- numb at Vidya Tikari’s studio in Delhi’s Lajpat Nagar while Nancy, my therapist, begins to scrub and clean my feet. It starts bang on time and lasts for almost two hours and all this while I’m enjoying the comfort and luxury of a therapy which dates back to centuries and involves the use of basalt, a black volcanic rock that is supposed to absorb and retain heat well.
If you’re getting a complete body massage done through hot stone therapy, the stones – after a traditional Swedish massage – are placed on the “chakra” points of the body. However, I opted for hot stone therapy for my feet and found myself instantly relieved of stress when Nancy started applying pressure on certain points with the stones on my soles. This she does after she has cleaned my feet thoroughly, applied a sugar peel to “scrub away the dead skin” and then slathered and rubbed my legs with an orange-flavoured body lotion – strangely called “body wax” – from one of the very reputed brands called Oligospa. That helps. The stones, it is believed, should not come in contact with any regular cream for fear of losing their properties. No wonder then that, it’s critical to ensure that the creams used for massaging are of supreme quality.
While the main aim of the therapy is to allow the tense muscles to loosen up, the massage – though referred to as “hot stone” therapy – actually revels in the philosophy of the yin and yang. This essentially means that the “hot” therapy session includes a segment where stones dipped in cold water too are applied before ending on a “warm” note. Put simply, after a round of session with hot stones, the therapist uses a cold rub and completes the session alternating it – towards the end – with another warm massage with stones. Note: Usually therapists will not apply hot stones (they are soaked in water that is at a temperature of 120°-130° F) directly on your body. They will warm their own hands and then gently massage your body before proceeding to rub the stones directly on the body. “Your body cannot take the temperature change suddenly,” explains Nancy while applying pressure on my soles with the warm stones.
Experts suggest that those with high blood pressure and also with extremely sensitive skins should avoid hot stone therapy. If, however, you like the massage but not the high temperature at which its set, request — at the outset — to have the therapy done at a temperature that’s convenient for you.
Personally speaking, I love the heat that is generated on the soles of the feet and on the legs once the therapist starts massaging them in rhythm with the stones. I feel like I’m diving in and out of a hot spring water stream and easing all the tension away. The stones that glide in a to-and-fro motion set forth a tidy tempo that’s so critical in massages.
The grand finale includes a foot-pack powder that’s mixed generously in rose water and applied on the feet which, in turn, is encased for 15 minutes in a cling wrap! It felt a little weird initially - she even puts little stones in between my toes - but after Nancy unwrapped it, I felt a surge of freshness and coolness.
Would I recommend it? Yes. In fact, at Vidya Tikari Studio, between 11.00 am-3.00 pm, you’ll be given a 40 per cent discount too. It takes time to undergo this therapy so make sure you’re in no rush.


Price: Rs 1,000 (including taxes)
Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes
Where: Vidya Tikari Studio, New Delhi
Contact: 011-416-30940/416-35074

It's SPArty time

Picture courtesy: Vidya Tikari

There is a new trend in the India spa industry: SPArties. While my main piece on SPArties will appear in Business Standard Newspaper on Saturday (in the paper's Weekend section), I thought of drawing up a list of companies that are offering services of organising parties (with spa therapies and massages as the central theme) in the comfort of your own home. Check them out

ASAP (Any Surprise, Any Place)
This company is run by a very wonderful person whose name is Ruchi Chopra. I'd met her almost a year ago and was completely stumped by how she tranformed a simple idea into a viable career option. She started some years ago with an initial investment of Rs 50,000, most of which was put into the website. By 2007, she had made a profit of Rs 15 lakh. Anyway, Ruchi is one person you can approach and she can definitely ensure that your next party is a big hit. If spa-theme is what you want, give her an advance notice of five days and who knows, maybe your next party just might be a winner. It’s a Delhi-based company but because she claims that her network is strong, she can organize parties and even send personalized gifts.
Contact: asap.co.in
Dial: 9810888498

Tattva Spa, New Delhi/NCR
It’s a mobile spa exclusively for women, one where specialized massage therapists transform – in 15 minutes flat – your humble room into a Zen-like space, complete with aromatic candles, music, flowers, even lamps and other interesting visual placements and lighting. What the company also offers is “Tattva nectar”, complementary refreshing drinks before the Tattva treatments. I received a detailed press note explaining that Tattva Sparsa – for an intimate group looking forward to premium and luxurious services and Tattva Rejuve –for bigger groups and kitty parties -- are packages which are fast becoming a hit with clients. The charges are on a per service basis (Rs 2,000-2,500 per service, per person) for Tattva Sparsa. Tattva Rejuve is charged on a per hour basis (enjoy as many services for as many number of people). Depending on the number of people and the specific services required, the billing ranges upwards of Rs 3,500 per hour for the Rejuve package. Tattva also designs special SPArty invite for clients.
From full body massages including aromatherapy, hot stone, chocolate wraps and scrubs, to back and head massage, manicure, pedicure and floral foot spa, Tattva has promised to give me an experiential service for readers of SPAlendor. So, there will be a review on Tattva home services shortly.
Contact: Tattvaspa.com
Dial: 011-64994126, 9999835852

