Taking the waters at Jakarta's most elegant spa

Bruce Emond, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

As I schlepped my considerable personage in shorts and sandals through the silent courtyard of The Dharmawangsa in South Jakarta, past the L-shaped swimming pool with its surrounding trees gently bowing in the twilight, I wondered what lay ahead for me at my 6:30 p.m. spa appointment.

Despite appearances to the contrary, I have become somewhat of a health treatment junkie. I have given in to the luxury of hot oil head massages during an Ayurvedic treatment in Sri Lanka, immersed myself in a jet water treatment at Le Meridien's Le Spa here and felt like I had been transported to an Henri Rousseau painting as I looked out, bleary eyed, from the massage table to the dense tropical foliage outside at the newly revamped Hotel Mulia's spa and fitness center.

At other times of the week, I have beat a retreat to the intimate, calming surroundings of the Kemang Day Spa (hopefully the rumors of its impending demise will come to naught).

A spa is a spa is a spa, right? Not quite: As I lay back for three and a half hours at the Bimasena Spa, scrubbed down, kneaded, wrapped in plastic like an oversized turkey and given a relaxing facial to finish the night off, it was the little details that made a difference.

From the careful attention to not filling the bathtub too full before I stepped in (no flooding, please!) to the spa attendant, Andi, keeping the soothing music at just the right volume, every carefully thought out touch was superb.

I got the chance to savor this lap of luxury thanks to the media gathering for the tie-up between The Dharmawangsa's Bimasena and Decleor, a French producer of skin-care products based on the principles of aromatherapy and phytotherapy (herbal treatments).

If it seems that every Johnny come lately is jumping on the bandwagon in offering fragrant oils passing as aromatherapy, the French company, now affiliated with Japan's Shisheido, has been producing products with aromatic oils since 1974, said Decleor Indonesia's Catherine as she gave us a guided tour of the spa's amenities.

"Breathe it in," she said as she dabbed some iris essential oil on my palm and launched into an explanation of the Aroma-Duo principle of the products.

First, the skin is "prepared" with an aromaessence, a nongreasy solution which serves to cleanse and balance the epidermis. This is followed by a treatment suited to the particular needs of the customer, whether it is using a lotion, foam, cream or gel. The skin-care range offers products for all skin types, including "mature", as well as a selection for men and whitening products.

The products are available in some of the capital's department stores, but it's a pretty exclusive range, which is in keeping with The Dharmawangsa's classic and classy image.

"We spoke to various people in the industry, and Decleor's name kept on coming up," said Ron Cusiter, regional director of marketing for Rosewood Hotels & Resorts, the exclusive "collection" of hotels of which The Dharmawangsa is a member.

"Like most things in life, personal reputation goes a long way."

Cusiter said that each Rosewood member hotel offered its own individual sense of place but with the same upholding of standards. Thus, The Dharmawanga's elegant, rarefied air of an aristocratic Javanese home is very different from the famed New York City landmark of the 35-story Carlyle Hotel, but they still have the perks and privileges that Fortune 500 CEOs expect.

It's class with a capital C; its lobby bears no resemblance, for instance, to that five-star hotel which is a shady spot for shady characters in what resembles Jean-Paul Gaultier's take on Lucretia Borgia's boudoir. But for the rest of us minions who cannot afford to shell out the US$300 or so for the night, we can still plump for an occasional spa treatment.

There are spa facials, hydrotherapy, massage and body treatments, including a Javanese traditional scrub, and even a luxurious chocolate massage and scrub. I can vouch that my treatment was a little piece of heaven, but at prices ranging from Rp 125,000 ++ for a body glow exfoliation to Rp 1,250,000 for the chocolate wallow, it may have to be a treat reserved for once in a blue moon.

Bimasena Spa

Jl. Dharmawangsa Raya No. 39, Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta

Tel. 021-725-8668