Mira Spiaggia Spa – Sicily, Italy

Another spa another different experience!

From different kind of massages we choose the one with karite butter candle which heals the skin and of course with our luck we meet Rosy and her experienced hands they know exactly how to massage not too hard not too light just as it should be and her positive energy also change the athmosphere and how you feel, her smile too was relaxing and of course the warmth of melted  karite butter was amazing.

You can gift some of this relaxed moments to your friends via this aromatic candles.

Rosy’s special karite butter treatment started with emotional shower then continued with bagno turco (hamam) and sauna then soaking in jacuzzi….

If you like you can relax few minutes before having your massage and finally the healing hands and karite butter of Rosy gives you the massage.

Also you can have very special dinner for two or cocktail at the roof top of the spa with wiev of San Vito beach and San Vito lo capo too. You only need simple reservation before to make sure it’s available too book. For a 3 star hotel their food is pretty much 5 star so enjoy the beauty of San Vito and Sicilian food.

Spa Salus PerAquam – our respite in Lecce, Italy

Our long time followers know about our Spa addiction. We have been in Spa’s around the world.  See our past blog entries for Maldives, Seattle, Kohler, Thailand, etc…

In Lecce, we have been walking everywhere. When you walk all day long and have fun it’s important to rest and treat your body well. It will pay you back!

Our hotel Risorgimento Resort luckily for us has a lovely spa. It is perfect for after a long day of site seeing and travelling.  We recommend that you book at least a day ahead. 

Our favorite spa expert is Monica Valiani – ask for her by name.  She speaks Italian, English, French, and German.  We had spa services with her for two days and it was simply excellent. 

 

Turkish Bath (Bagno Turco) after a good salt scrub on the entire body transforms your senses and starts the relaxation process. The emotional shower (rain, breeze) with special light therapy completes the whole treatment. We left clean, relaxed, and energized for our dinner party.

 
Next day we returned for facial and the special Cinque Sensi massage created by Monica. She designed this massage based on chackras. We loved it and our faces were radiating after the facial.  If you want a couples massage ask Monica for her signature massage designed for couples. 

The prices are middle range. For a great 50 min massage we paid €80. The Bagno Turco was €20. They have manicures, waxing, and many other facial and body treatments. You can also request something more tailored for your needs. 

The spa is small but tranquil and you can reserve it for privacy. You will be surrounded by unobtrusive service and positive energy.

  

Monica – thank you for awakening our cinque sensi and make our journey even more special! Grazie mille!! 🇮🇹

 

Vida Spa – Seattle, WA

Another trip, another state, another experience of a lifetime…

I happened to be in Seattle this past weekend discovered Vida Spa downtown by the Pan Pacific Hotel. It was a discovery that paid off. I would rate this spa a close behind Kohler and Red Door spas. Why behind?? It is smaller, changing rooms are not well furnished, and there is no hair services provided. After a long day at the spa, feeling great and relaxed who wants to leave the spa looking like a hot mess!!!

Anyhow… let’s get to the best parts about this spa: personnel, quality of services, and the Ayurvedic Journey package!

This is part of the lounge; where they have fruits, nuts, tea, and cucumber water all day.

After getting a great massage and mani service, I decided to give the Ayurvedic Journey package a try. In the past I have done bits and pieces like shirodhara but never had a full program. This was the opportunity and I seized the moment!!

After filling out a very short and sweet survey, the practitioner was able to identify my dosha. Then based off of that she organized my Ayurvedic journey package. Melanie is an incredible practitioner — if you ever go, ask for her by name! you won’t regret it.

So we started with Ayurvedic Massage – A unique massage that applies generous amounts of warm sesame oil over the body with extra attention to the head, neck and scalp. This technique optimises the body’s systems, mobilises joints and enhances tissue suppleness. The oils she used were specific for my dosha and I loved them. Generally this massage is soft but if you are like me you can and will request more pressure.

Swedana – A deeply aromatic sensation enhanced by herbs, cleanses and detoxifies your system. A dry flour brushing of your entire body stimulates and exfoliates your skin to prevent the re-entry of toxins.

