Advertisement

World's highest spa

Reading Time:2 minutes
Why you can trust SCMP
0
Tessa Chanin Bristol

Its relaxation facilities may be somewhat modest compared with those of some other five-star hotels, but the Ritz-Carlton Spa by ESPA more than makes up for it with its stunning king-of-the-castle views. Located on the hotel's 116th floor, it's the highest hotel spa in the world, at an ear-popping 465 metres high.

One of the spa's seasonal specials, the Summer to Shine package, includes a 70-minute aromatherapy massage, ESPA facial, and their signature Jade Stone Eye Treatment.

The massage is perfect, the therapist using ESPA Fitness Body Oil - with peppermint, eucalyptus and sweet almond oil - and just enough pressure to leave me unknotted, but not sore. Once my neck and back are done, I'm invited to turn around, and my chair is slightly inclined for a leg and neck massage waking me up gently in time for the facial.

The therapist cleanses my skin thoroughly (three times, in fact, but the products are natural and non-irritating). The lights are then dimmed, and I'm invited to 'see' my skin. A Wood's lamp and a mirror are held up to my face.

When I ask, horrified, what I'm seeing, the therapist explains that the light is like the ultraviolet lamps they use to investigate crime scenes in the CSI TV shows, and that it allows you to see very deeply. Purple areas around the eyes indicate dry skin, and orange blotches are oily areas.

'I'm investigating you,' she says, good-humouredly.

Advertisement