Imagine our delight when our editor Selene told us we'd be heading off to the Onewellness spa at the Radisson Hotel in the Waterfront for a treatment.

It recently won the coveted Best Hotel Spa of the Year award for 2008, in the 4th annual Les Nouvelles Esthetiques South Africa Spa Awards - obviously we couldn’t decline.

We thought a day at the spa would be a great way to celebrate our womanhood. Elhaam and I took the liberty of finding out exactly what the ONEwellness offers you.

Here is our experience… first hand of course:

This spa, the brainchild of Rob Cowling who has an extensive background in the international and local fitness industry, is centered on beauty from within. It integrates fitness along with the beauty and spa therapy.

Have your own spa day with package deals like these; you just have to pamper yourself.

  A holistic philosophy is represented by these 10 pillars:
• Aesthetics – treatments involved in skin care and well-being
• Touch – guests either experience a gentle massage or therapeutic interventions such as reflexology and aromatherapy
• Integration – ambience of the treatment rooms enhance physical and psychological harmony
• Movement – prescribed individual exercise that’s safe and suited for your body
• Waters – healing through forms of water such as mist, steam and ice
• Environment – the choice of textures and colours enhance the ambience and experience
• Nourishment – spa cuisine that offers tasty but healthy offerings
• Education – professionally trained staff that cater to your individual needs
• Evaluation and prescription – they evaluate your physical, mental and emotional state and suggest the treatment that is best suited for you
• Teamwork - harmonious teamwork maximizes synergy of all the 10 domains

Anyway, back to our girl’s day at the spa. We were greeted by the Onewellness team and they were most welcoming.

Our therapists were Janine and Grazi and they would be taking care of us during our Onejourney treatment.

The Onejourney is a signature treatment that consists of the following traditional and modern spa experiences. It is available for one person or small groups.

It was structured to be a voyage and a voyage it definitely was. Each treatment is unique. As it ensures that each sense is stimulated.

Onejourney incorporates the extremities of wet and dry as well as hot and cold.

These are used in various forms such as heat, mist, steam, ice, hydrotherapy and chromo therapy at the respective treatment stations.

The journey lasts for an hour.

At each station you are allocated a specific time frame and each room is themed in a different colour. This further enhances the treatment and ensures that the experience is really different.

Your journey begins here…

Treatment one: Vichy with body exfoliation

This station is red. Exfoliation of your entire body occurs here. You're greeted by a slate bed and your first impression is "that slab seems really cold and unpleasant."

However as you get seated, you realize it’s the total opposite.

Ulpha’s rating out of 5: I give it a 4. I loved the exfoliation. The room was really warm and I loved that they turned you over like a piece of toast.

Elhaam’s rating out of 5: My rating is 4.5. My skin felt like a baby’s bottom.

Treatment two: Caldarium

With its star light ceiling and a temperature of 45 degrees, the steam in this room opens your pores and cleanses your skin.

Ulpha’s rating: 3. I liked it but the steam became overbearing and I found it hard to breath at times. Thankfully they turned it off after a while.

Elhaam’s rating: 2. The heat became unbearable and I felt like I was about to pass out… left my skin glowing though.

Treatment three: Kneipp

This is for your feet. You start off putting your feet in cold water and then in hot water as you get a neck massage. The contrast is great.

Ulpha’s rating: 4… the massage was brilliant.

Elhaam’s rating: 4… I loved the contrast of hot and cold.

Treatment four: Rock sauna

Here you get to kick back and bask in the heat offered by the rock sauna. But as with all sauna's, don’t stay long or you’ll get your back side too hot like we did.

If you’re getting too hot, just cool off in the shower for a minute.

Ulpha’s rating: this treatment was relaxing while at the same time stimulating. I’ll rate it 4.5.

Elhaam’s rating: 4… the heat on your body feels amazing.

Treatment five: Aroma mist

It smells good in this room thanks to all the aromatherapy oils. The room is lit with ice blue mist. It’s hard to see, so we were advised to close our eyes. My therapist Grazi said it’s especially good for wheezy chests and blocked nasal passages.

Elhaam’s rating: 3… it stings your eyes at times but it smells oh so good.

Ulpha’s rating: I give it a 3.5. It was cooling to the skin and I felt minty fresh. Mind you, I was coughing beforehand so this definitely offered some relief.

The final stage of your journey ends here…

Treatment six: the Sleep Room

It ended off our journey but in our opinion was the best treatment.

The room’s tastefully kitted in natural textures and dimmed lighting. Retreating to the bed, I was in total relaxation mode. You get this foot massage that just lulls you into a deep slumber.

Elhaam’s rating: 4.5… if the tea was good it would have been 5.
Ulpha’s rating: it gets a 5/5 from me. It ended the treatment off perfectly. Well, personally, no words can explain the experience that you have in the sleep room.

• Add new comment

Bookmark/Search this post with:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•