R the Spa – Relaxing at all Levels

Feeling blue, jet-lagged or plain stressed? R the Spa at Radisson Blu Hotel spells the perfect solution for your over-abused body and brain!
Feeling blue, jet-lagged or plain stressed? R the Spa at Radisson Blu Hotel spells the perfect solution for your over-abused body and brain!
 
It’s not the typical slow spa music that will greet you, but a slightly more upbeat tempo that makes you alert and active. Welcome to R the Spa at Radisson Blu Hotel in New Delhi. 
 
Various ceramic versions of the Lotus flower are placed throughout the spa – whether it’s the water spurring lotus fountain on the first level or the great lotus shaped bowl with rose petals and candles floating in it. The extremely sublime and soothing rain fountain, running throughout the three levels, is another common thread in the spa.   
 
To explain all the bantering I have been doing about ‘levels’, R the Spa is built on three principles – Rejuvenation, Relaxation and Replenishment – each of which defines the three levels, or three floors, of the spa. The first level is dedicated to fitness with a well-equipped gym; the second (and the most tempting one) is for massages and treatments; and the third one is a sprawling salon for all your beauty requirements. 
 
Be prepared to be struck by, not cream-coloured walls, but a sleek wood-worked reception at the spa. R the Spa has a unique identity – very different from the other spas which you experience. 
 
Ms Alka Katar, the Spa Director, quickly dispelled any myths if I had – “We don’t claim to be therapeutic. What we definitely do promise is relaxation.” And yes, they did deliver on their promise and much more! I think their philosophy makes absolute sense since they are located near the International Airport. Many jet-lagged tourists and businessmen traverse the hotel lobby to request for a good spa fix to bring them right back on track! Their well-thought and designed jet-lag therapies also help.
 
After asking me questions on my lifestyle and eating habits, Ms Katar suggested me to go for Sabai Stone Therapy and an Aromatherapy Facial for combination skin. But let me tell you one thing. If you prefer to go through the spa menu and select your own treatment, then you are going to have a tough time with treatments ranging from Javanese Lulur and Aquatherapy with Turkish Moor Wrap to Fruity Body Bliss and Caviar and Pearl Age Defying Mask!
 
As my extremely sweet and quiet therapist – Ms Nenem – took me to the Orchid suite, I marveled at the décor and ambience of the unique spa. The Orchid Suite was generously proportioned with clearly marked spaces. The immense space included a mini reception where my therapist started with the feet cleansing ritual. It opened into a wardrobe area where you can keep your belongings and change. A thin galley opened into the steam, shower and wash rooms. An infinity tub, where two people can languidly soak themselves, was placed on one side of the suite. Of course, then there was the room consisting of two comfortable massage beds. 
 
As I laid face-down on the massage bed, I noticed a very small bowl – again slightly imitating the lotus flower – with some rose petals in it, placed right below my eyes. “Nice touch”, I instantly thought. At least I won’t have to spend time looking at a bare floor – that is, if I managed to keep my eyes open!
 
Which, of course, I couldn’t. Sabai Stone Therapy was as good as the menu promised. The not-so-gentle therapist now massaged me while applying pressure to the required points. She continued to massage, but with a generous amount of warm and fragrant Forest Essential Rose and Geranium oil. She quickly replaced her hands with hot, very hot, granite stones (made with copper and iron which help in improving the skin and strengthen the bones respectively). 
 
Nenem would use her slightly cooler hands as well in between to massage, but would get back to the hot stones again. She swirled and pressed and massaged with the ergonomically designed stones and repeated the procedure throughout – covering every part from shoulders to the tip of the little finger on my feet! 
 
The alternating cool and hot touches kept shocking my senses and didn’t really let me sleep. But the massage and the soothing trance music in the background did their work. I quickly slipped from my all-alert mode to pleasant oblivion! 
 
After this blissful one hour treat, which ended with a fantastic head massage, I was led to the steam room for 10 minutes, followed by a shower. As I skipped gaily around ‘my’ suite after the shower (you see, I had conveniently forgotten that it wasn’t home), Nenem asked me to come for the second treatment of the day – the aromatherapy facial. 
 
True to its name, I smelled various aromas swirling around my face – rose, wheat and many more! Nenem worked on my face with the Pevonia products for about an hour again as I indolently day dreamed of having an extended spa holiday one day! She massaged, scrubbed and exfoliated my face and I was up in an hour again – with a fresh and newly polished me – ready to take the world heads on.
 
Coordinates: Radisson Blu Hotel Delhi, National Highway 8, New Delhi – 110037, India
Tel: +91 11 26779191  

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