We were just joking about the whole wine and cheese day and spa day for the Kikay Barkada, until a twinkle in our eye gave us the idea to take the idea seriously! So this morning, we had Asti Martini and 3 kinds of cheeses (Gruyere, Manchego and Port Salut) and we got in touch with our friend Richard Uy, Executive Vice President of The Spa. He generously offered to help us realize our dream of a spa-bulous and spa-ntastic spa-rty! But after the show, Richard also wanted us to try their latest venture, the delicious Chicken Bon Chon for lunch!
We were served their specialty chicken and we were far from lady-like when gobbling up the chow like hungry lumberjacks because the food was just too good eat slowly!
It was just so cute, a couple of girls approached us, and told us that they’re from U.P. Diliman, and when they read our tweets that we were at Chicken Bon Chon along C5, they rushed to the branch to have lunch there and to have their picture taken with us! I swear, they were so sweet! And later, we were to find out that other groups showed up after we left looking for us, hoping to meet us. Sayang, that would’ve been awesome!
They served us so much food, but we didn’t want to eat TOO much, because we were getting a massage soon after the meal. But we sure enjoyed our lunch!
Finally, after chilling for a bit to give our tummies some time to digest our lunch, we headed off to Eastwood, to go to The Spa in Richmonde Hotel. Although Chicken Bon Chon was right beside their main branch along C5, we wanted to try the Eastwood branch because it’s their newest one.
The Eastwood branch has a very Mediterranean feel to the design. You feel like you’re in a Greek resort when you’re in there. The moment you step inside, you already smell the soothing spa aromas that already get you in relax mode.
When we got there, we were told that we all had a private room each. And we had a choice: did we want a room with either a steam room or a jacuzzi? It was unanimous, we all chose a room with a steam room. This is my room:
And this is how the jacuzzi room looks like:
These are the single rooms. Both types of rooms also have couples versions, for those who might want a more romantic twist to The Spa experience:
The package we got came in 4 parts. The first part was the body scrub:
The scrub is made of Anti-Cellulite Spice powder (not that I have any!) mixed with the Holistic Gel. The Spice Powder has an anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory action and promotes blood circulation, and includes Black Tea Extract, Fennel and Ginger. The Holistic Gel contains Japanese Sakura (or Cherry Tea Flower) extract which has calming and moisturizing properties. The therapist scrubbed away the dead skin cells then wrapped me in plastic after like some hot sexy plastic mummy. After 10 mins, she told me to rinse off, then it was on to the 2nd part of the pampering: The Head, Scalp and Shoulder massage.
We were unanimous that this was one of our favorites. We all fell asleep as the therapist slathered oil in our hair and scalp, then later the shoulders, then massaged us until we slipped into sweet slumber. It was HEAVENLY. Eventually the massage ended, and I woke up for the 3rd part: The manicure/pedicure.
I’ve NEVER had a manicure done before. I’ve had foot spas twice, but never a manicure. But after the thorough grooming and cleaning my hands and feet got, I think I might make this a regular part of my grooming routine. I always have a hard time grooming my feet mainly because they’re so hard to reach. So having someone do it for you is simply wonderful. Plus, Gino and I were very quick to say outright that we don’t want that pedicure “look” that we hate – the one with merthiolate and colorless polish. Thank goodness they didn’t, so my feet just looked so clean and civilized! I’ve been looking at my feet all evening! I was tempted to post a photo of my feet, but it might be too creepy. So let’s just say I LURVE how my feet look like!
And finally, the 4th part, the Toning Bamboo Revival massage:
The massage balm contains Rice Oil, Red Clover Flower Tree Extract, Sacred Lotus and Sakura. The scent is very mild, as compared to the aromatherapy oils. But what makes this massage unique is the use of bamboo stalks for the massage. Bamboo is said to absorb negative energy from the body, plus it stimulates the circulatory and lymphatic systems. They basically use the bamboo stalks like rolling pins all over your body. They used 3 different sized bamboo, for the different body parts. When they rolled it on my calves, it felt like my muscles were being massaged from the inside! If the therapist pushes hard, it could be pretty intense. Gino asked for extra hard pressure on his lower back, and it did the trick!
By the end of the 4 treatments I felt human again. I haven’t felt this clean and soft and supple in a looong time. And did I mention I love my feet?
Again, big thanks to The Spa and Richard for a successful spa day! Let’s do this again, ha? #kikaybarkadafight