LA SAMANNA SPA: THE WARMTH OF ST. MARTIN
Editor's Note: Since our review this spa has changed from Eylsées Spa to La Samanna Spa.
by Roberta Sotonoff
The white sand beach that curves along Baie Longue is almost deserted. A lone walker stops and feels the warmth of St. Martin.
The climate, the water, the tropical breezes and the people are all warm on the dual nation of St. Maarten/St. Martin. It is everywhere, especially at la Samanna Spa at the ultra-chic La Samanna hotel in French St. Martin. A profusion of tropical plants surrounds the Mediterranean-style spa. Massage treatment rooms have walled gardens with outdoor showers and the sound of a cascading waterfall.
Samanna’s contribution to warmth is its signature treatment, Moxa. The 90-minute therapy combines the Chinese principles of acupuncture with European herbs and massage. The goal of acupuncture is to reach the Tsin Chen meridian, a deep energy driver, via Tsin Kan, a more superficial one.
Pascale Panot, a French therapist who came to La Samanna for the season and still hasn’t left, has her own variation on the treatment. Instead of needles, she uses a cigar-like stick -- the moxa. It is made of armoise – a European herb -- and musk. The heat and the herbal dry stick release “Tsin Kan.”
Panot begins this therapy by questioning the guest about stress and physical problems. Her English is iffy so if your French isn’t up to par, this part can be a little tricky.
She then lights the stick. When it starts to smoke, it is placed above a pressure point. “
It helps pain to go out,” says assistant spa manager, Melanie LaCroix.
When the client feels discomfort, the moxa is moved to another acupuncture meridian, such as the abdomen, between the toes, the back, or between the eyes.
The moxa brings warmth and relaxation -- for a little while, anyway. When the second stage begins, that all changes. A pinching pressure is applied to the hands, feet, parts of the face and the plexus -- until you cry, “uncle.” Well, it isn’t that masochistic. Panot ceases the pressure as soon as the client tells her the pressure is too much.
The next phase, the massage, is total relaxation. Panot rubs the client’s body with a mixture of lavender oil and wheat germ. The lavender has a pleasant, but heady aroma. Then she alternates between gentle strokes and those that seem to penetrate deep into the muscles – a loving but stern mother comes to mind.
The 90 minutes fly by. For some people, it is totally restful. Not everyone feels that way. With the alternating gentle and strong strokes, heat and then pressure, there is a duality effect.
“The result depends on what has happened in your life and what is on your mind. Some people are happy and some cry,” says LaCroix.
Even if the moxa treatment seems a little intense or costly (€260), many clients have several of them during their La Samanna stay. Others opt for the spa’s other offerings like 4 Hands Massage (two therapists), hot stone, Thai, Shiatsu and couples massages. Traditional and Swedish massages are on the spa menu as well as the usual -- facials, body polishes, wraps --and the unique -- a bust firming treatment.
After a treatment, the client often feels so relaxed, she will want to be hauled away on a gurney. In that case, dining out might not be an option. Dinner at La Samanna will keep you in that chilled out mode and the breezes at dining room’s patio will keep you warm. The restaurant is perched high above the sea and its background music is the sound of waves sweeping the shore. Tiki lights illuminate the beach so even in the dark you can see crescent-shaped Longue Baie stretching across this shoreline.
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At other times, one might want to sample St. Maarten/St. Martin’s gourmet restaurants. Both the Dutch and French sides are renowned for excellent cuisine. Because many of bistros in the village of Grand Case are located in several hundred-year-old, colonial gingerbread houses, there is not only the mouth-watering food, but also a charming ambience.
Of course, one can feel the island’s heat by lulling on one of its myriad of beaches or partaking of its Caribbean waters. Besides the usual water sports, there is the 12-Metre Challenge. Forget the sun and the race. The beer you chug on board will warm you. Old hands and novices alike can participate in an abbreviated America’s Cup race aboard authentic America’s Cup crafts like Dennis Connor's winning Stars and Stripes or the Canada II – both contenders in the famous 1987 race.
St. Martin also gives you the option of using that pent up energy on the turf --or above it-- instead of the surf. The Fly Zone is a series of cables, ropes, suspended bridges and suspended steps high in the jungle canopy. And warmth? You sweat as you soar, swing and gingerly make your way through this fun and sometimes challenging obstacle course at the Loterie Farm.
After that experience, you will need another spa treatment.
For more information: www.lasamanna.com.
Roberta Sotonoff is an Illinois-based freelance writer.
