Spoiling yourself at Roatan’s
Day Spa
Private Beach and Beautiful Surroundings
Sante Day Spa's
Private Beach |
Sometimes you need a complete break from your problems,
and only a bit of selfish pampering will do. I thought
that taking myself away from France and arriving on
Roatan might do it. Beaches, monkey-lalas, that kind
of thing.
But the island held a surprise for me. While mooching
around the island’s websites, I came across
a US-style “spa”. Massage? Mud-wraps?
Here, on this palm-filled rock? I decided to give
in to the temptation.
The Santé Wellness Centre is at Parrot Tree
Plantation, a few miles east of French Harbour on
the island’s south shore. A boat picks you up
at the quayside and skims you across a lagoon to a
little spit of land facing out to sea. No road access,
no noise, no neighbors. If you want isolation, it’s
here, amongst palm and mango trees and looking out
over the reef at the bottom of the garden.
The spa is run by an American named Angela Missaggia,
who gained certification and experience in California
before moving out here. She led me into her custom-built
spa room, air-conditioned and peacefully decorated
with Indonesian batiks and trickling water ornaments.
But what amazed me was to find such a professional
environment here, with the latest equipment and supplies,
from vaporizers to foot spas to shelves of essential
oils, all shipped from the US. “It’s been
a real challenge, but worth it!” said Angela.
Certainly, over the next two hours I could have been
in a select spa hideaway in the US, say high in the
Rockies or some such tranquil place, if it weren’t
for the glinting blue water on the other side of the
mosquito nets. (Oh, and the prices, which are less
than half what you’d be asked to pay in the
Rockies.)
Down to business. I decided on a massage followed
by an enzymatic mud wrap. Angela offers a bewildering
choice of massages, but you can just leave the program
to her if you like. I said I needed something invigorating,
so she added some Tui-Na to a Lifestream massage.
It lasted an hour and, as the palms and thumbs soothed
deep-seated tensions from every muscle I had ever
acknowledged, plus a few strangers, which I must presume
had always been there, I gradually felt in touch with
my neglected body again. Now I was ready for the real
pampering.
From head to foot, I soon found myself covered in
a special blend of clay, sea mud, and essential oils
and looking like some animal of the oasis. Finally
I understood why my dog has always been crazy about
this kind of thing whenever he finds a mudhole.
But no-one was going to give me a scolding for doing
it. “Heck, I deserve this,” I said, face-down
in heaven.
I wondered how many times Angela had heard her clients
say that.
And so I asked about the bed and breakfast packages
that she and her husband offer for serious indulgers.
I started to feel guilty. “Well,” I thought,
“Just how much pampering do I really deserve?”
To contact the Sante Wellness Centre, phone LOCAL:
(504)-9991-0474, (504) 435-1009, US DIALING: 1 510
455-4232,. Or check their website at www.santewellnesscenter.com.
