Bangkok life can get quite hectic, with all of its bustle and activity, not to mention the stress of work, taking care of kids or sitting in exhausting traffic after long journeys from out of town. A guaranteed idyllic and tranquil spot, above all of the irresistible craziness of everyday urban life, where balance in the mind, body and soul can be restored, is The Okura Prestige Bangkok Hotel. The Okura Spa sits up on the hotel’s 25th floor and provides guests with therapeutic relief.
Forever in tune with the season, The Okura Spa is currently offering a relaxing and aptly named, two-hour treatment called ‘Tranquility Within’ until the end of the year. This treatment includes a body scrub and body massage. “We take inspiration from the seasons in Japan for our promotions, and choose ingredients and products that reflect the feeling and provide the benefits we wish for our clients,” explains Spa Operations Manager Ms. Duangkamol Thuaithongkham.
Autumn in Japan is when the leaves are changing colour and falling. The old leaves need to be shed, to make room for the new ones in the next season. The ‘koyo’ or maple leaf turns a wonderful orange tone, so Ms. Duangkamol chose an orange cream scrub, to both remove dead skin cells and moisturize simultaneously. To provide the scent and feeling of autumn to winter, she custom-selected an orange and clove essential oil blend, from the Haarn range, for intense well-being and warming relaxation. “It is our pleasure to help give flight to our clients’ worries, so they can fly away,” says Ms. Duangkamol, with a comforting and reassuring smile.
This all begins on arrival at The Okura Spa. Should you have time to arrive ahead of your appointment, you can make use of the gym and pool, at your leisure. Once welcomed into the spa, you are greeted with caring smiles and a carafe of ice-cold butterfly pea drink, with a butterfly pea ice cube and a cold towel. The entire scene is set for relaxation, and you are about to play the starring role.
If you are lucky enough to have K. Yaa as your therapist, her charm and English language skills are impeccable. Her two-decades of spa therapist skills are clear to see, and she’s been at home in The Okura Spa for the last eight months. You are guided through the necessary preparation flawlessly, and invited to take your place on the heated bed.
Before you know it the rich orange cream scrub is sliding between your toes and fingers filling the air with a warm, zesty scent, instantly elevating your mood and gently accomplishing its full-body task. After half an hour your entire body has been relieved of its dead skin cells and you’re in a power shower ensuring it’s the last you see of them. Buffed and sloughed you retake your face-down position for 90 minutes of expert, top-to-toe aroma massage. The pace induces ultimate relaxation.
The tranquility within that they reference at The Okura Spa instantly begins to surface, with every long meaningful stroke, coupled with the orange and clove oils. The effect is of stress-relief, muscular ease and awakening of the senses. The treatment leaves you altogether reenergized. Apparently, clove oil was used in ancient Chinese and Indian cultures, due to its antibacterial properties, and has also been used in other civilisations around the world, to treat such ailments as asthma, headaches and stress. Orange and clove oils have vitamins, such as A and C, and minerals, including potassium, sodium and calcium, aplenty too.
The fragrance alone is enough to ensure you an all-encompassing sense of well-being, but K. Yaa’s skilled hands and thoughtful demeanour leave nothing to chance. Once back in the attire you arrived in, you are led, once again, towards into the spa waiting area, where a hot tea of choice, either ginger or bael fruit, and an assortment of dried papaya, pineapple and the like await. At your own pace, you regain thoughts of the world outside, before you make your way back to reality, albeit a tad reluctantly.
Tranquility Within is available until 31st December 2017, priced at Baht 4,200++ (tax and service charge to be added). From 1st January 2018, spa lovers can expect a brand-new seasonal experience, which will be the ‘Smoothie Retreat’. A strawberry scrub and a massage with oils from the tsubaki, or camellia, flower, which blossoms in wintertime in Japan, will make for a fruity and floral one and a half-hour treatment, to replenish and pamper the skin and soul.
The Okura Spa is open from 10am to 10pm daily, on the 25th floor of The Okura Prestige Bangkok. Conveniently accessible, the hotel has a direct skybridge link from the BTS Skytrain station Ploenchit, into the Park Ventures Ecoplex building, where the hotel is located. Furthermore, guests can reach the hotel by car, as onsite parking and valet services are available at the entrance on Wireless Road.
Of interest to all residents of Thailand, The Okura Spa offers a spa membership, which includes unlimited use of their 24-hour fitness centre and the cantilevered, infinity-style pool with a view. Full membership programme details can be discovered and are explained in depth by calling 02-687-9090, and full hotel and spa information can be found at www.okurabangkok.com.
Advance reservations are highly advisable at this popular city retreat. Bookings for The Okura Spa can be made on 02 687 9000 or by emailing spa@okurabangkok.com.
THE OKURA PRESTIGE
Park Ventures Ecoplex 57 Wireless Road, Bangkok.