Bangalore Mobile Services, Bangalore
This was started in January 2008 by Rubina Guleria in Bangalore. “I was tired of fighting the traffic for spa services and my “maalishwali” wasn’t really up to the mark. I wanted the comfort of my home while also getting an expert service for therapies,” she says for reasons of launching her spa service. Gradually, it extended to clients requesting her to organize SPArties too. When I spoke to her, she was busy organizing an Arabic-theme SPAarty for her client. For corporate honchos and houses, she also organizes “spa camps” too.
Contact: bangaloremobilespa.com
Dial: +91 98449 74761 (call anytime from 08:00 hours GMT to 21:00 hours GMT)

Vidya Tikari Studio, New Delhi
Well-known beautician Vidya Tikari converted her salon into a spa zone for her personal party. Soon she was getting offers to “rent” her salon for spa parties. Give her an advance notice and she’ll ensure you and your friends don’t get disappointed with what she ends up offering. The best-seller here is hot stone therapy that her trained staff does a swell job of it I’m told. (Note: I’ve been invited to review this therapy and will write on it sometime next week for sure).
Contact: vidyatikari.in
Dial: + 91 9971426867

Antara-On-Wheels, Mumbai
Touted as Mumbai’s first mobile spa, Antara-on-wheels promises to deliver the luxuries of a day spa in the comforts of offices or homes. The therapists will come to you and even transport everything required to relax you, your employees and guests. The company has a special spa party package and can be included in dinner parties, bridal showers, baby showers, mommies night-in, girls’ time-out and birthday parties. The therapies include neck and shoulder massages, mud masks, hand and foot reflexology and back massages too.
Contact: The Club, 197 D.N Nagar, Andheri (West), Mumbai
Dial: 022 66919082

Sacred Origins, Mumbai
Another luxury mobile spa, the therapist from Sacred Origins places a floral and scented candle display along with a tray of essential oils resting on a bed of flowers. A portable music system pipes in to create the mood. And there’s even herbal tea and dry fruits on offer after the therapy. Sacred Origins’ massages range from pure aromatherapy (Rs 2,000) to the La Stone massage (Rs 3,500). The spa also offers body polishes and body wraps (Rs 1,600) and facials like the oxygen facial (Rs 4,000). You can call in its therapists and host a spa party too.
Contact: sacredorigins.net

Review: Swedish massage at Mystic Salon & Spa, Delhi

If the road – it’s a lane actually -- leading to Mystic Salon & Spa is a disaster, the therapy, which lasts for the next one hour, is just the divine intervention that’s needed. It’s a place that doesn’t disappoint. It’s a spa centre that ensures you a very polite staff, a gorgeous ambience and a luxurious setting in the midst of a maddening, bustling lane. It helps that the windows are close to 80 per cent — if not more — soundproof, it certainly helps that the rooms are plush, complete with a very Zen-like feel and immediately inviting. In short, it’s clean, rich without being overtly opulent and very, very inviting.
Having gone there just a few days ago, I found myself gazing at the vast menu of therapies that the spa offers. I took another 30 minutes to make up my mind; wondering if I should opt for Ayurveda, Thai massages or just stick to reflexology. The centre also offers other regular salon services, by the way.
I decided on the traditional Swedish massage, a heady therapy, which, according to one of the staff members at Mystic, was the best. Decision made, I was then led to the first floor of the spa where, after getting served a cool bottle of mineral water, I was staring at one of the most beautiful rooms of the space. A special mention about the interiors of the place: It was large and spacious with spectacular wooden flooring that broke into little pebble-stone islands. There were faux palm trees, a bamboo plant (to further add to that Zen-like tranquility), Jacuzzi area with luxurious Grohe fittings, a therapy bed on which – unfortunately — a wilted carnation greeted me.
Anyway, Maria, my therapist, got down to the business of kneeding different points which, in my case especially, are inflicted with stress knots. What she used was orange-flavoured oil, which had extracts of – what else – orange and what I suspected, even a hint of pepper. This feels warm on your body and is especially suited for those who are prone to dry skin. Actually, I was impressed that Maria, looking at my skin, could immediately tell it was dry. However, I do wish spa therapists – in different centres, and not just Mystic – specifically ask clients if they’re at all allergic to certain oils.
The massage felt blissful but my only concern was the Maria’s hands, though deft and soothing, were very soft on the massage. No, it felt right but considering the bundle of knots and draining energy filled inside the body, a good, firm massage was really what I’d needed. She slid and grasped and twisted and turned – gently, very gently – different parts of my body that one almost felt the rhythm in her hands. Working her way from head-to-toe, which is the main aim of this therapy, Maria tackled the neck, arms, shoulders, legs and feet and the soles of my feet, back with unequivocal ease. I even muttered, “Bless you” a dozen times, I think.
Smelling like one large, humungous orange, Maria, with her gentle smile, rounded off the 45-minute therapy with a head massage. “It’s complete,” she said finally while I struggled to rise from the most blissful stupor. In 45 minutes of surrendering myself for the massage, I’d journeyed into luxury and a state of calm, all at once. A quick shower and change and a steaming cup of frothy cappuccino with no one, just silence and a room where a faint fragrance of the orange essential oil filled the air, I was geared to face the madness of the outside world all over again.

