Taking the waters at Jakarta's most elegant spa<\/p>\n
Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
As I schlepped my considerable personage in shorts and sandals
\nthrough the silent courtyard of The Dharmawangsa in South
\nJakarta, past the L-shaped swimming pool with its surrounding
\ntrees gently bowing in the twilight, I wondered what lay ahead
\nfor me at my 6:30 p.m. spa appointment.<\/p>\n
Despite appearances to the contrary, I have become somewhat of
\na health treatment junkie. I have given in to the luxury of hot
\noil head massages during an Ayurvedic treatment in Sri Lanka,
\nimmersed myself in a jet water treatment at Le Meridien's Le Spa
\nhere and felt like I had been transported to an Henri Rousseau
\npainting as I looked out, bleary eyed, from the massage table to
\nthe dense tropical foliage outside at the newly revamped Hotel
\nMulia's spa and fitness center.<\/p>\n
At other times of the week, I have beat a retreat to the
\nintimate, calming surroundings of the Kemang Day Spa (hopefully
\nthe rumors of its impending demise will come to naught).<\/p>\n
A spa is a spa is a spa, right? Not quite: As I lay back for
\nthree and a half hours at the Bimasena Spa, scrubbed down,
\nkneaded, wrapped in plastic like an oversized turkey and given a
\nrelaxing facial to finish the night off, it was the little
\ndetails that made a difference.<\/p>\n
From the careful attention to not filling the bathtub too full
\nbefore I stepped in (no flooding, please!) to the spa attendant,
\nAndi, keeping the soothing music at just the right volume, every
\ncarefully thought out touch was superb.<\/p>\n
I got the chance to savor this lap of luxury thanks to the
\nmedia gathering for the tie-up between The Dharmawangsa's
\nBimasena and Decleor, a French producer of skin-care products
\nbased on the principles of aromatherapy and phytotherapy (herbal
\ntreatments).<\/p>\n
If it seems that every Johnny come lately is jumping on the
\nbandwagon in offering fragrant oils passing as aromatherapy, the
\nFrench company, now affiliated with Japan's Shisheido, has been
\nproducing products with aromatic oils since 1974, said Decleor
\nIndonesia's Catherine as she gave us a guided tour of the spa's
\namenities.<\/p>\n
\"Breathe it in,\" she said as she dabbed some iris essential
\noil on my palm and launched into an explanation of the Aroma-Duo
\nprinciple of the products.<\/p>\n
First, the skin is \"prepared\" with an aromaessence, a
\nnongreasy solution which serves to cleanse and balance the
\nepidermis. This is followed by a treatment suited to the
\nparticular needs of the customer, whether it is using a lotion,
\nfoam, cream or gel. The skin-care range offers products for all
\nskin types, including \"mature\", as well as a selection for men
\nand whitening products.<\/p>\n
The products are available in some of the capital's department
\nstores, but it's a pretty exclusive range, which is in keeping
\nwith The Dharmawangsa's classic and classy image.<\/p>\n
\"We spoke to various people in the industry, and Decleor's
\nname kept on coming up,\" said Ron Cusiter, regional director of
\nmarketing for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, the exclusive
\n\"collection\" of hotels of which The Dharmawangsa is a member.<\/p>\n
\"Like most things in life, personal reputation goes a long
\nway.\"<\/p>\n
Cusiter said that each Rosewood member hotel offered its own
\nindividual sense of place but with the same upholding of
\nstandards. Thus, The Dharmawanga's elegant, rarefied air of an
\naristocratic Javanese home is very different from the famed New
\nYork City landmark of the 35-story Carlyle Hotel, but they still
\nhave the perks and privileges that Fortune 500 CEOs expect.<\/p>\n
It's class with a capital C; its lobby bears no resemblance,
\nfor instance, to that five-star hotel which is a shady spot for
\nshady characters in what resembles Jean-Paul Gaultier's take on
\nLucretia Borgia's boudoir. But for the rest of us minions who
\ncannot afford to shell out the US$300 or so for the night, we can
\nstill plump for an occasional spa treatment.<\/p>\n
There are spa facials, hydrotherapy, massage and body
\ntreatments, including a Javanese traditional scrub, and even a
\nluxurious chocolate massage and scrub. I can vouch that my
\ntreatment was a little piece of heaven, but at prices ranging
\nfrom Rp 125,000 ++ for a body glow exfoliation to Rp 1,250,000
\nfor the chocolate wallow, it may have to be a treat reserved for
\nonce in a blue moon.<\/p>\n
Bimasena Spa<\/p>\n
Jl. Dharmawangsa Raya No. 39, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta<\/p>\n
Tel. 021-725-8668<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/taking-the-waters-at-jakartas-most-elegant-spa-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }