Merely walking into South Asia’s first Iridium Spa at the St Regis, Mumbai boasts nothing but understated luxury. From the moment I entered the plush space, the suspended cutwork chandeliers set my mood for a billionaire spa treatment. I was also shown around the Iridium spa which was born from the DNA of the St. Regis brand. The spa houses nine treatment rooms and one couple therapy suite.
Husnavaz Dastur, Director of Spa & Recreation at The St. Regis consulted me regarding my health and skin conditions. After a careful examination of my skin and health, she chose the blue diamond brightening facial for my skin due to my uneven skin tone. Apart from that, gold body therapy was pre-decided. Speaking of the architectural elements of the spa and treatment rooms, everything was tastefully done with a color palette tinted in gold and bronze.
The treatment rooms were named after Indian flowers and had all the facilities like steam, shower, and a bathtub dressed with a cornucopia of roses to make the spa more cushioned and luxe. Custom-blended elixirs greeted me as I entered my treatment room which was named after the Indian flower Ketaki, a favorite of the Gods. The music and lighting were also nothing less than perfect! Going to the treatment, my therapist Chui started with a foot soak before body therapy. The movement of her hands merely during the foot soak spoke of her flair.
After the foot soak, it was time for the gold body treatment to start off. The treatment began with a 60 minutes massage with a fragrant oil enriched with gold particles. My body was slathered with the aromatic oil which tickled my nostrils and was enough to soothe my frayed nerves.
Using gentle Swedish massage strokes, my therapist put me to sleep just as the treatment started. I begin to feel myself slipping deeper and deeper into a state of slumber. As I felt the muscles on my back unknotting, the cares of the outside world also seem to be far away.
The 60 minutes of massage was not only rewarding but also opened my eyes to my inner self. The massage was followed by an invigorating gold exfoliation. Golden sugar scrub along with fair-trade cane sugar was used to refine the texture of the skin.
I could already feel the tan on my body reducing. I’m all in for the use of gold for skincare, capitalizing on which tanned skin can be repaired. While the exfoliation did seem a bit too invigorating but the after-effects had me convinced on why it was a prime aspect of the spa ritual.
The preening didn’t stop here! My next therapist Ashim stepped in, reassuring that the blue diamond facial would be a big boon for my skin. Another 80 minutes drifted away faster than I knew with Ashim focussing on the massage just as much she concentrated on the cleansing and scrubbing. All the areas of my face were worked on gently and the highpoint of the facial I’d say is that I relaxed during it, something which is just an imperative part of a facial.
Sipping on the spa green tea, I took a sneak peek at products of the Hungarian brand Omorovicza which are used for all spa treatments at Iridium. I thought over how these luxurious concoctions are used only at the best spas and my mind instantly lingered also over the excellent techniques of the therapists.
Towards the end of it, I felt the unparalleled joys visiting a good spa can get you.
The gentle seduction of my olfactory senses with gold set the tone for a perfect wellness journey. My face also basked in the reflected glory of the facial which I believe is excellent to improve the firmness of the skin. Realizing how it feels to be treated like a medieval royal, I walked out of the spa exuding opulence of both gold and diamond.
Price: Rs 10,000 ($150) + taxes for the gold body therapy (90 mins) and Rs 7,800 ($120) for the Blue brightening facial (80 mins)
Where: Iridium Spa, Level 10, The St. Regis, Lower Parel, Mumbai 400 013
Contact: +91 (22) 6162 8299