45-minute Swedish massage treatment. Price: Rs 2,800

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

FICCI E&Y 2009 report on the Indian wellness industry

The Great Indian Tourism story isn’t exciting in 2009. The economic slowdown, the terror attacks have hit the tourism industry big time and that’s a reason why Incredible!ndia www.incredibleindia.org, as part of its new initiative has announced special tie-ups and packages with wellness centres.Interestingly, the Indian tourism ministry is in the process of finalizing a scheme wherein a tourist visiting India for medical treatments will be offered additional treatments free of cost. Of course, the logistics will still need to be worked out but the tourism ministry is set to offer a healing touch. How? For instance, a person coming for a bypass surgery from abroad will be offered a complementary skin treatment package or an Ayurvedic therapy, for that matter. Since November 2008 (immediately after the terror attacks in Mumbai) the tourism — particularly the hospitality — sector is grappling with negative numbers of tourists. No wonder, the sector is now banking on medical tourism while also offering valuable add-ons. While the ministry is already in advance discussions with major hospitals like Apollo, Moolchand, Fortis and Wockhardt to offer patients complementary treatments, a clearer picture should come out soon. “Roping spa centre operators into the scheme for tourism India is a very conscious decision,” confirms a spokesperson.

That wellness is high on the radar of Indian tourism is evident from the success that the Indian wellness services market has witnessed. According to the latest study by FICCI and Ernst & Young, the wellness industry — currently estimated at Rs 110 billion — will continue to remain buoyant and has the potential to sustain at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of approximately 30-35 per cent for the next five years. The FICCI-E&Y report, Wellness: Exploring the Untapped Potential, has classified the wellness industry into seven core segments within different products and services such as allopathy, alternative therapies, beauty, counselling, fitness/slimming, nutrition and rejuvenation. Of these, rejuvenation services such as spas, alternative therapies, ayurveda treatments and beauty services are expected to show growth rates as high as 30 per cent. At the same time, fitness comprising gyms and slimming centers are expected to grow by more than 25 per cent. Nutrition products, including dietary supplements, health food and drinks have shown a growth rate of 8-10 per cent, whereas allopathy as a segment was not classified due to its traditional linkage to healthcare. According to the report, the increasing level of activity is arising from the entry of several providers such as organised Indian and international players; expansion by existing companies to new product categories and regions; strategic alliances across the value chain, interest by private equity investors and also players in allied industries like hotels and real estate entering the wellness segments. The report also points to a trend of players moving towards offering a ‘one-stop-solution’ for all wellness-based needs by adding more products and services across various segments in wellness. In terms of payback and gestation periods, products such as health foods and drinks, dietary supplements and alternative medicines require greater investments, normally exceeding Rs 25 crore or more, says the report, with paybacks ranging from 3-6 years. At the same time, services such as ayurveda treatment, alternative treatment centers, salons etc require much lower investment and also have lower paybacks of upto three years.

* Picture courtesy: Aura

Green tea spa treatments

I was speaking to a friend about spalendor.blogspot.com and she was kind enough to tell me about this very unique spa in the heart of Kurseong. Nestled in the midst of tea gardens in north East India, it’s a wellness resort which specializes in — what else — tea massages besides other therapies. My friend, who has experienced a green tea facial here (60 minutes, Rs 400) swears by it, claims that the perfect ambience and the trained therapists with their amazing skill make a trip to this resort a truly memorable one. Called the Cochrane Place, the resort offers yoga and pranayama sessions, Ayurvedic treatments, in addition to what they call, Himalayan Spa.
Cochrane Place is on the outskirts of the main town and is essentially a restored British colonial home. One of the best things about engaging in spa sessions here is the fact that you’re gently teased by the aroma of Darjeeling tea, gardens of which surround the entire property. Not surprising then that many guests opt for tea spa treatments here. While the green tea facial is there, there’s also an ayurvedic “leaf-bag massage” especially created to relieve body aches and pains (Rs 750 for 45 minutes; Rs 800 for 60 minutes).
Do give their website http://www.imperialchai.com/ a look to find out other details. While at it, I also suggest you take a look at one of the tickers which advertise an interesting site called calcuttawalks.com. Cochrane Place has just announced some of its new packages and maybe you’d like to give this place a try this summer.

Incidentally, Delhi's Galaxy Hotel (pitched as India's first lifestyle hotel complete with five-star services, spa and shopping centre) does a unique body wrap with green tea extracts that are mixed with multani mitti (Fullers earth) and sandalwood powder which makes the skin feel younger and lighter. Green tea is said to have anti-oxidant properties which detoxify the skin. This treatment is available for Rs 950 and lasts for a luxuriating 45 minutes.
Happy spa holidaying, then.

* picture courtesy: Cochrane Place