Here is the cacoon – wide open. The box at the bottom makes steam and the tray of special herbs and florals is put there to steam. Can you smell how the room filled with amazingly relaxing scent??

Yes this is me inside the cacoon – steaming seriously. That’s a cold towel on my forehead. Usually this is to last 15 minutes, I lasted 10 minutes and apparently that is congruent with my dosha.

So, I loved the cacoon so much, later I wanted to go in again. Amazing! and would do this again.

Shirodara – A steady stream of warm oil is poured over your third eye (forehead) to awaken the senses and increase mental clarity. I fell asleep briefly during this part of the treatment, it was incredible – felt like I was on a pillow of clouds. I would like to think this really helped make my afternoon high profile meeting go so well.

The spa works with Pan Pacific hotel so they can order food if you are staying for a long spa day. This treatment started at 9:30am and finished at 2:00pm – so I squeezed in a lunch.

Melanie really went beyond expectations; she wrote me a sweet card and enclosed sleep and food recommendations for my dosha. Now that is what I call intentional, thoughtful service… leaves you thankful and blessed 🙏.

Highly recommend Vida Spa if you find yourself in Seattle with a free day to care for your body and soul. I hope that next time I visit they will have hair services — a girl can hope 👸.

Day trip to Sundara Spa – Dells, WI

Took a friend for a belated birthday celebration to Sundara Spa. Was a rather positive experience and here is the synopsis — if and when you find yourself in WI its a place you can go.

Grounds of the spa are peaceful and there are 37 rooms I believe for overnight guests. We had a great day trip with Express Spa services and access to full facility.

The quiet room is a bit tired looking, could use an update but comfy, cozy overlooking the outdoor pool. Yes! even at 48 deg weather it is open. The outside floor is heated, pool is heated and there is hot tub next to it too. Now this is an impressive feature – makes me want to come back when it snows.
Express Spa package is perfect for a day trip. The practitioners are so good that 35 min are well done. Normally 35 min are never enough for me; barely get relaxing in 30 min. We had massage, facial, and pedi. They use fully vegan organic nail polish, and all of their treatment products are organic.
While spa services were great and reasonably priced – the food was meh!! Had lunch in between services and lounging; neither dish had much flavor. Later when chatting with other guests we learned people drive elsewhere to eat. We now know why 😉 They can improve this, and we recalled how amazing the food at Kohler Spa and Red Door Spa is. So this was a tiny let down.

In any case… if you find yourself in WI and want a mid-level Spa experience Sundara will do great! Look at this… who can complain about huddling around an outdoor fire, cozy and brisk at the same time.

Maldives: Spa-tastic time!

Yes we just made up a word spa + fantastic = Spa-tastic. As designed, there is not much to do when you are in Maldives. Thankfully that is the case – it allows us to truly quiet our minds and bodies.

In all 3 islands we visited we went to the spa. Here are our brief encounters.

Ginger Spa – Gangehi Island
This is a very Indian influenced spa. We had a great Ayurvedic body scrub followed by an outdoor shower, then finished off with a relaxing massage.

Yes, we were served ginger tea as the finishing touch! Felt great and started off our vacation and tanning on the right tone.

Tip: we did this first evening we arrived so our bodies had a healing overnight before hitting the beach and ocean the next day. We recommend this, it will help you get a longer lasting and more even tan.

Duniye Spa – Komandoo Island
This is a Balinese and more Asian influenced spa. We had Thai massage done — as fans of this technique we loved it. Serenity…

Duniye Spa – Kuredu Island
Yes, this is the same spa name as the one at Komandoo. We still wanted to go both to relax and we heard the one at the O resort section had glass floor to watch fish while getting a massage. We could not pass that up!

What did we see??
Little to medium sized fish. We kept hoping for sharks but maybe they were on vacation too 😉

This experience costs you $10 more than the other location at the island. For us it was worth it.

We had the pleasure of having an Oriental massage that combined various techniques like Balinese and Thai. We also had a facial done; we gave it two thumbs up.

You may not be at Maldives, but you should treat yourself to a Spa day or just a 60 min massage. Be good to your body and it will be good to you!