Hotel spas are so mainstream. Get your much-needed rubdown instead at these unusual venues, also perfect for special occasions with an adventurous significant other.
Ikeda Spa Prestige: Whenever you hear the Winter Sonata calling
Even when it’s scorching hot outside (and when is it ever not?), we’ve always managed to convince ourselves we’re in the dead of winter in Japan at Ikeda Spa Prestige. The award-winning spa chain’s second outlet is set up like a ryokan — complete with stools and running water for scrubdowns ala countryside — and houses an actual onsen ($80 for 30 mins), a traditional Japanese bath filled with mountain minerals. If that’s not quirky enough for you, opt for their signature geisha facial ($240+ for 90 mins), which uses birds’ droppings. Hey, at least it’s organic.
The Luxe House: For a random late-night adventure
This Dempsey Hill newbie is dark, plush, almost stately, a bit like how we’d envision the 21st century Addams family mansion to look like, though others simply liken it to a hotel. Anyway, that’s where the typical spa qualities stop. The first thing that’ll surprise you is the treatment menu, which didn’t have any of the contemporary, extravagant stuff we expected, like caviar wraps and liquid gold baths. Instead, it’s largely healthful with a respectable array of traditional oriental treatments. Since you’re after something unusual, go all the way with their moxibustion treatment (top pic). It’s an ancient Chinese acupuncture technique that involves burning moxa from dried mugwort and letting it smoulder, before using it to stimulate parts of your body. It’s supposed to have some powerful restorative and corrective efforts and can correct imbalances that lead to headaches, dizziness, insomnia, abdominal upset and diabetes. Another thing: The Luxe House fancies it self to be an alternative after-work hang-out spot, better than a bar or a cafe, it says. So the spa stays open till 1am daily and can occupy up to four people in a room so friends (or business partners) can talk shop over their massage. We’re pretty sure this trend blew southward from Korea.
Masego: The Safari Spa: Great for lovers of Bedouin cuisine
This African safari-themed spa suffers from a bit of an identity crisis — the music’s Indonesian, the receptionists wear Singapore Girl-style uniforms and when you’re done, they serve you Chinese barley tea — but hey, we said unusual, right? To get the most out of it, do like we did: book yourself the Cleopatra’s Sandbath Detox Therapy ($120 for 60 minutes). Your treatment will be held in one of their 14 canopied tents, which is novel, but that’s the least of it. First, the therapist will ‘tenderise’ your meat with a relaxing massage. After, she’ll ‘marinate’ you from chest to shin with cimu oil and a sandy grey masque made up of special herbs (yum). After being wrapped in plastic (saran), you’ll be made to waddle to another larger tent, where two boxes (that look like sarcophagi) lay waiting. You’ll get wrapped one more time in some sort of thick baking paper, before sitting in a box while the therapist shovels hot sand over your entire body. Then you wait, 20 minutes to be precise, which is enough time for you to contemplate all the life decisions you’ve made that have put you in this position, which in African context looks exactly like dinner party prep.
Spa Detour: Whenever you’re craving an audience
The 3,000 sq. ft. space is as unlike a typical spa as possible. If it wasn’t for its corner location, you’re likely to want to pop in even without an appointment. Spa Detour has an open-concept entrance, which leads straight into a reception area filled with real vintage furnishings. True to origin (Spa Detour’s run by the Duck & Hippo tour folk) there are ‘street and road signs’ everywhere, some with directives for a successful lifestyle. Each treatment room (there are 12 altogether) is themed, though with no particular structure. Our favourite’s the barn, where you can get a massage (body treatments are $57 — 167) under the watchful beady eyes of a cow. There’s also a Swinging ’60s room, where you’ll eventually have to face an Afro-wearing singer mid-inhale. The rainforest-themed couple room, which has its own tub and mounted TV, is also a winner, as long as you like the company of pandas. Not in the mood to have your back scrubbed? Book a manicure (starts at $9 for a cut and file) in their ‘theatre room’, where you can sit in a leather couch Gold Class style and watch recent releases on a floor-to-ceiling projector, or get in a giggling frenzy at the Dr. Fish room (starts at $23 for 20 mins) styled to make you look like you’re in a water tank yourself. Check out the full menu.
