AYANA RESORT & SPA

HIGHLIGHT

The most expansive integrated resort in Bali boasts a holistic wellness programme that includes Asia’s largest thalassotherapy spa. For ultimate bliss, opt for a massage at its exclusive Spa on the Rocks.

WELLNESS PHILOSOPHY

Think Ayana Resort, and the Rock Bar will indubitably come to mind. While the 100ha integrated resort is best known for this cliff-side bar, it has many other tricks up its sleeves to gratify the varying needs of jet-setting travellers such as its 19 restaurants that span Asian to international delights, or its 11 swimming pools. If rest and respite is what you’re after, the resort delivers a peerless experience at Bali’s largest spa facility operated by Thermes Marin Bali, which boasts 53 treatment rooms as well as Asia’s most extensive thalassotherapy spa, where the benefits of seawater are harnessed to rejuvenate the body. Unfortunately, the Aquatonic pool with its 12 hydromassage stations was closed for maintenance when I visited, but I was in for another wonderful treat, a session at Ayana’s unique Spa on the Rocks, a wonderfully quaint cabana with a traditional alang-alang thatched roof perched calmly on a rock jutting out into the sea—an oasis of calm in the middle of the undulating waves. The treatments at the Spa on the Rock are all unique and were created to bring in elements of the sea to make you feel one with nature. Disclaimer: walking down the 115 steps is relatively easy (plus, you have the panorama of the Indian Ocean to keep you company), but you might feel a little light-headed when climbing up, so make sure that you don’t eat or drink any heavy liquids at least two hours before. I was greeted by my therapist for the day, Sri Ningsih, who started the Dazzling Pearl treatment by gently washing my feet with rose flower, milk and sea salt lemongrass in a vessel outdoors. As I crossed the threshold, a wonderful sight awaited me: a minimalist room clad in wooden accents with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the calm blue sea. The treatment started with a wild harvested pearl scrub that contains pearl powder, which left my skin glowing posttreatment. Then, I lay down on the mattress for an hour-long Balinese massage using natural oils. As Sri Ningsih undid the knots in my shoulders and rid my body of its stresses with her firm touch, I was lulled into a fitful sleep with the soft lapping of the waves serving as a soothing soundtrack and creating a subtle rocking effect to enhance the sensation.