Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008 - (Page 20)

(PulsePoints CITY TOUR Wat Pho Temple Famous for Thai massage but also home to the country' s oldest Thaimedicine school, where traditional poultice massage has been practiced for centuries. In a large communal massage pavilion, graduate healers press steamed bundles of crushed lemongrass and camphor along your spine for a song (about US$16 for an hour). 2 Sanamchai Rd, +66(0)2221-2974, www.watpho.com WHAT' S NEW AND NOTEWORTHY AT LUXURY SPAS Bangkok' s Bundles Massages using hot herb-ﬁlled poultices are showing up on spa menus around the world. The origins of this centuries-old treatment are mysterious, but some scholars say compress healing is indigenous to Thailand. One thing' s for sure: The Thais have elevated it to an art form. These Bangkok spas offer interpretations from classic to avant-garde. Ð JUDY CHAPMAN A 650-square-foot spa in a converted Thai house with dark wood ﬂoors and whitewashed walls. Book the Herbal Compress massage two days in advance and therapists will customize a treatment using fresh Thai herbs such as tamarind leaf and camphor. 42 Thanon Convent, +66-(0)2632-2662, ruen_nuad@yahoo.com The city' s newest luxury spa, opened last November at the Sukhothai hotel. Clean-lined decor, bamboo sculptures, and outdoor bathtubs, all surrounded by more than 75,300 square feet of tropical gardens. The 60-minute Oriental Touch Therapy combines a classic ginger compress with a dry acupressure massage to boost circulation. 13/3 South Sathorn Rd., +66-(0)2344-8900, www.sukhothai.com A boutique spa in a rambling hundred-year-old four-story home crammed full of teak furnishings and dimly lit with Sukhothai-style lanterns. Try the Thai Herbal Heat Massage with Pikhul, an earth-mother type who nimbly wields two pouches of Kafﬁr lime and lemongrass steamed in lemongrassand-mint water, a neat twist on the usual recipe. 1/30 Sukhumvit 11 Rd., +66(0)2651-2672, www.sukspa.com Occupies a charming house in a quaint garden. Poultices here contain creative mixtures of medicinal herbs, sea salt, and wildﬂowers. Whereas traditional poultice ingredients are energizing, the Moonlight Anti-Stress version (pepper berries and wild jasmine) delivers on its promise to ﬁght fatigue, calm back tension, and induce a good night' s sleep. 8 Sukhumvit 35, +66(0)2261-4818-9, www.divana-dvn.com CREATURE COMFORT Herbal compresses were traditionally used on the sore legs of Thai elephant calvary menÐ and of the elephants themselves. 20 may· june 2008 visit spafinder.com MAP ILLUSTRATION BY JENNIFER THERMES; PHOTOGRAPH, TOP LEFT, ON ASIA Ruen Nuad Spa Botanica Suk Spa Divana Nurture Spa http://www.watpho.com http://www.sukspa.com http://www.sukhothai.com http://www.divana-dvn.com http://spafinder.com

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Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008 Contents Editor's Note Ask Susie Pulse Points Spa Road Trip Beauty & Brains Pound Wise Private Label Real Estate New Tuscan Trio The Real Bora Bora The Spa Collection The Insider's Guide: Ireland Spa Rx From the Sparchives

Luxury Spa Finder - May/June 2008

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