villa maly on asia spa

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142 AsiaSpa 2009 2009 AsiaS

2009 AsiaS

Home to colourul monks, traditiontemples and pampering spas, Laois Asias best kept secret. Kate Grahaexplores the top seven spas in a countabout to hit the big time.

writer Kate Graham

OVELY

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AmAntAkA

The latest hotel in Aman

Resorts Asia-wide chain,

the Amantaka br ings

e o r t l e ss luxu ry to

capital Luang Prabang.

Set in an elegant one-

story converted hospital

in the centre o town

this boutique hotel is a

haven; simple, understated

design that combines the

simplicity o cool white

walls and the style o careully chosen urniture. The excellent in-

house spa delivers the Aman recipe o chic and sleek; our spacious

treatment rooms staed by eight well trained spa practitioners and

impeccable acilities that include steam, sauna and hydro pools.

The spa menu oers a selection o both classic and local treatments.

Start with a 90-minute, Traditional Laos Massage, a rhythmic oil-

ree massage. Guests recline in a pair o loose, sot cotton pyjamas

while the therapist uses a combination o gentle yoga stretches and

pressure point massage to soothe and relax.

Other treatments include the Asian blend massage (a dry massageusing techniques rom Laos, Thailand and China that creates inner

harmony) and the dreamy 60-minute, our hand massage. Extend the

heavenly experience with a soak in a specially created bath, choosing

rom either the energising eect o a lime and ginger cocktail or

the serenity o a rangipani oral blend. I your skin needs a pick-up

try a body scrub, each o which take inspiration rom Laos ruit

and oliage; the Ginger Flower, Papaya, Tangerine and Jojoba Bead

scrub uses Epsom salts to create 90 minutes o pure invigoration.

this page:The spa at Amantaka;and The Spa at La Rsidence Phou Vao Hotel. opposite page:An

outdoor couples massage at The Spa at La Rsidence Phou Vao Hotel. opening pages: Swimming

pool at Villa Maly.

Gulf ofTonkin

MuangKhammouar

LuangPrabang

PhonsavanXiangkhoang

Vientiane

BanNape

Savannakhet

Salavan

Pakxe

VangVieng

XamNua

LouangNamtha

Phongsali

THAILAND

VIETNAM

CHINACHINA

BURMA

CAMBODIA

LAOSM e

kong

Or i Frangipani and Hibiscus sounds tempting, try the Salt Glow,

which both bus away impurities and uses aloe vera, seaweed and

cucumber to nourish and hydrate. This spa is much more than the

sum o its parts, rom the warm welcome and spacious changing

areas to the invigorating ginger tea presented at the end o your stay

this is a spa that truly puts Laos on the map.

www.amanresorts.com/amantaka/spa.aspx

ChAmpA LAo

In the capital o Vientiane the Green Park Hotel is a new luxurious

boutique. Made rom a collection o low rise polished wooden

structures and peaceully tinkling water eatures it makes the

perect place to enjoy the laid back city. The spa, set beside the

swimming pool oers peaceul, comortable treatment rooms

and a well thought out treatment menu. Massages on oer range

rom the Lao Traditional (using a deep tissue, pressure points and

stretching technique), Aromatherapy (applying pure essential oils to

balance the mind and relax the body) and anti-stress back, neck and

shoulders massage. The Indian Head Massage uses a 2000 year-old

technique, that combines a head massage with drops o warm oil

that drain rom the head.

For something more unusual choose the Ear Candling, also

known as ear coning, a treatment where a hollow candle is placedinside the ear canal. When lit it creates a soothing warmth within

the head, ear and sinuses. Champa spa also oers Belly Button

Candling, which improves digestive and colon health, skin quality

as well as reducing water tension. The 30-minute treatment includes

a deep abdominal massage. www.greenparkvientiane.com

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adestination

LA RsidenCe phou vAo hoteL

The frst luxury spa to open in Luang Prabang, The Spa at La

Rsidence Phou Vao Hotel began the transormation o the

towns spa reputation. The design is a fve-star blend o both Laos

cratsmanship, combining local woods and silk, with sleek modern

style. As well as an extensive menu o treatments, all spa guests are

encouraged to begin with a traditional herbal steam, the chanceto unwind in a room o limestone, ollowed by a cooling splash o

water rom earthenware urns.

Post-treatment guests can relax in the hotels infnity pool, with

views o the mountains in the distance and the town o Luang

Prabang below. The menu includes the Sip Sen a 60-minute Lao

massage frst created in the monasteries o Laos and passed down

through the generations. The massage is based on the belie that our

bodies have a lie orce that runs through energy lines, called sen.

