DEAD SEA SPAS - JORDAN AND ISRAEL
By Roberta Sotonoff
It’s amazing that the Dead Sea which cannot sustain life is awash with human health benefits.
Sitting 1,312 feet below sea level, twenty-one different minerals, including healing magnesium, soothing calcium, calming bromide, potassium, a popular relaxant, plus copper and zinc permeate its water and mud.
Those who sample its offerings, especially arthritis sufferers, swear by it.
And here’s some good news for sun worshippers. The sun’s deadly rays cannot penetrate the area because of a thick layer of ozone. No wonder resort spas line its east shore at Ein Bokek, Israel and Sweimeh, Jordan on the west side.
Here are two resort spas we visited:
LE MERIDIEN DEAD SEA
Visitors can enjoy the area’s perks at Le Meridien Dead Sea on Ein Bokek Beach, about a two-and-a-half hour drive from Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport.
One of the largest and most plush resorts on the Israeli side, the property’s lavish lobby brims with sculptures and artwork by Israeli artists.
A huge, state-of-the-art spa offers so many services, its menu reads like a laundry list. Massage, facials, baths and wraps employ techniques such as reflexology, Ayurveda, Shiatsu, Thai, Lomi Lomi, and the regulars that you’d expect at most spas.
An unusual offering, the Phytomer bath contains “Cleopatra milk.” You just might come away from this treatment feeling like the Queen of the Nile. Prices are slightly less than you’d pay at comparable spas in Canada or the U.S.
There’s a salon plus a health club. Jacuzzis, indoor/ outdoor saltwater pools, two sulphur pools wet and dry saunas help you to chill out after working up a sweat in the modern fitness room. In addition, sports medicine, alternative medicine and post-operative surgery recovery are available at the resort’s on-site medical center.
But even with all these offerings, most visitors opt for salt and mud treatments.
The more adventurous have a mud scalp wrap. Many guests get exfoliated with salt or have themselves slathered in mud. After it sets, they take a plunge into the salt pool or the sea. Water babies can hop a shuttle to Le Meridien’s private, rust-colored sand beach or take a dip in the largest, freshwater, outdoor pool in Ein Bokek.
MÖVENPICK RESORT & SPA DEAD SEA
On the other side of the Dead Sea, the waterfront Mövenpick conjures up images of Lawrence of Arabia flying over the sands on his trusty camel. The resort resembles a dessert fortress in a lush oasis. Mövenpick, about a 90-minute drive from Amman, Jordan’s Queen Alia Airport, is laid out as a series of ‘villages.” Golf carts ferry guests from place to place.
Mud-filled vats sit at the waterfront and many guests swathe themselves from head to toe with the gook. Others just wade into the water and float. The high concentration of salt makes it impossible to drown.
Zara Spa is large but comfortable. Though it offers many different treatments and techniques like Shiatsu, reflexology and Swedish massage, the facility specializes in therapies that use Dead Sea products. The salt exfoliation includes a trip to a circular shower with about 10 heads. Prices are about the same as one would expect to find in Canada or the U.S.
Other than the spa, there is a fitness room, yoga classes, three pools, including a hydro pool. The Therapy Centre utilizes holistic procedures. The hotel’s also boasts nine different themed restaurants, so you’ll never go hungry.
Roberta Sotonoff is an Illinois-based travel writer who visited Jordan and Israel with the support of Indus Travels and the Israel Ministry of Tourism
