Bangkok Spa Review, Leyana Spa Bangkok

Tucked away quietly from the hectic pace of Thong Lor Road, Leyana Spa is a loft-like two-storey house set in a lush tropical garden. The entrance is stylishly decorated with stones sitting in a small pond leading to the front door. Once inside, I was welcomed by a charming receptionist who told me to slip into a pair of slippers.

Leyana offers a wide range of treatments all designed to help relax, revitalise as well as energise a tense and fatigued body. The treatments are categorised into six different varieties: massage menu, facial treatments, body scrub, body wrap, half-day and full-day spa package. After careful consideration, I opted for 'Rejuvenation', one of Leyana's most popular half-day spa packages.

Lasting about two hours and 20 minutes, it comprises of footbath, shower, Thai herbal steam, a choice of body scrub, and a choice of massage. Once the choice of treatment was decided, it was time to choose the scrub and massage oil to go with it. Freshly-prepared scrub comes in six different kinds: lemon, Thai tamarind, honey and oatmeal, sesame and honey, tropical fruit, jasmine rice, and coconut. Each concoction works differently, depending on skin type.

If you want to moisturise, soothe and polish your skin, try honey and oatmeal or lemon. While sesame nourishes and detoxifies tired skin, tamarind cleanses and makes skin appear brighter. For those with sensitive or sunburned skin, the coconut scrub is highly recommended. Having heard so much about the healing properties of tamarind, I opted for a tamarind recipe. As for the massage, I picked 'Leyana Massage', and the exclusively blended essential oil called 'Uplift' to complement it.

While the facilities and the 'food' for my skin were being prepared, the rejuvenating session began with a gentle footbath in rose petal-sprinkled water - a brief, yet soothing little indulgence that prepared me for better things to come...

Some like it hot... and herbal
After a footbath and a quick shower, my therapist led me into Leyana's Thai-style steam room, which consists of two small cylindrical tent-like coverings. Most of the facilities here are designed to accommodate a couple, so if you come with your other half or a friend, Leyana is the perfect place for double indulgence.

As soon as I stepped inside my little 'tepee', I was greeted by the aroma of a mixed variety of exotic Thai herbs. In order to obtain the maximum benefits from these herbs, I was told to inhale deeply and slowly. It is believed that a boiled mixture of fresh and dried essential herbs (lemongrass, khamin, prai, bergamot lime and camphor leaves, among others) has medicinal properties to treat skin ailments, muscle stress, and respiratory problems.

I also learned from my therapist that an added benefit of the herbal steam is to prepare the body for a scrub or massage. The steam enters the lungs, allowing the therapeutic herbs to effectively be absorbed into the body. The herbal oil applied will be absorbed more readily. Also, warm and relaxed post-herbal steam muscles can be more easily stretched.

In good hand

Lying face-down on the massage bed, the smell of fresh tamarind still lingered in the air. The masseuse applied tamarind paste onto my body, starting from the back, shoulders, arms and legs, then to the front. Half an hour of scrubbing flew by and my body was covered entirely in tamarind and oat meal.

I was told to go rinse myself off before the massage - the highlight of the day I shall say. My choice was 'Leyana massage', Leyana's signature soft to medium massage - perfect for those new to massage therapy and those who want to have a good dozing. I felt the aromatic lemongrass oil being kneaded into my back. The last thing I heard was her saying how I had 'knotted' back muscles. I must have fallen asleep through most of the session.

And to top it all off...

With clothes back on my oil-nourished body, I was invited to stay for the 'Leyana Brunch'. But wait, if I remembered correctly, I didn't order any food - there must have been some misunderstanding... As it turned out, the light and healthy 'Leyana Brunch', consisting of a tuna garden salad, fruit smoothie and fruit salad, was a complimentary meal for appointments made before noon (any treatment).

Leyana Spa truly embraces the spirit and tradition of holistic healing, and offers a spa menu that features a comprehensive and balanced range of exotic, revitalising 'feel-good' and 'look-good' treatments.

Leyana Spa

Open: 10:00 - 22:00 (last appointment is at 20:00)
Location: 33 Thonglor 13, Soi Torsak, Klongtonnuer, Wattana
Contact: +66 (0)2 874 4461
How to get there: Take BTS to Thong Lo station. Use exit 1 and walk to street level. Keep going straight until you see the road sign 'Sukhumvit 53'. Complimentary transfer service is available to and from Thong Lo BTS station.

by: http://www.bangkok.com