The Deep Ocean Spa at the Intercontinental on Bora Bora
DAY 7 — I’m face down on a massage table looking through glass at fish swimming in the lagoon as the Polynesian masseuse caresses me first with bags of seaweed and creams made from ground pearls and deep sea water.
Click: PHOTO GALLERY Ahh,,, Ohhhh!
Polynesian music is playing softly. Waves are lapping. Can it get any better than this? We’re at the Thalasso Spa at the InterContinental Bora Bora Resort (www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/borabora-thalasso ) , which, I’m told is the largest spa in French Polynesia.
My Friend Pam Roza, her daughter Orlee, my daughter Mel and their two friends Margaret Bylsma and Lane Washburn have taken an afternoon off from roughing it on our chartered catamaran (www.tahitiyachtcharter.com ) for a little mom and daughter spa action. The two dads have declined our invitation to join us and are snoozing by the pool at the exclusive resort.
What makes this spa unique is that it is the first spa in the world using water drawn from deep in the Pacific — which they tell us is extremely pure and rich in minerals. No wonder my skin feels so great the next day!
As if the massage isn’t enough, we luxuriate in a walk-through pool that pummels our legs with jets of water and a Jacuzzi. There are treatments with deep sea water showers, baths with deep sea water and hydro massages, marine scrubs and mud treatments…too bad we only have an afternoon! The moms opt for the signature Deep Blue Massage.
Two of the girls get other massages and two facials. I’d like to report they were the most terrific spa treatments ever but the girls said they were merely “ok.” We moms of course are disappointed at their tepid, or possibly jaded, response. But the experience, they assured us, was as much fun as the actual treatment — looking down in the lagoon through the glass watching the fish as the masseuse is working all of the kinks out of my back…the steam and the sauna. For my part, I think it was one of my most memorable spa experiences ever — and I’ve been to some amazing spas around the world.
I think also we simply appreciated the “real” showers which we certainly don’t have on a sailboat. My mom never took me to a spa when I was a teen but these kids — maybe because of high school sports and physical therapy for injuries — are no strangers to spa treatments. Of course these days even little girls are getting manicures and pedicures.
In fact, the next day, at the Four Seasons Bora Bora — which is making a huge effort to attract the family market (www.fourseasons.com/borabora ) — I learn that their fantastic spa is developing an entire teen program — to go along with the special treatments for honeymooning couples. How about a couples massage followed by a coconut milk bath — unfortunately, not my husband’s idea of fun. He’d rather be fishing. But sounds good to me!
This spa, which sits at the highest point on the expansive property, is supposed to merge the spiritual energy of the South Pacific and the inner lagoon. I just think it’s very beautiful and mellow — with soaring wood walls and thatched ceilings, complete with the latest Jacuzzi. Imagine lying on a kind of horizontal ladder as the jets spray you from underneath, a steam room with twinkling lights in the ceiling and a “serenity shower with soothing music and you choose your spray — tropical rain maybe?
I told the girls one spa treatment per vacation was my limit. They don’t care. They’re excited just to try out that serenity shower.
Next: Our last day with Turo and a memorable dinner