Delicious Spa Experiences Great for the Body
Good Enough to Eat
LONDON, UK, January 13, 2006. Great Hotels of the World, the luxury hotel marketing alliance, are home to some of the most luxurious spas and lavish wellbeing centres in the world. Many of the spas use edible food products for their signature treatments, which are just as nutritious and nourishing for the face and body as they are for the palate. Many treatments on the world's top spa menus feature carefully selected home-grown indigenous herbs and spices which are fused with ingredients such as tropical fruits and fresh vegetables, all well-known for their active beneficial properties and healing benefits.
Movenpick Hotel & Resort, Beirut
Ingredients: dark chocolate, ground almonds, cocoa, milk, hot chocolate
For those with a sweet tooth, the signature 'Chocoholic Delight' treatment at the Movenpick Hotel & Resort Beirut is the perfect way to get a chocolate fix without the calories. Over a three-hour treatment, a layer of smooth dark chocolate and ground almonds is gently blended into the skin to leave you radiantly exfoliated, before stepping in to a luxuriate bath of chocolate cocoa and milk to leave your skin silky smooth, while the therapist soothes away your tensions with a scalp massage and wraps you in a dark chocolate envelope. You can feel your temperature rise as the cocoa, in its most abundant form, provides nutrients to your skin. The day finishes with a full body rub in chocolate body lotion before being served a steaming mug of hot chocolate.
Incosol Hotel Medical Spa, Spain
Ingredients: grape juice, lavender honey, fondant, black Brazilian coffee, Macedonian juniper berries, chocolate fondant mousse, black cinnamon pepper, Madagascan clove, Gianduja chocolate oil. Another popular cocoa-themed treatment is available at the Incosol Hotel Medical Spa in Spain, which is described as one of the best spa hotels in southern Europe. The 'Chocotherapy' treatment uses derivatives of cocoa for its drainage, reducing, remineralising and stimulating effects. The treatment begins by covering the body with Sangiovese grape juice of Chianti Toscano and lavender honey. Ambrosia (concentrate fondant, black Brazilian coffee and Macedonian juniper berries) is then added using a light massage and while this develops, chocolate fondant mousse, black cinnamon pepper and a Madagascan clove are rubbed on. The pressured wrapping and uniform movements of the hands facilitate the absorption of the components and increase its therapeutic functions. After a plastic heated-sheet for 15-20 minutes is applied, the components are then washed off by a shower or a wet bath mitten and finally a Gianduja chocolate oil (a mix of cocoa and almonds) is massaged in.
Columbia Beach Resort, Cyprus
Ingredients: lemons, oranges, honey, sea salt, sag, oregano, lavender
The spa at Columbia Beach Resort in Cyprus harvests special indigenous fruits grown from their citrus groves. These are carefully selected for many of their speciality packages to create unique signature treatments. The Cypriot citrus fruits of lemons and oranges as well as honey and sea salt are fused with other local herbs to uplift the spirit and detoxify the body. During the spa's 'Orange Peeling' signature treatment, an aroma massage using home-grown herbs such as sage, oregano and lavender is applied to the body in a herbal wrap for total relaxation. The salt and honey body mask is a treatment used particularly during the winter months. Using local honey and sea salt, the full body treatment is designed to nourish and smooth the skin, replenishing and moisturising it to help combat the effects of the cold and central heating.
Blue Palace Resort & Spa, Crete
Ingredients: sesame essential oil, sesame seeds, olive seed grains, milk, fruit, herbs, seeds
Many other leading Greek spa resorts base their treatments on ancient philosophies and traditional recipes and use only local home-grown livestock milk, fruits, herbs and seeds of the Grecian earth. The Blue Palace Resort & Spa in Crete uses a 'Sesame Delicate Scrub' to exfoliate delicate skin types using sesame essential oil and sesame seeds under a rain bath. This treatment is complimented by the 'Elounda Deep Face Peeling with Olive', a purifying face peeling by the grains of the olive seeds.
