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Working day in and day out in a fast-paced city like ours can be very stressful. Plopping in a sofa to glue yourself in front of the boob tube or taking a power nap despite the maddening clamor of your kids won’t simply work. Most of the times, what you need is a refuge to detach yourself temporarily from reality and elevate your senses to help you manage stress and achieve a healthy well-being. Spas are designed for this.  

The Oriental Spa

Your spa journey begins upon entering a reception area decorated in rich silk and natural teak, and bathed in a carefully-designed lighting system. After a brief consultation, a therapist leads you upstairs. There are four treatment rooms, two for single and two for couples. All are delicately adorned with Asian artifacts and equipped with showers, lavatories, hydraulic massage beds and soaking baths.

Treatments include Thai massage, Healing Stone therapy, Shiatsu, Swedish massage, Egyptian reflexology, the local dagdagay foot massage, cinnamon or tamarind body treatment and exotic facials with green tea, lotus flower and orchid extracts.

Afterwards, enjoy a custom-blend herbal tea at the relaxation lounge as you sit on rattan chairs and stare peacefully at a little garden. The Oriental Spa is located at the penthouse of Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Makati.

Westin Sports Club and Spa

This is the city’s first 24-hour medi-spa that also incorporates a gym and workout studio. Its perfect

location at the Westin Philippine Plaza that overlooks Manila Bay offers spa-goers an excellent view of the famed tangerine sunset. The spa features 11 treatment rooms that offer massages, facials and body treatments for the weary traveler or a city dweller seeking a respite. A separate facility called the Sole Sanctuary is where your feet gets pampered after a day of abuse while at the Oxygen Bar, you can breathe in fresh air as you bury yourself in a massage chair. There are also sauna rooms and hot and cold Jacuzzis.

Here, you can take it further by getting doctor-supervised beauty-enhancement procedures like noselift, liposuction and Botox. And because it’s a 24/7 facility, you can set a midnight session and actually wake up the next morning refreshed and revitalized.

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Om Spa 

“Om” in Hinduism and Buddhism is a sacred syllable pronounced by the three sounds of “a”, “u” and “m”. It is believed to be the spoken essence of the universe, thus usually uttered to affirm or bless. Inspired by this spiritual essence, Om Spa aspires to bring about a balance of outer vitality and inner calm for their valued guests.

Om Spa is an 18,000 square feet facility in Malate that houses a gym, sauna, Jacuzzi and relaxation rooms. Choose from a wide array of body massages that includes Meridian Therapy (works like Acupuncture minus the needle), Aroma Swedish (Swedish massage technique with essential oils), and their specialty, OMassage (a mixture of Thai, Swedish, Shiatsu and Reflexology).

The spa also has a café that whips up delectable Italian dishes which we all know is one of the healthiest cuisines with its use of olive oil.

Suriya Spas

Glorietta 3, Holiday Inn Galleria Manila, Hyatt Hotel & Casino Manila and InterContinental Manila.  What do these four establishments have in common? They are homes to Suriya Spas. 

A Suriya spa features an architecture that reflects the mixture of various Asian influences with a contemporary twist. It provides a glimpse of what the facility offers: a wide spa menu that appeals to the multi-cultural trait of the Asian region.

A variety of treatments awaits a client. There are different body massage therapies and traditional Asian body treatments to choose from. But the spa’s house specialty is the Pevonia Botanica treatments that include body scrubs and wraps, facials, reflexology, hand massage and treatments especially designed for the gents. Its own line of blended oils perfectly complements the soothing experience.

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Voted No. 1 Spa in the Philippines in the 2005 Consumers Choice Award, Sanctuario is nestled in a renovated 40s ancestral mansion at the heart of Bohemian Malate. Getting yourself pampered here is like stepping into a bygone era. Note the old English-style cast iron bath in one of the treatment rooms.

Though not designed the way one might expect from a spa, Sanctuario’s excellent services with special focus on traditional Filipino remedies more than compensate for the minimalist approach in spa architecture. The signature healing modality is hilot which is a deep-tissue massage using virgin coconut oil.

To top it all, you can have it straight from the magic hands of Tatang Robert, a 50ish part-time hilot and part-time jeepney driver. But you have to set an appointment first because he is truly in-demand.

Sanctuario is also a café and a spa school. Take a reviving sip of kapeng Batangas or barako after a session of massage course. Don’t forget to take a peek of the spa’s wading pool that gives off a turquoise glow at night.

Blue Water Day Spa

“Feel the rush of calmness and the comforting 

This is the promise of Blue Water, a day spa located at Greenhills in San Juan. Its services include aromatherapy, facials and body massages but what you should really try is their signature Brazilian Crystal Massage Therapy. This is done by placing carefully chosen crystals at strategic energy points of the body and employing an advanced massage technique to leave you not only relaxed but also energized.

Other Blue Water branches can be found in Legazpi Village in Makati, another in Mother Ignacia street in Quezon City, and one in Madrigal Business Park in Muntinlupa.

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At the southern end of the metropolis is another spa worth mentioning: The Bellevue Spa & Health Club in Alabang. Housed at the third floor of The Bellevue Hotel, the spa’s philosophy is to educate the guest in proper nutrition and stress management.

It has a sauna, two Jacuzzi areas, several massage and treatment rooms, a fully-equipped gym, swimming pool and beauty salon. A session consists of soaking your tired and aching body in a Jacuzzi before proceeding to a treatment room to get yourself whatever you want: a body scrub, foot massage or hand treatment to name only a few.

Make sure to ask about their Bliss and Escape packages that celebrities from the area always crave for. Hey, maybe after an hour or two, you’ll come out looking like a million bucks.

Pinnacle Health Pointe Spa

Let’s go up north in Quezon City and experience another fabulous spa treat.

Pinnacle Health Pointe is a fitness center featuring a boxing ring, a running track and a spa discreetly tucked away.

The spa consists of executive and couple rooms equipped with steams and showers. Try their salt glow scrub, ginger body wrap, hydra-quench facial or one of the many massages they offer. Finish off

Pinnacle Health Pointe also boasts of a juice bar famous for blending power drinks to get yourself ready for another day’s grueling work.