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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 16 - 31, 2016
The Roundabout
Bonding at Le Spa @Sofitel
By: Sandee Siytangco – Masigan
This space I’ve been so
graciously given by our publisher
and friend Rey Fortaleza is about
my forays into the world of food
and that unmistakable itch I in
the soles of my feet every few
months that takes me to places
old and new. It’s about finding
out what the rest of the world
has to offer, making memories
and coming back home. I hope
you all find something new ,
something delicious, something
wonderful as we journey in The
Roundabout.
My work ( I’m a food stylist
and writer among other things),
often has me bending over tables
and counter tops, manipulating
different types of food into showing their best self for the camera. As such, my back is often
strained, my neck and shoulders
a jumble of knots. Either that or
I am lugging my not- too- light
suitcase from one place to the
other, often without the help of a
porter. Thus the need for a regular massage.
So one rainy Friday afternoon I wheedled my seventeen
year old into coming with me to
the spa for some much needed
mommy and me time. She was
starting school in a day or two
and after working hard all summer trying to complete her requirements and getting a head
start on school work, I decided
she need a break.
We often get together at
our kitchen table or at a restaurant nearby. Our bonding time
was more often than not over
food or the other activity we both
love … shopping. So a spa date
was the perfect respite for us. I
booked us at Le Spa at Sofitel
Hotel, one of the best hotels in
the Manila area.
We arrived early for our spa
appointment, in anticipation of
Friday’s epic traffic jams.
Le Spa is located on the
ground floor of the hotel ( pool
level) right beside the nail and
hair salons. Through it’s glass
doors is a tranquil receiving area
with comfortable couches and
illuminated capiz work on the
walls. Like a hidden cave of calm,
everything is muted in this space.
It’s like stepping into a world of
your own. From the reception,
we were immediately escorted to
the well appointed locker room
with the Jacuzzi, steam bath and
sauna. The facilities are impeccably clean ( as they should be)
and the staff, attentive and courteous.
After a half hour of catch up
chatting with my girl, we headed
for the serenity of the treatment
areas on the spa’s second floor.
Up the massive wooden stairs
the glass rather wildly , so we
turned our backs on the howling winds and settled in for an
afternoon of pure bliss.
Le Spa offers a wide
variety of massages, scrubs,
facials and combination treatments. The menu was dizzying. We chose the massage,
scrub and facial combination
that guaranteed a full two
hours of pure bliss.
The therapists covered
our eyes with cool cloths
scented with cucumber before
commencing with a mango
body scrub for me and a sea
salt and coconut scrub for my
daughter. The scents of the
mango and coconut alone
were enough to bring back
happy memories of our travels and travails together.
We shared a happy silence as the therapists moved
away tension and promote well
being and good circulation. ) Expert hands kneaded and cajoled
my stressed out flesh into a mol ten mass of relaxation. My back
yielded and let go of the months
of tension from work and travel.
Then I vaguely remember being
told to turn over onto my back
again before I faded into unconsciousness.
That little ping from the bell
broke through the quiet in the
room, signaling the end of our
treatments. Across the room I
saw my girl gently stirring. She
padded over to me in our plush
spa robes and warm slippers and
rewarded with the best hug only
she can give and a “ thank you
so much mom for nagging me
to come with you today. I sooooo
enjoyed this. Thank you for
knowing that I needed this. I love
you mom!”.
on to our facials. We couldn’t
really tell how the facials felt afterwards, as we had both drifted
off to sleep. In a dreamy haze, we
woke up 15 minutes later to turn
over on our stomachs for specialty Hilot Secret massage. (For
the spa virgin, the Filipino Hilot
massage is a good starter. Hilot is
the Filipino ancient art of healing
through massage. The strokes
are deep and penetrating to ease
And with that we capped
off our day together with a light
dinner at Sofitel’s Le Bar. My
mommy work is done. Braving
the traffic to get to the Spa was
all worth it.
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instagram @lemonadieas and
twitter @juicy_chicken or email
me at [email protected] .
I’d love to hear from you.
to the second floor, much like
the “bahay na bato” of yore, the
treatment rooms are done in
old wood punctuated with tactile native materials like banig
and other fibers. Our room happened to face the bay, with the
rains whipping the seas grey
and threatening to overflow onto
the Sofitel’s well manicured gardens. The leaves were thrashing
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