By reeing these lines through applying pressure using thumbs a

palms you will emerge relaxed, detoxed, balanced and energis

Alternatively try the 90-minute Mahom, inspired by the healing pra

tices o the Hmong shamans. A steamed indigo herbal compres

frst massaged into the body, ollowed by a deep tissue massage

Indigo represents the Buddha o Medicine, and in Laos believed to heal muscle tone. Bath and body treatments include th

Tamrap Luang in which seven sacred owers and delicately rubbe

into the skin to heal and puriy or 120 blissul minutes. The P

Nuan blends local Lao ingredients and owery ragrances. Know

as the Lao secret to sensual skin, this 90-minute treatment beg

with a gentle exoliation using ruit acids, ollowed by a massa

using a steamed mixture o rice and sesame seeds soaked in wa

coconut milk. www.residencephouvao.com


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AngsAnA spA At mAison souvAnnAphoum hoteL

An award winning spa rom the world-class Banyan Tree bran

like all the Angsana Spas the Maison ocuses on the power

aromatherapy and touch to relax, rejuvenate and heal both bodi

and minds. Designed with energy and colour the interior is vibra

and spa guests are oered the chance to have treatments in either

conditioned rooms or private open-air pavilions, some surround

by water. Either way you arrive through the waving palms o a lu

garden, lit in the evening by the twinkling o tiny lights.

The menu has an Asian-ocused avour, rom the Fusi

massage which blends Swedish and Thai techniques to unblo

stiness, to the Siam, which delicately stretches the body wi

oil-ree Thai techniques o palming and thumbing. Meanwh

the body polishes are good enough to eat, with the Thai Herb

Glower mixing cooling yoghurt with Thai herbs and the Oatme

Honey Lime Aglow removing impurities and dirt rom deep with

the skin. Excellent treatments aside it is the little touches that s

this spa apart, the delicious herbal drinks and thirty minute ca

time that allows the eect o the massage to truly sink in.

www.angsana.com

viLLA mALy

Once a private villa o Princess Khampieng and Prince Khamt

a grandson o the 19th century King Zakarine, this original 19

residence has been given a luxury Art Deco inspired makeov

As well as 33 stylish rooms, arranged in our buildings name

ater owers, the boutique accommodation includes a small b

well run spa. Manicures and pedicures join a selection o relax

massages. The Traditional Lao Massage is a blend o pressure poi

massage and slow stretching. It releases tension, increases vital

and exibility and creates wholeness o body, mind and spi

www.villa-maly.com

spA gARden

Simple and calm this central Luang Prabang spa is easily the nice

stand-alone choice in town. The menu may lack the bells-an

whistles o many fve-star spa spots, but what is on oer is bo

well delivered and excellent value. Set in a green garden therean instant air o peace and calm, the interior o the traditional L

building is a mix o dark woods and colourul material throws. At

a day spent sightseeing through the towns temples a 60-minute o

massage is heavenly, as is the Mystic Laos Massage, which us

ancient Lao massage techniques to reduce stress and get the blo

circulating. I the use o pressure points and body stretching do

not appeal, opt or the more relaxing Aromatherapy option.

www.spagardenlpb.com

this page: The swimming pool at Angsana Spa at Maison Souvannaphoum Hotel;a massage and

details at Villa Maly. opposite page:Swedish massage in a VIP Pavillion at Papaya Spa;and a f

bath at The Spa, at La Rsidence Phou Vao Hotel.

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pApAyA spA

In the heart o Vientiane, tucked away on the banks o the Mekong

River this is the best ree-standing spa in the city. Set in a beautiul

French colonial building you arrive through a tropical garden o

green oliage and sweet smelling blooms, a mixture o rangipani,

waving palms and coconut trees. The dcor is simple and rustic, all

polished teak and local artiacts. As well as treatment rooms there

are two herbal steam baths and a number o VIP Pavillions, each

with its own lovely private garden. Therapists are ully trained at

Vientianes Traditional Medicine Institute and enjoy the additional

expertise rom both the Moh Shivagakomarpaj Foundation in Chiang

Mai, and the Cosmopro Institute o Singapore. The therapists here

understand that resh ruit and local spices have benefts ar beyond

their delicious taste.

Drawing on ancient Lao recipes the various treatments include

sweet papaya and pineapple, the energising eect o coee, soothingcucumber, honey and yoghurt, and the stimulation o oats and

sweet almonds. The acial includes both tamarind and papaya,

both o which have been used by Lao women in beauty treatment

since ancient times thanks to the ability to both moisturising and

rejuvenate skin. All the body and acial care treatments include a

blend o 100 percent pure natural ragrance essential oils, created

in Grasse, France. Extend your stay by unwinding in the garden, or

sipping a herbal tea at the in-house bar. www.papayaspa.com

villa maly on asia spa

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