SINGAPORE: GRAZING FROM A BUFFET OF SPAS
by Anne Dimon
A sidewalk sandwich board for the Kenko Wellness Spa reads Express Shoulder Massage – 20 minutes, now $20S (about $14 Cdn.) It’s a sign that might raise a few eyebrows on North American city streets but in cosmopolitan Singapore, where alternative and preventive treatments and therapies are an ingrained part of the Asian culture, such signs are common. Inside Kenko’s street-front “store” that is a more of a walk-in clinic then a spa, there’s a small lobby and an adjacent room with five reflexology beds and five massage chairs. Lined up along two walls with beds separated by sheer curtains it looks more like an intimate hospital ward than a spa. Three clients are being “worked on” another three of us wait our turn. Twenty minutes later I’m lying on the bed with therapist Sarah Lee attacking my feet with fingers, thumbs and knuckles. Twenty minutes later, battery recharged, it’s off to shop Chinatown and sample the Red Peach.
RED PEACH
Located on the second and third floors of a traditional Singapore shop house, the Red Peach (named for a once famous and high-class Chinese brothel) gives visitors a glimpse of the past. Many of the building’s original features – such as wooden beams, doors and floors – deliver a sense of place. There is also a sense of serenity far removed from the retail bustle of the shop-lined streets below. There are ten treatment rooms spread over two floors including two Tatami rooms for Thai Massage.
One of these Tatami rooms is also used to serve guests a welcoming chilled tea made from ginseng and chrysanthemum. I’m booked for the Asian Blend Massage (60 min. about $70) a combo Balinese, Hawaiian Lomi Lomi and Chinese massage techniques plus Shiatsu from Japan. The treatment begins with 10 minutes of steam followed by a shower. Lying face down on the treatment table I feel the therapist climb up, straddling me with knees on either side and begin to work on the back with what seems to be her full body weight. Long calculated strokes combine with palm and thumb techniques – later when her feet again touch the floor some stretching is added. The mix of clientele here is half tourists and half locals with just slightly more women clients then men. Dropping by for a treatment is a nice way to break-up a day of perusing for bargains.
SPA BOTANICA
Away from the cacophony of Chinatown and gleaming malls of central Singapore plan to spend a peaceful day on Sentosa Island. Just a 20-minute taxi ride from downtown, visitors go for the beaches, golf, countless attractions and Spa Botanica.
Built on a healing plantation, Spa Botanica sits in a garden setting with pavilions for outdoor treatments, a women-only area with swimming pool, cascading water feature, a meditation labyrinth and a mud pool. Smear the therapeutic mud all over the bod, let it dry up in the sun then take the plunge to wash it off.
Inside the spa there are 14 treatment rooms and a full menu of services. There is even a test lab where staff prepares products like the papaya wrap and mixes massage oils such as lavender and lemon for relaxing, rosewood and cedarwood for balancing. I’m booked for the 90-minute Warm Tibetan Oil and Clay Massage (about $127). A quick loofa to remove dead cells, then a massage with oil mixed with – mud. The therapist explains that the therapeutic mud is added to the oil mixture making it slightly grainy and allowing tissues to be worked more effectively. A shower washes it all off then it’s tea time in the relaxation area. In the distant you can just the skyscrapers of the port city. Eliminate the treatment and Spa Botanica is still a lovely, relaxing way to spend a day. Cost is about $21 for use of outdoor facilities including the therapeutic mud pool.
MANDARIN ORIENTAL
My favourite stop on this spa hopping holiday was the Mandarin Oriental. From the moment you walk through the gleaming wood and brass door into the spa reception area – you feel that you’re someplace special. It’s a combination of serenity, soft lighting, aroma, upscale Asian deco and thoughtful attention to detail – like the small bowls placed inside lockers to hold jewelry - but mostly it’s the nurturing and caring disposition of the staff. The therapeutic massage was one of the best I’ve had anywhere – lots of attention to the back and the so-called “laptop hunch.”
The proverbial icing on the cake is the relaxation area – six semi-private cubicles each with comfortable lounge beds, bedside lights, sound system, earphones and each draped for privacy. It’s a treatment onto itself. In another draped cubical on the other side of the room, a male client – thinking he’s alone – sighs and says “ahhhh, this is good.” He’s got that right!
For more information:
www.kenko.com.sg
www.mandarinoriental.com
www.beaufort.com.sg
www.visitsingapore.com and www.stb.com.sg are good sources of information on Singapore.