Body & Mind Spa - Cluster O

Knowing how much I love SPAs and massages, a friend of mine gifted me a one-hour oil massage voucher to Body & Mind Spa in JLT.

I was doubtful in the beginning - I have tried quite a few SPAs in JLT and was not happy with one thing or another about each.  Either the therapists are excellent but the place is quite shabby and border line questionable. Or the place is posh but therapists are far from knowing how to massage someone.

So, I went to "Body & Mind" spa with low expectations and almost anxiety on what awaits me there!

The spa is actually in Cluster O on the lake level - right next to the Gelato cafe (they changed its name now - I suppose they figured Gelato was too limiting).  This is how Body & Mind looked from outside:

 

Not so bad, right? In fact, quite decent and far from shabby.  I entered from the door on the side and was greeted by a nice Filipina lady who politely took my voucher and requested my therapist to come over the phone.  She did not offer me any information or offers or anything.  Just greeted me with a smile and answered "no" when I asked her if they were giving any special discounts for JLT residents.  This is how the reception area was: simple, nice rustic brown tiles, and overall woody feel that makes you feel you are surrounded by nature.



My therapist came - another Filipina - smiled at me and asked me to escort her to a small room that had a sink on the floor so she can wash my feet before the massage started. Well, I liked that. I always consider this something nice to offer (especially if it is not deducted from your 60 minutes).  The feeling of warm water and soap on the feet before massage gives me this fresh feeling and relaxation.  This is the small room where I had my feet washed:

After a couple of minutes of feet washing and drying, I was escorted to the massage room.  Nothing struck me as "wow" or as "yukk" in the room. It was rather a small tidy room with a massage bed that offers an opening for your face to rest when you are on your stomach (many other SPAs just offer a flat bed which is quite uncomfortable when one is on their stomach I should say!).  She asked me to change and she went out.  The room smelled nice and I was then anxious to see my treatment.

Heidi, my therapist, knocked on the door and adjusted the towel on my back, got on top of the bed and started stretching my body before she started with the oil. The oil smelled really different from any other place I've been to.  Usually the oil is either the Ylang Ylang or Lemon Grass or Lavendar, which might be more expensive than the oil Heidi used on me, I can't know for sure. However, this oil smelled like mild strawberry and really made me feel happy inhaling it.  Yes, happy is the word. I was relaxed for sure, but happy is how this aroma made me feel.

My massage was an "Oil Sports Massage" and it was quite good but I should say that the best surprise in this massage was when I suddenly felt this really hot oil on my lower back and I was not sure what the source was.  Heidi would remove both her hands from my back, rub them against something on the bed and then massage my back again with very warm hands!  After 5 minutes of this riddle, I felt hot stones were replacing her hands and it was heavenly.  This massage is not a hot stone massage but she does add hot stones for what seemed to be 5 minutes to warm up my back and trust me, if you ever go, ask for it to be included if they don't include it themselves.

When I rolled on my back, Heidi and I started a conversation. I was asking her about the oil and the hot stones.  Her reserved personality suddenly vanished and she started talking very friendly.  I must have been given an extra 10 minutes or so complimentary massage which was really nice.  Heidi told me she was the only Filipina masseuse in Body & Mind and in all honesty, I would not have guessed she could do such a great job. You know how we stereotype people, Thai are the best masseuse, etc.. So untrue!

Verdict: I will sure go to Body & Mind again and will sure ask for Heidi.  For now, it is my favourite massage place in JLT!

Promotion: The SPA offers a complimentary 30 minutes for every one hour booked every day between 10 and 3 p.m. So, if you book at 1:30 p.m. for instance for 60 minutes, they will give you 90 minutes! Not bad and the prices are quite average.  Ask for the promotion when you book. I think the receptionist will not mention it unless you do - I could be wrong of course!