Making a splash

If you you’re a seasoned spa-goer than you’ve probably been to the Banyan Tree Spa Al Areen … and if you’re not, you’ve probably heard of it.

The resort was the subject of a recent scathing article in The Times (of London), as reported in GulfWeekly, and in the midst of the controversy caused by the article, I decided to make up my own mind.

It was my first visit to the Banyan Tree Hotel and once inside the hotel, it’s hard not to be impressed by the contemporary crisp-edged interior, vast open spaces and impossibly high ceilings that extend to the spa.

The Banyan Tree Spa is reportedly the largest in the region measuring a whopping 10,000 square-metres.

If you’re used to day-spas tucked away in townhouses or hotels, then The Banyan Tree Spa will feel like a giant breath of fresh air.

It has a huge garden hammam, a hydrothermal garden, eight ‘deluxe’ and four ‘royal’ spa pavilions for treatments. The designers apparently took their inspiration from ‘the gardens of royal Arabian palaces.’

From an extensive menu of treatments, I selected a revitalising facial for ‘tired and dull skin’ (BD48.300) which is supposed to beat the signs of aging into submission, and an experience of the hydrothermal garden (BD42.600).

I was whisked to a deluxe pavilion – large enough to house a family – where I was greeted by my friendly Indonesian therapist, Yesi.

My reviatlaising facial began with a cup of herbal tea and a foot bath that was supposed to remove the urban environment and focus my senses.

I was comfortably wrapped up in soft blankets and Yesi started her magic.

Cleansers, toners and creams were applied with expert movements perfected over 300 hours of training at the Banyan Tree’s Spa Academy.

A re-mineralising mask was used to stimulate my skin with ‘micronised laminaria digitata algae’ which contains high concentrations of trace elements and amino acids to plump complexion.

Sybaritic massages accompany the application of products and extend to your chest, shoulder and arms, relaxing you to the point of half sleep.

After a head massage and even more creams the treatment concludes with a few final caressing touches and the chiming of a small bell somewhere above you.

Reluctantly I got up and checked my face. My skin looked rejuvenated, plumped and firm – an incredibly relaxing and rewarding 90 minutes.

From there it was on to the Hydrothermal Garden. At midday on a Tuesday the spa was eerily empty and after plodding back past reception I was robed and escorted to the indoor garden.

Enjoyment of this signature area of the spa depends very much on your ability to deal with icy cold and tepid water, combined with a freezing air-conditioned environment. It’s certainly not for the faint-hearted.

Throughout the garden you are pummeled with water, misted, steamed, drenched and showered in varying degrees of cold.

After a tepid rinse, a spa attendant guided me to a ‘cool rainmist corridor’ which battered my body with icy water. With each step it warmed up slightly and the jets developed from a mist to an almost-warm waterfall.

I virtually ran into the ‘grotto steam’ cabin, and then onto the dry chamber of the ‘sanarium.’

My attendant repeatedly brought me fresh towels and lemon water and chaperoned me through remaining treatment areas.

I shivered my way through various showers and weedily refused to spend longer than a minute in the ice igloo. 

Next was the bucket drench shower. You pull on a rope and a huge pale of water is dumped unceremoniously on your head.

Then it was ‘sole therapy,’ a tingling footspa that would have been a lot more pleasant if the temperature was raised.

Finally, I was ushered outside to the vitality pool. Shaded by a canopy and beautifully designed, it is without no doubt the most stylish and opulent pool I have ever had the pleasure of splashing around in.

You can swim your way around nine different hydrotherapy stations that soothe and revitalise as shafts of sunlight warm your skin.

I was grateful that the spa was deserted as I splashed around in my own private lagoon, feeling like a spoilt Arabian princess.

It was a perfect way to warm up and relax and made up for the overly ‘revitalising’ chilliness of the previous treatment.

The Banyan Tree Spa is well worth a visit. You can’t fault it for innovation and style, and with a tweaking of the temperature, it would be flawless. And, as testimony to the spa’s excellent facials, my skin stayed looking fresh for well over a week after my treatment.