Have you ever noticed that a smell can bring you back to a place that you may have never otherwise thought of.  The smell of butter and onions cooking immediately transports me to my Ukrainian grandmother’s kitchen, if I close my eyes and smell ginger tea, I’d swear I was at the yoga studio where I did my teacher training, and cigarette smoke reminds me of living in Paris.

I now have a new favourite smell attached to a memory that I’d be happy to revisit on a moments notice.  It is the combination of scents put together to make the Mandarin Signature Oil.  But I’m getting ahead of myself!  First, let me tell you about this amazing spa.

I arrive at The Oriental Spa at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental, Hong Kong and am warmly greeted with a welcome tray of ginger tea(namaste) and a heated aromatic towel to freshen up with.  My feet are then slipped out of my street shoes, into a pair of spa sandals and I’m guided into the changing area where I quickly realize that this is the kind of spa where you need not bring a thing.

The changing area is set up with everything you could possibly need to get ready pre or post spa treatment.  Hair products, razors, toothbrushes and mouthwash; if you need it, they’ve got it.

If you find yourself as lucky as I was, to be enjoying this spa, make the most of it and be sure to arrive an hour early because the pre-spa facilities are just as fabulous as the treatments.Start your tour by warming up in the Laconium.  A traditional Roman sauna, where dry heat is used to stimulate circulation and promote detox.  After all the vacationing I was doing, I could use some detox in my life.  They suggest you follow this up with a visit to the ice fountain but I passed on the ice part, because I’m escaping Canada’s icy winter, so I opted for an Experience Shower.

How is that different from a regular shower you ask?  Well, besides just having a cool name, this shower also has coloured lights and subtle aromas to enjoy as the jets massage your body and rain gently falls from above.  It’s bliss.

Now that you’re wet from the shower, slip into the warm, but not hot, Vitality Pool and lounge back on one of the ergonomic loungers under the water.  When you get over the giggles from having bubble jets on your back side you’ll love how this feels.Next on the pre spa agenda(yes this is all still before we even get to the treatments) is relaxing back into one of the heated Tepidarium Chairs.  These amazing loungers will ease away achy muscles and joints in a hurry.The last, and my personal favourite of the pre spa facilities is the Amethyst Crystal Steam Bath.  As soon as you open the door you’re drawn in by a welcoming aroma and warm, inviting heat.  I seriously could have stayed in there for ages.  I wanted to just close my eyes and relax, but the mosaic tiles made the room so gorgeous that I just kept looking around, taking it the beauty of this exotic room.When it came time to actually go into the treatment room, I felt like I was already sufficiently relaxed, but there was more to come.

I was scheduled in for a 2 Hour Ritual and I had no idea what that was going to consist of until I was sat down for a foot ritual, where we discussed what kind of treatments would be suited best for me on that particular day.  This treatment is tailor made, leaving you with the choice of massage, facial, rassoul, scrub or wrap.

I chose a scrub, followed by an aroma massage.  With my choice made, my foot treatment was coming to an end.  Geta, my spa therapist had soaked and massaged my feet in a foot spa of cinnamon and clove for antiseptic, sea salt for purifying and rose quartz crystals for positive energy.

The Signature Scrub that I chose is what has now become a favourite smell of mine, as I mentioned earlier.  The mixture of ginger, frankincense, mandarin and sea salt was so inviting!  Post-scrub I was rinsing off in the treatment room and caught myself saying, “WOW” out loud in the shower because my skin was actually the softest I’d ever felt it; rivaling the bottom of any new born baby!

After an hour of full body massage under the master hands of my masseuse, I parked my relaxed body in a lounge chair in the relaxation room.  More ginger tea while snacking on nuts and dried fruit and thoughts of reality slowly started creeping back in.  Time to leave this oasis in the city, and head back out into busy Hong Kong.  This spa was more than I bargained for and well worth a visit if you ever get the chance!

*All photos were provided by The Oriental Spa because it was too steamy in the steam-room for me to take pictures.  So I abandoned the idea, and my camera in the change room.  A big thank you to The Oriental Spa, Hong Kong for welcoming me as a guest.  All opinions are my own.