LAGUNITA SPA
Laguna National Golf and Country Club
11 Laguna Golf Green
Tel: 6248 1772/6248 1773
Pure indulgence: Enjoy the Balinese decor of the resort-style Lagunita Spa.
IT used to be that golfers could play at the 18-hole courses at Laguna National Golf and Country Club, while their non-golf playing spouses took advantage of the club's resident spa.
Now, one no longer needs to have the excuse of a golfing spouse to make use of the Lagunita Spa, since it opened its doors to non-members in April.
It has the distinction of being Singapore's first in-house spa retreat in a golf club and is managed by Spa Innovations, a company headed by industry veteran Dianna Chia who has set up in-house spas for major hotels across the world such as the Ritz Carlton hotels in Egypt and Istanbul.
For Lagunita Spa, the decor is Balinese and facilities include hot and cold pools, steam rooms, and even a Vichy shower (which is like lots of shower heads over you, pouring water as you lie down). There are 13 rooms, with a handful of couples' suites - the premium suite even offering its own jacuzzi and a private air-conditioned pavilion.
In short, this is really a resort-style spa, and booking a spa treatment here also means that you get to use some of the club's facilities like the gym,the resort pool or the six-lane lap pool. 'Spa goers should really take advantage of this, and come prepared to spend a few hours here. Like using the gym before their scheduled massage,' says Shirley Chong, Lagunita's business development manager.
Such facilities are quite rare here, as there are only a few hotels with spas that allow use of pools and the like. And then there are a few recreational facilities at Laguna which spa goers can have access to for a fee.
All of which makes Lagunita a good place for an all-girls party, or mother-daughter spa session, or for that matter, father-son bonding sessions too. Where its therapies are concerned, Lagunita's menu is quite comprehensive,with the standard Balinese, Thai and aromatherapy treatments, but being attached to a golf course, it also has a more sports therapy slant.
My treatment was the signature Lagunita Sports massage, which saw my variousmuscle groups kneaded and 'lomi lomi'-ed (given the elbow, Hawaiian style) fromstiffness to pliancy. It's a blend of Thai, Swedish and Balinese techniques,the lead therapist tells me, as she administered long, soothing strokes alongwith deep tissue kneading.
The space at Lagunita allows it to have ayurvedic therapy facilities, while some of the exfoliation ingredients include dead sea salt, a cocktail of Asian herbs in the Botanical Smoother, Ginger Tangerine for anti-oxidants and Honey Sesame which is a Thai exfoliation recipe which hydrates the body. Some of the body wraps include parafango which is a fine ocean mud and pure alkaline paraffin; and then hydrotherapy services include herbal packs.
For its Mother's Day package, Lagunita has tied up with DBS to offer different spa, golf and room packages from $120 per person up to $518 for two persons. The promotion is valid from now until May 24, if you ask for the DBS Mother's Day Package.
By CHEAH UI-HOON
SPA ESPRIT
18A Lorong Mambong, Holland Village
Tel:6468 1292
Retreat into a cosy cocoon of comfort with a Crystal Om therapy session at Spa Esprit in the Village which uses crystals to enhance the effects of various treatment steps that are said to store and transmit healing energies
FOR spa junkies looking for the latest fix, Crystal Om is the latest remedial therapy at Spa Esprit.
It's a treatment that's supposed to have a 3D effect - since it uses potent mud from the world's oldest continent (Australia), restorative powers of crystal, colour therapy and essential oils - all released by the healing hands of the massage therapist. So it's designed to target the physical, mental and emotional aspects of a person all at once.
My one-and-a-half hour Crystal Om indulgence at Spa Esprit in the Village began with a short stroll down the hushed, book-lined corridor to a corner treatment room. Against the barely audible, almost ethereal tune from a crystal 'singing bowl', the therapist smoothed my feet with a coconut foot scrub,grounding and preparing me for what was to follow. She explained that music amplifies the effects of the therapy by slowing the mind and stilling the senses.
As I lay prone on the heated treatment bed, Susie drizzled and thens lathered the crystal-heated mud on my shoulders and back, massaging it in with long, firm strokes. The warm mud was just the right temperature to be comforting and each time it became slightly cool, she was already spreading the next portion and kneading it in.
The combined effects of the dim lights, haunting music, warm mud and steady strokes soon lulled me into a different consciousness - my body relaxed, my mind emptied and I put myself entirely in her good hands. As always during a massage, I felt myself retreating into a cosy cocoon of security and comfort,surrendering to this utterly sublime experience. Crystals and minerals come from, or are all mixed in with, mud and now, Spa Esprit is re-combining the elements with specifically blended essential oils, so that you get something 'naturally' healthy, says Rosie Liew, Spa Esprit's marketing and public relations manager.
And the slate grey Australian mud used has a cationic exchange of 200 cec,compared with the usual count of 60 to 120 cec - meaning that it's more potent than other muds and is a powerful detoxifier.
Crystals are used to enhance the effects of the various treatment steps as they are said to store and transmit healing energies. As my therapist continued to work her mud magic, I could feel the warm, palm-sized crystal stones kneading my muscles. The stones were also placed at the chakra points on my body to further promote balance and well-being.
The Crystal Om treatment reminded me of Hot Stones massage, where volcanic lava stones or basalt rocks were heated and then used in much the same way as the crystals - placed at strategic points or held in the palms to massage the body. One difference I can immediately think of is that the crystals are kept pleasantly warm, unlike basalt rocks which can be uncomfortably hot!
At the end of a wonderful session with Susie, I went up to Spa Esprit's newly created covered rooftop patio for a relaxing ginger tea - a perfect place to enjoy the afterglow of a spa treatment. With floor to ceiling glass doors,it allows the outside to flow seamlessly in, yet protects guests from the scorching heat. Tall leafy plants, one of which houses a bird's nest, line the outer glass walls making it look like a cosy conservatory.
