David Minton received one of the best massages he’s ever had at the Six Senses resort (this picture and below)
Bab Al Shams had a traditional style and was popular with Dubai day trippers
despite the gentle hum of customers – knew exactly who I was and what treatment I’d booked. T e spa, with nine treatment rooms and two hammams, off ered a full menu of local and signature treatments from an inter- national spa team. It focused on holistic wellness and rejuvenation programmes and I opted for a 60-minute omr45 (us$117, €86, £74) massage – a medium to light pressure treatment with long, fl owing movements. It’s been six years since I’ve had a treatment of such high quality. My therapist, Bikash, was just so intuitive and knew exactly what to do to make me relax. I came straight out of the session and booked him for extra treatments over the next three days. Without doubt, Six Senses was my favour-
ite spa on the trip and I’d go back there again tomorrow if I could. It was a wrench to leave, but with more to explore it was time to head back over that mountain.
WHAT’S THE SCORE? Ease of booking
Facilities
Cleanliness Staff
Experience/treatment Value for money
Overall experience
Resort & Spa, Dubai 2
Bab Al Shams Desert
T e Bab Al Shams Desert Resort & Spa was more like old-fashioned oasis-style developments I had imagined, com- pared to the other two properties. It was operated by Jumeirah when I vis- ited, but is now run by Meydan LLC. Nestled in the rolling dunes and
natural desert landscape the low-rise resort – with its 115 bedrooms – was designed to resemble a rural Arab village and it had certainly made the most of its situation. Like every oasis, it had a focal point, a beating heart, a meeting place, built around a won- derful collection of outdoor pools, water jets and showers. Designed with both the family and
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young holiday makers in mind, this was the largest of the three resorts and the busiest (although not over- crowded). T e resort manager told me that it’s particularly popular with day drippers from Dubai. T e Satori Spa featured four indoor
and one outdoor treatment room, as well as a steamroom and sauna. Signa- ture treatments, rituals, massages, face and body add-ons and a mix of half-day and full-day packages were all very good value – an all-day aed1,200 (us$327, €240, £209) programme will get you a body exfoliation, aromatherapy mas- sage, facial and a healthy lunch. I had a facial one day and a massage
the next and the whole time I was at the spa it seemed busy and the packages
SPA BUSINESS 4 2011 ©Cybertrek 2011
did indeed seem popular with guests from neighbouring emirates. Overall, I thought the staff was really nice and spoke very good English. With an early evening temperature
of 23˚C, a warm breeze and time to relax in the outdoor rest areas, the spa takes full advantage of the desert views. Pick your timing and position and you can enjoy a treatment followed by a magnifi cent setting sun. It was a Satori ritual I could have got used to.
WHAT’S THE SCORE? Ease of booking
Facilities
Cleanliness Staff
Experience/treatment Value for money
Overall experience
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