Travel To Wellness Inc.

MEXICO: HOSTERIA LAS QUINTAS, CUERNAVACA

by Anne Dimon

Located about a ninety-minute drive from Mexico City, in the Colonial city of Cuernavaca, Hosteria Las Quintas is an intimate walled-in resort landscaped with gardens, fountains and statues. The two-story spa is located in a separate building just steps from villas housing modern guest rooms with air-conditioning, cable and whirlpool tubs. Orlando Hidalgo, spa director and owner, opened this eco-spa about eight years ago. He says it was the first spa in North American to introduce an eco-adventure concept combining a spa experience with daily eco-tours to nearby cultural, historic and archeological sites. The program, he says, has helped Las Quintas get away from the "standard sameness of top spas." Tour options include such outings as hiking along a mountain trail to the pyramid town of Tepoztlan, walking the steep cobblestone streets of the silver mining town of Taxco, or barging the canals of Xochimilco known as the Floating Gardens. "It's validating to get out and meet the local culture," says Hidalgo, "otherwise, this place could be anywhere." He acknowledges that the program makes the destination more appealing to a greater number of male guests because "it's not just about the spa but the whole vacation experience." Other scheduled activities include classes and workshops on tai-chi, yoga, survival Spanish, Latin dance and meditation.

The "float spa" is just one item on a full menu of spa services and treatments available at the upscale Hosteria Las Quintas Resort & Spa in Cuernavaca, Mexico and, if a spa treatment can be simultaneously compelling and intimidating, than this is it. There's a lot of talk among clients: should I? shouldn't I? Can I handle one hour "locked" inside this dark, tank-like receptacle? It's definitely not for the claustrophobic.

Tucked under a thatched hut located on the spa's rooftop lounge overlooking the private pool area, this float capsule looks like an industrial-sized dryer. It beckons - but not invitingly. I'm left alone to disrobe, crawl in and close the door behind me. A quick check confirms that yes the door can be easily opened from within. Once inside this dark, rectangular space about the size of a single waterbed, you lie down in about a foot of silky-soft, body temperature, salt water, floating with just your face above the water line. No sounds, no smells, complete darkness except for a tiny green coin-sized light in one corner.

You're left alone with your inner thoughts and feelings. Could get messy depending on your state of mind. Soon you begin to listen to the sounds of your internal organs: the ping and gurgle of the digestive system, the rhythmic thumping of the heart. After a while, you can almost hear the blood rushing through your veins. The ultimate benefit is deep relaxation and a clearer sense of self. According to the brochure it provides the body with the equivalent of four hours of deep sleep. "It's like you're totally checked-out," says Athena Golianis of Chicago. She's here with a gal pal on a weeklong getaway.

The sounds of soft, piped-in music end this one-hour session with your inner self. When you sit up, your head feels very heavy - all that salt water (or too much thinking) - and you feel a little disoriented. Outside, the sky seems bluer, the sun warmer, the timid breeze sweeter and the chirping birds more musical.

Back to reality, it's time for a pedicure. Not one of the best I've had, a little fast and perfunctory for my liking but the Swedish massage that follows at the hands of Marcele more than makes up for it. Even the ears and toes do not escape his magic touch.

Another spa offering that can be logged under the not-your-average-treatment file is the Temazcal, or Aztec Sweat Lodge. It's 6:00 p.m. when our little group of four meet up with Juan Manuel Prieto, the Temazcal leader who will take us through this healing and purifying ritual. He explains that the ceremony, practiced by the Aztecs for thousands of years, helps create a "born again" feeling. He says it totally cleanses body, mind and soul, "releasing about two pounds of toxins." Before we enter the sweat lodge - think of a stone igloo - our personal auras are purified with Copal, an aromatic tree resin (smells like an old church). We also perform a salutation to the Cardinal Points - North, South, East, West and Centre. Inside, the only light is a single candle, and there's a central pit of hot rocks around which we sit on cool tiles. As Prieto adds water to the rocks to raise the temperature, the lodge fills with thick steam creating a sauna effect. As the temperature subsides and the air clears, he asks permission of the group then adds more water. As the steam and the temperature rises and falls, he talks us through the journey of spiritual cleaning ridding the mind and body of negative energies and increasing the positive. We're asked to mentally recall moments in our lives - the happiest, the funniest, the experience we would most like to forget. The people we love. We can share our thoughts with the group or keep them to ourselves.

The session ends with our freshly "detoxed" bodies wrapped in warm blankets, lying on straw mats, sipping herbal and honey tea under the heavens. Tonight, an added treat: it's the feast of the Virgin of Guadaloupe and there's a fireworks display. Totally relaxed and peaceful, there's a prevailing feeling of floating - this time not on salt water but on purely positive thoughts and energy.