Hammer treatment at Deevana Plaza Phuket Orientala Wellness Spa
After swimming 15 pool laps I take a quick shower and head off to the Orientala Wellness Spa located on the ground floor of the Deevana Plaza hotel in Phuket, Thailand where I am spending a few days.
Orientala Wellness Spa treatment
I am greeted with a smile followed by a cup of Chinese herbal tea. I can choose from 3 scrubs and 5 oils to be used for my massage. The spa lady recommends me to start with green tea scrub for detox and then lavender oil to sleep well. Oh yes, that’s what I finally need.
I am so ready for Patavee (Earth Element) spa package which costs 4,500 Thai Baht for 180 minutes.
The concept of the Orientala Wellness Spa is Four elements and five senses that means they check the element from guests and find a treatment that is suitable for them. Five senses means it will activate all the five senses – sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch.
Once I fill in the form about my personal details, I am walked into my Venus room at the very end of the spa. Wow, loving all the violet decoration and towel animals. So much attention to details.
I am asked to change into a bathrobe and black underwear. It is the same style like the one I tried at the Divana spas in Bangkok; so far the most comfortable spa underwear I’ve ever seen around the world. Then the therapist washes my feet with water, cucumbers and petals.
Then I walk back to a steam sauna where I sweat off the unnecessary things in 35 Celsius degrees for 15 minutes. The herbal smell reminds me of sweet corn each time I take a super deep breath. I’m sure it’s some herbs to make me breathe better.
However, it simply brings memories of my childhood when we used to spend summer evenings munching on cooked sweet corn. My second memory goes straight to Mexico, my favorite country, where “maiz” is really everywhere around. I smile. Even my last trip to Surin and Buriram province in North Eastern Thailand comes to my mind as I loved hearing baby sweet corn there.
The spa therapist brings me a towel but I continue with my mind being in the lovely past. I’m asked not to take a shower so I don’t shock my body and let my skin pores stay open.
Walk back to my spa room and lie face down on the bed just in my bottom underwear. The therapist starts putting scrub and water on my legs and slowly goes up. The 30 minute body scrub is activating all my senses as I can feel both warm and cold combination of the two things and also smell the green tea. I appreciate it’s a very soft scrub. Once I turn over on my back, the same process repeats on my front body and I can take a shower.
I get out and see the jacuzzi full of foam and rose petals.
“Please get into the jacuzzi” she smiles.
OMG, I’ve never EVER had so much bath foam! I get in laughing. When she brings a hot ginger tea with really tasty cookies, I ask her to take photos of me. This has to be documented :) She is so sweet trying to figure out which button to press and how the camera works.
Then I am left alone. It’s just me and bubbles. I spend 15 minutes playing with the rose petals putting them on my arms and cleavage and throwing the foam all around the jacuzzi.
After half an hour the therapist comes with her usual smile pointing out to the shower door and asking me to change into dry piece of underwear. Then the rest of the spa treatment happens on the massage bed again.
The day I got beaten up with a hammer
Again starting with face down, she massages my legs with the lavender oil, then the back and the arms, too. Most of the time she sits on the bed somewhere around me and I have no idea how she manages to press where she needs to without falling off the bed.
My mind is starting to switch off during the aromatherapy massage. Her touch is so gentle I cannot even concentrate on anything else but the bird songs in the background. The mostly moves in circles and dedicates quality time to my back and shoulders when I need it the most.
I am waken up from my nap once I hear the therapist starts to use a wooden hammer to release my muscles. After taking hundreds of spa treatments, this is still new to me. She begins with my neck and centimeter by centimeter is going down until she reaches my feet.
At each place she knocks on the lower part of the hammer twice before moving down. Each movement becomes softer.
Surprisingly, I cannot feel any pain but on the other hand it tickles me along the spine where I have sensitive spots. My jumping reaction makes us both laugh.
I believe she spent 30 minutes hammering me. It felt very comfortable everywhere except on the upper neck because the noise was too loud right next to my ears.
Then it is time to turn on my back and enjoy the same oil massage from the feet up to the shoulders. I fall asleep once again but I think no hammer was used on my front body. Although the whole aromatherapy massage with the hammer lasted for 90 minutes, to me it felt like 5. So relaxing!
To finish this 3-hour spa treatment that passed way to quickly, I get a long facial. For around 45 minutes at least 4 different cleaning and hydrating creams are used with hot and cold towels in between. My mind is in a deep Alpha level and only in between the different facial steps I can feel what she is doing. Slowly, I pay more attention to the head massage which is sometimes forgotten.
I sit down on the bed for the very last minutes to release the remaining pressure in my shoulders. She is impressively good pressing the various neck and head points.
“Finish, madam.” She bows with her palms together as they do in Thailand.
“Kob Khun Ka. Thank you so much. It was amazing.” I smile doing the same gesture.
While changing back to my dress, she brings another cup of hot ginger tea with a biscuit and says goodbye.
I am leaving with the most relaxing feeling ever, find some Indian dinner close by and then send emails for another two hours.
The spa lady was right with the lavender oil. It takes me approx. 10 minutes only to fall asleep which is very unusual for me. I don’t recall any movements until my alarm goes off at 9 am the following morning.
My Orientala Wellness Spa treatment was part of the Adventure and Spa project. My thanks go to Deevana Plaza Phuket for organizing hours full of pleasure.
Ian
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Looks like it was well worth the price …. Thailand is a place with crazy awesome value!
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Yeah Thailand is amazing when it comes to prices :) Hope they won’t go up very soon!
sanjeev
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Lovely blogs, nicer photos.. the ‘Hammering’ process is new to me.
Loved “Then the therapist washes my feet with water, cucumbers and petals’, ‘in 35 Celsius degrees for 15 minutes’, ‘ jacuzzi full of foam and rose petals’
4500B for 180 minutes, hmm little expensive. The rooms, might be neat/clean, but does not look luxurious.
You blogs are amazing. Kob Khun Ka. Thank you so much.
Crazy Sexy Fun Traveler
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Thanks, Sanjeev for checking out my blog ;) The spa treatment was not so expensive compared to other hotel spas around Thailand (very different to the street massages.)