Spa Junkie 5 – Jiva Spa at the TajHotel in Cape Town

Spa junkie am I…

I adore SPA visiting…. I love the time for myself… so, every time I have the opportunity, I just dont miss it…

I was in Cape Town for the weekend and this translated into a 3 1/2 hour visit to the Jiva Spa at the Taj Hotel in Cape Town.

The Hotel is situated in Cape Town CPD and therefore it is in the heart of the city center. The area is a business district and not very sexy for tourism… apart of course to some museums and gouvernemental buildings…

The Spa is located in the second floor of the hotel and it is quite large SPA…

As I came in, I was welcomed into a relaxation room where I could fill my health questionnaire and sip tea. After answering all the questions I was taken to a vestiaire where I changed to my robe to be moved to my “home” for the next 3 1/2 hours.

The treatment started with a full body scrub done whereas I was lying in bed… Every part of my body was rubbed and scrubbed to eliminate the dead and old skin.

After the scrub,  I was requested to take a shower to rinse the soap out… The shower was delicious but I could not stay as long as I would have liked… as you may know, Cape Town is going through a severe draught with serious water consumption restrictions… even the spa is not allowing guests to use the Hamman and the Jaccuzzi…

The shower was short but reinvigorating… then,  I was taken to the second part of the treatment which was a body wrap. The therapist first evolved my body with a oil which I had chosen prior to start the treatment and then I was completely wrapped into several warm towels which covered and tightened every single inch of my body… I still have very mixed feelings about this part… I felt like a mummy… I looked like a mummy and I sweat like an alive mummy…

I even asked to have my picture taken to see how I looked at that stage… as you can note only my nose is out…

25 long minutes and I must confess I wanted out of it way before the time was up.

Another quick shower to rinse the oil… this time really quick because I was feeling guilty…

The last but not the least part was the full body massage…

I normally opt for the hot stone massage… as it is my favorite..

This time I decided to go Indian and chose the Pehlwan Malish, a powerful Indian oil massage.

The Pehlwan Malish is a quite dynamic type of massage and the hands of the therapist move fast and deep into the skin… It is relaxing but not the type that makes you fall asleep…

The whole treatment also includes a facial and a head massage…. although I love Spa treatments, I thought at this stage that I needed a break…

I have done 1/2 day spa treatments before but there were quite a few pauses in between the changes of treatment which did not happen in this case… so, being very honest and I mentioned this to the therapist at the end, I would suggest the SPA to make mini breaks for tea in between the different stages…

As I finished I could no longer bear lying in the bed as my back hurt and I was impatient to finish… what was a real shame… as the Therapist was great and she was doing everything she could to make me relax and leave the SPA happy with the whole experience… but all I could think was that I was tired to be locked into a room and worried that the therapist was also exhausted.

When the treatment finished I was happy to be taken to the relaxation room for tea… but after so long I was starving and the hotel served an high tea at the ground floor.

The high tea is not part of the SPA treatment or review but it is worth trying if you happen to go to Cape Town on a Sunday. A whole buffet is full of pastries, scones, cakes and mini sandwiches… I was so hungry that all tasted very delicious…

I know that after 3 1/2 hours of Spa Treatment I should have kept my liver free of alcohol, but I also craved for a glass of wine… The South African chardonnays are just too good to be snubbed…

One can never know until one has tried… I am not convinced that the Indian type of Spa treatments is for me… I think in this case, next time I will go back to my favorite hot stone massage.

xx Valentina