Water Indulgence, Bali

Healing senses with water at Mulia Spa …

Of course it’s not difficult to find a good Balinese massage on this island, but to have an especially crafted one where the therapist uses a distinctive technique that not only renews one’s body and mind but also aura is definitely a one of a kind experience. Mulia Spa promises this kind of treatment. In addition, this spa also has a Wellness Suite with Asia Pacific’s first ever Ice Room, where guests can chill prior to a spa treatment. Ever wonder what the Ice Room looks like and how amazing the treatment is? Let’s start this beauty journey…

State-Of-the-Art Suite

With 20 treatment rooms, each one designed like a five-star hotel room, Mulia Spa welcomes their guests with a personal touch. It shows in how interactive their staff is when a guest enters the spa. At least that was what I experienced when my electric car from the hotel lobby stopped at the spa’s door.

A woman welcomed me to the spa lounge and handed me a glass of iced red ginger and lemongrass that was surprisingly refreshing. As I sipped my drink, I decided to have a Balinese massage. However, before the massage began, I opted to access the Wellness Suite first – and trust me, an experience at this suite is one to treasure.

After my welcome drink was done a therapist escorted me to a locker room where I changed into a bikini and put on a yukata, both provided by the spa. When I was ready, the therapist took me straight to the Wellness Suite where the Emotional Steam Room, Finnish Sauna and Ice Room are located. These three rooms use state-of-the-art technologies with buttons for guests to choose the color and song that suit their mood. The steam room has an emotional shower with two buttons: ‘Breeze’ for a shower time with medium level of Water power and ‘Rain’ for a heavy rain shower. All these features are believed to increase one’s mood, and the song, colors and fragrance form a relaxing ambiance that is good to cleanse one’s chakra.

I began with five minutes in the steam room to open up all my pores. Five minutes is highly suggested, and when the time was up I spent another five minutes in the sauna for detoxification. Those 10 minutes may seem long due to the heat, but it was also rejuvenating because the rooms are equipped with a relaxing eucalyptus scent, gentle heat and fair level of humidity. In the sauna especially, I could feel my body experiencing stress and anxiety detoxification, and when I went out of the room I felt my body and spirit become whole again.

After the sauna I walked into the final room: the Ice Room. Created by an award-winning Italian spa specialist, this room is set at -1°C. My body was shocked a little bit because of the major change of temperature from the sauna to the Ice Room, but it didn’t last long as the ice crystal that is set on some kind of an ice fountain could help increase immune level. It can also stimulate blood circulation, as the ice is actually frozen oxygen water. And it works very simply; all I had to do was to sit in the Ice Room, grab some ice and rub it all over my body like a body scrub.

By the time I walked out of the Wellness Suite my muscles were relaxed and my skin was totally purified. I could also see why the Wellness Suite is best used prior to a massage treatment as these suites have successfully made my skin so soft and clean that it could easily absorb the massage oil from my next treatment. But before I continued to the massage room there was one more feature at Mulia Spa that I wanted to try. It was the Hydrotherapy pool.

Healing Senses

The oxygenated Hydrotherapy pool is surrounded by frangipani trees and divided into warm and cold Water pools. I first took a dip in the warm pool to warm myself from the Ice Room. The pool is also designed with water pressure on every side to take away the tension on one’s body. I decided to let my back, neck, and shoulder enjoy the water pressure that actually fell like a firm massage. Then I tried the cold pool where the water pressure gave me the same pleasure. I could feel all the aching in my joints being carried away by the water.

As much as I enjoyed being in the pool I had to get out of it as the Balinese massage was waiting for me. A therapist then took me to a treatment room where a footbath was already prepared. Most of Mulia Spa’s treatments begin with a foot wash ritual with foot gel made of cucumber and aloe vera, followed by a palm scrub with sea salt. Next I lay down on the massage bed facing the ceiling, and let the session began with aroma breathing where the therapist told me to breath in and breath out three times while she was swinging a flower right in front of my face. She asked me to close my eyes and started the aura cleansing with the singing bowl. These two rituals successfully calmed my mind and took me to a deeper sedative state of mind. Then she stretched my body with her palms and gave me an on-point massage that relieved my tension and improved my blood flow. The Balinese massage also uses an ancient deep tissue massage technique where the combination of effleurage, palming, stretching and pressure points help harmonize one’s body, mind and spirit.

Another interesting point that I would like to highlight during my experience at Mulia Spa is the fact that the therapists understand each of the products, techniques and facilities at the spa in detail. It is totally relaxing when you know you’re in good hands, isn’t it?