Everything’s coming up roses
Whether you’ve spent a day lounging by the pool, an afternoon on the golf course or you’re simply looking to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, the spa at the Radisson Blu Yas Island offers a range of rituals, massages and quick fixes to suit most budgets and time frames.
We’ve cleared the diary for a two-hour Rose Decadence ritual. Based around a range of products from the UK’s Aromatherapy Associates, this treatment promises to ‘rejuvenate and nourish’ the skin – with all of this humidity and AC, we’re game.
Snuggled into layers of towels on the massage table, our therapist begins with a full body scrub of marine extracts and olive grains. Although we’re a little chilly while the scrub is being applied, the scent of the oils and strong, sweeping motions of our therapist’s hands up and down our tired limbs soon relaxes us.
After a quick shower (filled with rose petals) we’re back on the table and ready for a selection of essential oils to be massaged into our freshly buffed skin. In practice this feels more like a kind of gel, and again is a little chilly when first applied. A moisturiser with a consistency of Greek yoghurt (fresh from the fridge) is added to the mix, and we’re definitely ready to be cocooned in some warm towels!
Up to this point the treatment has been more invigorating than deeply relaxing, but wrapped up like a human hot dog in layers of warm, fluffy towels we begin to feel the benefits of oils on our skin. To help us relax our therapist begins the most wonderful face and head massage.
There’s none of the scalp scraping, hair pulling and ear yanking that some therapists seem to think is relaxing here. Instead we’re carried off to the verge of deep sleep by the soft, sweeping movements of our therapist’s warm hands. Every inch of our face is caressed and our scalp softly stroked as we feel the tension ooze out of every pore of our body.
There’s nothing to do but nod off for the next bit as you’re left for 30 minutes or so to let all the oils soak in. Just as well as by now we’re ready for a snooze.
Gently awoken by another quick face massage and shoulder rub, we’re ready to head home to bed, with wonderfully soft, rose-scented skin. Job done.
Megan Wynes
What? Radisson Blu Rose Decadence
Where: Radisson Blu, Yas Island
Cost: AED 750
We say: Get super soft skin without the marble slabs and steam of a hammam
Contact: 02 656 2000
