The spa concept levels up
Don’t get up: In the Body Works room of Marina Bay Spa and Lifestyle Spa is a Vichy shower to wash off clients getting a body scrub.
Time was that the spa was strictly a sanctuary for relaxation, but with the newly opened Marina Bay Spa and Lifestyle Club, Jackson Go of the Vikings Group has leveled up the concept into an urban oasis where you can do almost everything under one roof: work out, get a massage, eat a hearty buffet, even do KTV or play mahjong with your friends.
Go, whose family founded Tong Yang and operates multiple restaurant concepts under the Vikings Group, is not a total newbie to the spa business.
“They own the spa in Resorts World and Adriatico Square in Malate,” says Nenita Cabrera, general manager of Marina Bay. “Marina is under the family of Vikings but a very different entity: they wanted the full amenities of a hotel or resort but in a city property and modern setting. The same with Vikings: they wanted to take out the hotel and resort buffet and put it in a city property.”
You can’t sleep overnight at Marina Bay but may very well want to spend the rest of your life there.
The spa menu includes the Philippines’ first Crystal Chakra Healing Touch, a frontal massage where, depending on your zodiac sign, crystals are laid out from your head to belly button and have a healing effect. Shirley MacLaine would approve.
There’s also a four-handed Holistic massage in which two therapists knead you in unison — a luxurious experience that must be tried at least once.
For my first time I opted for Marina Bay’s Signature massage, which combines Swedish and shiatsu but also includes some reflexology pressure points on the hands and feet — a twist I loved. My therapist, who was very well trained, was able to adjust to the pressure I requested.
The spa is beautifully designed, with the latest mod cons to satisfy the most discerning client. The lockers are secured with electronic keys that are on a bracelet you wear. A Relaxing Lounge allows those waiting for a massage to have tea or sleep in a mini-theater with La-Z-Boys and three flatscreen TVs.
The spa itself has separate massage cabins and wet-floor areas for men and women, including a steam room, sauna, and hot pool with adjacent cold pool. If you want a dry heat, a separate room with heated floor allows you to lie down and unwind, Korean-style.
A deck for foot reflexology allows you to recline in comfort while they massage you either to the knees or upper thighs (depending on your preference, and they provide shorts), with soothing hot packs on your back. Marina Bay also offers facials using Shiseido products, mani-pedis, and waxing. There’s even a Vichy shower bed for those who do the body scrubs. No need to get up, as you lie there and they wash the scrub away.
Resort in the city
Cabrera, who used to be the spa director for a Maldives resort that catered to clients like Donatella Versace, is used to delivering the kind of service such customers demand, and Marina Bay’s facilities — thoughtfully laid out over a 2,400 square-meter space — are as well-equipped as any luxury resort.
The gym, open from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., offers state-of-the-art technology, personal trainers, and classes in Zumba, Pilates and TRX. Members can schedule an entire wellness day for their friends.
A gaming lounge on the second floor has billiard, poker and mahjong tables, as well as three KTV rooms with touchscreen TVs overlooking scenic views of Manila Bay.
An even more stunning panorama awaits at the Sunset View Deck, with an infinity pool that seems to stretch all the way to the bay. With a Sunset Bar serving cocktails, it’s an ideal spot to hold a wedding, functions, or even just an outdoor massage.
To have access to all these wonderful facilities you must become a member of Marina Bay Spa & Lifestyle Club, or know a member. Memberships run from P60,000 for a one-year Shell membership, which entitles you to P7,500 worth of spa vouchers and 10 percent off on all spa services; up to P270,000 for a one-year Coral corporate membership, which is transferable between three individuals and includes P45,000 worth of spa vouchers and 10 percent off on all spa services.
Cabrera says most people go for the P90,000 Pearl membership, with P15,000 worth of spa vouchers valid for a year and the usual 10 percent off.
If a member accompanies them, guests can access all the facilities with certain fees. Walk-ins can avail of the massage services, wet-floor area and the buffet.
“We made it members-only for the exclusivity, because if we open all the facilities to walk-in guests, the exclusivity and privacy will be lost,” Cabrera explains.
And I haven’t even mentioned the food yet. Since the Vikings Group owns and operates Marina Bay, you can be sure that the all-day buffet — congee, minestrone, grilled salmon and efu noodles were just some of the items on the day I was there — is always going to be plentiful, varied, and good.
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Marina Bay Spa and Lifestyle Club is located at the Esplanade Seaside Terminal, Seaside Boulevard, Mall of Asia Complex, Pasay City. Call 0977-831-2888 or 0920-976-8888 for information and reservations. Visit www.marinabayspa.com and follow them on FB or IG @marinabayspa.