Thalassa Hotel, Cyprus
Ingredients: organic olive oil, sea salt, fresh herbs, yoghurt, oats
The Anagenisis Spa at the Thalassa hotel in Cyprus also takes a holistic approach to its therapies, taking ingredients from ancient Greek remedies such as organic olive oil, sea salt, fresh herbs and yoghurt for wholeness, purity and radiance. The 'Trahana Wrap' for example, uses goat yoghurt mixed with oats and olive oil crushed with mountain herbs to improve your complexion.
Sungate Port Royal Deluxe Resort, Turkey
Ingredients: fresh fruit and vegetables, beer, Swedish herbs
As home to the second largest spa in the world, The Sungate Port Royal Deluxe Resort in Turkey is a pampering haven specialising in both Eastern therapeutic and massage methods as well as more unusual treatments. Many facial treatments are based on the individual's zodiac sign, from which a mask of a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables are selected to re-invigorate the skin. Guests can also enjoy a beer bath, a Swedish herbal steam bath and an oriental body peel in the 8,000sqm luxury spa.
Sant'e Winelands Hotel and Wellness Centre, South Africa
Ingredients: Shiraz, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon
The Sant'e Winelands Hotel and Wellness Centre in South Africa is only the second spa in the world to offer 'Vinotherapy(R)', a unique wine-inspired application using grape-seed therapy. For their signature treatment, the spa selects grapes from its own surrounding vineyards to produce exclusive grape-seed oil which is applied through a healing combination of massages, hydrotherapy and body scrubs. The treatment incorporates the health-giving benefits of anti-ageing, protection against heart disease and cancer in a variety of fusions including the Shiraz Body Scrub, the Chardonnay Cocoon Wrap (an application of crushed grapes and skins) and the Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Casket Bath (set in a custom built 'wine cellar').
Raffles Le Montreux Palace
Ingredients: caviar, herbs
The Swiss hotel of Raffles Le Montreux Palace favours a luxurious 'Caviar Facial' as their signature treatment. The caviar is sourced from the ancient fishing grounds of the Caspian Sea and is renowned as the ultimate in anti-ageing therapy due to its intense moisturising, skin regenerating, mineralising and antioxidant protection benefits. The spa also uses a variety of herbal oils and detoxification treatments taken from the Ayurveda practice - the ancient Hindu science of health and medicine.
Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort and Spa, Mexico
Ingredients: coconut, milk, tropical lime, honey, cucumber, herbs,
The Serenity Spa at the Presidente InterContinental Cozumel Resort and Spa on the Cozumel Island in Mexico combines both ancient Mayan traditions and modern-day local ingredients of fruits and herbs. One of its traditional world-class treatments is a sanctifying holistic act involving a purifying cleansing smoke ritual and a waterfall shower before being wrapped in an exotic coconut rub and milk wrap for purification and wellbeing. They are also renowned for their tropical lime, honey and cucumber facials which are administered after another Mexican ritual known as the 'Temazcal' - a detoxifying steam treatment infused with natural herbs. It takes place in a small domed structure which holds in the heat of hot stones and is recommended for eliminating stress. -cozumel
Lighthouse Hotel & Spa, Sri Lanka
Ingredients: coconut, honey, sesame, cucumber ... lobster and lamb!
Using massage facials, rejuvenation and oriental traditions, the newly opened Serena Spa at the Lighthouse Hotel & Spa in Sri Lanka offers cool-inducing therapies to enhance and revive their sun-loving guests. Using traditional restoratives of ancient herbs and spices, treatments include a 'Rehydrating Coconut Delight', a 'Honey Sesame Body Glow' and an 'After-Sun Cucumber Wrap' - which is well known for its skin healing properties and cooling benefits. For honeymooners and couples, one of the spa's other signature features is the Adam and Eve Spa Dining Experience, where the spa is converted to a candlelit dining area to host your private three-course lobster and lamb dinner!
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