When you think of Switzerland what do you think of?  The Alps? Banking? Watches?

I think of chocolate.

You might be wondering what that has to do with spas.

During a family vacation in Switzerland we spent a few nights at The Swiss Diamond Hotel.  The hotel was placed perfectly on Lake Lugano, with a view that was hard to beat.  I saw that the spa was situated lake front and knew I needed to check it out.

Before I even got lake side, I knew this was going to be good.

And once I saw the view from the spa, there was no doubt.I looked at the spa brochure and decided to try the chocolate massage because I was in Switzerland after all, and they know their chocolate!

I wasn’t sure what to expect, but assumed they might be using chocolate scented massage oil.

How very wrong I was.

As I got comfortable on the massage table, I was face down, so I couldn’t really see what was going on.  It was my nose that let me know the chocolate had arrived.

I sat up on the table, “Is that REAL chocolate?”

My masseuse laughed and confirmed that it was.  I looked into the bowl she brought into the room, and sure enough, it was a giant bowl of melted chocolate.  She told me that she would use that, along with oil to do my massage.

In a mix of English and Italian, she explained the benefits of coco but I didn’t need convincing.  I tell myself chocolate is good for me every time I reach for the snack drawer.

So there I was, in my ‘birthday suit’, being covered in melted chocolate.  It was one of the strangest, most wonderful experiences I’ve had at a spa.

Did it get messy?

Absolutely!

Once my entire body was covered in melted chocolate, I was wrapped up and laid soaking up the benefits, enjoying every moment of this Willy Wonka fantasy.  When they removed the wrap and it was time to rinse off in the shower, I opened my eyes and had a look around.

There was chocolate everywhere, and as I stood up, little pieces of chocolate that had dried, were crumbling off onto the floor.  By the time I got to the shower I figured they might have to soft-reno the room when I left.  But I was the only one in shock.  Surely they must see this chocolate hurricane all the time.

I showered up, and got rid of any traces of my chocolate suit of armor, and then slipped into a fresh pair of spa slippers and robe.  I was led to a new room, where I was given an oil massage and left to relax for a couple of minutes.

My initial plan was to follow the massage with a vitamin facial, but I thought it was a shame to have such a great view and not be able to enjoy it because my eyes would be closed.  Plus, my feet needed some attention.  I forgot to pack nail polish remover on our trip and my previous polish was in quite a state.  So as I passed the room with the pedicure station set up and the wall of OPI nail polish caught my eye, I quickly asked if it was too late to change my mind.Thankfully it wasn’t and I spent the next hour getting an amazing pedicure, sipping herbal tea and gazing out at Lake Lugano.If you’re really wanting to treat yourself, the spa has a private room where you can get pampered in luxury.I lounged for a bit while my toes dried and then made my way to the pool.  There was a steam room and sauna too; an easy place to spend the afternoon.This was a very unique spa experience, and one which I will not soon be forgetting.  I’ll never look at a chocolate fondue the same way!

Thank you to the Swiss Diamond Hotel Spa for having me as a guest.  All opinions are my own.