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Rubbing
you the right way at St Gregory Marine
 While
St Gregory Javana Spa oozes a resort-like, back-to-nature feel,
the St Gregory Marine Spa is its modern and contemporary counterpart.
A member of the Singapore Gold Circle programme (a quality recognition
programme by the Singapore Tourism Board, Productivity and Standards
Board and the Retail Promotion Centre, this 2-storey spa is conveniently
located in a century-old shophouse preserved within the Grand Plaza
Parkroyal located at Coleman Street. Nestled behind palm trees and
a water fountain, the retreat opens into a spacious interior.
------------------------------------------------------------------------By
Angelene
Wong
 [eastciti.com,
october 06]
On
arrival…
A unisex spa, the first floor is devoted to male clients while the
second level is for ladies. This segregation of facilities should
be good news for women who find the presence of the opposite sex
too close for comfort in a unisex spa. There are altogether 23 private
treatment rooms occupying its 7,000-square foot interior. For total
privacy, there is a VIP (get this, not room but…) suite where you
and your other half can have the jacuzzi, aroma steambath, shower,
locker and toilet facilities all to yourselves. And at Grand Plaza
Park Royal, room service by the hotel extends to the spa as well.
 A
stairway leads up to the second story. Marine-blue tiles line the
walls as you walk up. Though not opulent (thankfully!), the décor
of the spa nevertheless would appeal to women with a discerning
taste for the luxurious. However, the display of their line of beauty
and treatment products on shelves in and around the spa kind of
kills the peaceful tranquility that spa-goers seek. Being bombarded
by the barrage of advertisements in our daily lives, we just want
to come to a spa to relax and free our minds. A retreat room allows
you to sit back and just let loose. Health food, beverages and magazines
are on hand to put you in a happy mood.
 The
spa boasts an extensive selection of body treatments, water therapies
and beauty treatments. Apart from the conventional body massage
using aromatic oils (Aromatic Body Bliss Massage), Shiatsu and Swedish
massages and foot reflexology, the spa has a very intensive and
highly-effective massage specially targeted at stressed backs known
as the Angel Anti-stress Massage.
Another
interesting thing about it is that conventional treatments are given
a slight twist. The Affusion Shower which I tried is actually a
Vichy Shower (jets of water raining down on back) combined with
a body massage. The usual aromatherapy facial (the use of essential
oils as a facial treatment) is coupled with a facial massage using
Eastern shiatsu techniques (usually normal massage). The spa also
provides state-of-the-art treatments such as the priming of ageing
skin using AHA-Collagen to treat wrinkles, marks and saggy complexions.
For women who want a slimmer figure but do not wish to have cosmetic
surgery, here's some good news. The famous Computer Aided Cosmetology
Instrument, hailed as the first non-surgical alternative to cosmetic
surgery, is available at there. Electrical micro-current is used
to 'lift' and tone the facial and body muscles.
Tried
& Tested
Shower with a difference
This resembles a Vichy Shower where jets of water rain down on the
body to relieve tension on the back, shoulder and bum areas. What
makes this water therapy unique is that massage is incorporated
into the treatment. So, it's double the circulation and energising
effect. Dressed in a yellow raincoat, my spa therapist Daphne applied
some aromatic oil and started rubbing on my tired muscles while
the water jets alternated between hot and cold.
Hues
Spas conjure up an image of using massages, facials, scrubs, water
therapies and wraps to improve our bodies and mind. But the use
of colour, oxygen and music as a treatment? At St Gregory Marine
Spa, they have come up with a new therapy which combines these unusual
elements to improve a person's well-being. I was curious to find
out what it entails.
I was led into a small room with only a massage chair and a white
screen in front of it. Pure oxygen is dispensed out of a machine
behind the chair. By inhaling the pure oxygen, you'll feel more
refreshed and alert as more oxygen will be running to the blood
plasma (portion of blood outside the red and white blood cells).
That's why breathing in and out never fails to calm and relax us
whenever we have the jitters.
After
I was comfortable on the massage bed, Daphne asked me which colour
I would like to have. Blue is a popular colour as many people find
it soothing and a good reliever of headaches, anxiety and insomnia.
Red, a passionate colour, increases energy levels and is a natural
sensory stimulant. Yellow on the other hand, has a stimulating,
cleansing and eliminating action on the liver, intestines and skin,
purifying the blood stream and unblocking the lymphatic system.
It also generates greater muscle energy and is therapeutic for diabetes,
constipation and eczema.
I
chose green, my favourite colour, and at a switch of a button, a
looming green fluorescent light was turned on. Bright as it was
at first, it very soon transformed into a non-glaring and calming
hue. An oxygen mask was pulled over my nose. With soft, New Age
music in the background, you are supposed to close your eyes, inhale
deeply and just allow yourself to drift away in the moment. Though
used in many places abroad, this is a novelty still yet to be explored
by spas here. But I wasn't too thrilled with it. Claustrophobics
may also find the room too enclosed for comfort.
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