Spa Reviews
San Miguel’s cosmetic surgery retreat now welcomes spa goers
by Anne Dimon
For the last 15 years, Casa Marino, a Spanish Colonial home in a quiet, residential neighbourhood of San Miguel de Allende, has been a vacation retreat for cosmetic surgery patients. Following a three-night hospital stay, “guests usually stay here for about a week,” says co-owner and certified yoga instructor Malinda Marino.
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Over the years, this Miami/San Miguel mother and daughter business, known as Face Lift Mexico, has been offering guests accommodations and recuperative spa treatments and yoga sessions, and now they have opened their doors to visitors and residents of San Miguel as Esencia Yoga Spa Retreat.
Marino, a certified Bikram Yoga instructor, who moved here about six and a half years ago says, "we want to set ourselves apart from the many, many spas here in San Miguel." Marino, see herself as a caregiver, and tells me she wants "to offer luxury at affordable prices."
And, the prices (noted here in U.S. dollars) are definitely on the affordable side: A pedicure is about $20 and you can add a 90- minute reflexology treatment to that for an additional $15. Excellent value. A 60- minute facial is less than $60, as is the Deep Tissue or Lymphatic Massage. The two-hour body treatments are under $150. The environment is more homey than what you'd expect of a spa and that is what the owners intended - a comfortable, relaxed environment for recuperation.
Upon entering, you remove your shoes (a selection of reusable slippers is provided), make your way past the kitchen, through the living room which acts as a waiting area, and up the stairs to three private guestrooms, a mani/pedi area with a stone fireplace and, just beyond, a yoga studio that does double duty as a treatment room, as required.
Mostly, treatments are offered in the privacy of one of three quest rooms. That's, of course, if they are not housing cosmetic surgery guests. The larger guestroom opens out onto a terrace, and all guests have access to a rooftop sun deck with lounge chairs, a sunken whirlpool and a lovely view of the neighbourhood.
From here it's about a 15 minute walk to the Plaza Principal in the heart of San Miguel.
This mother and daughter-run business will continue to offer accommodations and care for cosmetic surgery patients, but now the public will also have access to their spa services and yoga classes. More on Escencia. More on San Miguel
