An afternoon at the Emirates Palace Spa

It's all change over at the newly rebranded Emirates Palace Spa. Previously known as the Anantara Spa at Emirates Palace, I went down there for an afternoon of luxury pampering to find out what's new. 

In actual fact, it turns out that not too much has changed, and that's a good thing. If you've ever been to the spa before you'll already know that it's absolutely beautiful - I mean, really - what could there possibly be that they'd want to change about it?!

So the spa has undergone a rebrand, but it's only the name of the spa that has changed, along with the spa menu having been completely refreshed and revamped to bring us the very latest in luxury treatments and products. As one of the few providers of pregnancy massages in the city I went along to try one out and see if they could ease my aching back.

If I'm honest, I hadn't actually even realised that they offered a pregnancy massage so it was a very pleasant surprise to learn of it. Being seven months pregnant now I'm a bit fussy about who I let loose on my weary muscles as I'm sure you can understand, but I knew that I'd have no worries or qualms about the staff at such an auspicious spa. And quite rightly so. I had a chat with Hannah Dowd, the spa manager and she explained about the thorough training process all their staff go through, complete with specific pre-natal training and regular intensive refreshers throughout the year.

Anyhoo... more than reassured about the confident capabilities of the therapists it was onto the treatment. I was ushered upstairs along the beautiful corridors of the spa and into a large treatment room which was just stunning. The decor of the place is just too fabulous for words and might I add the room also featured a most alluring bath that I reckon was almost big enough to swim in!

The massage bed was also quite possibly the softest most comfortable one I have ever had the good fortune to lie on - I can't even begin to tell you how comfy it was! Of course, being a pregnancy massage I had to lie on my side, and I was given a pillow to hug and to provide support for the bump and a pillow to put between my knees. I was immediately comfortable and what I really liked was that the pillows were soft, but firm enough to prevent me from feeling as though I would rock forwards once the therapist started to work on my back. With the pillows in place, the therapist placed the cover over me and arranged them delicately to begin the massage. This is another point of note - the cover they use was not just soft, but was so comfortable - I liked the heaviness of the cloth which I felt helped me to feel heavy myself and relax fully. It was a bit like the feeling of a cosy duvet being placed over you and I can certainly describe it as the closest experience I've had to being in my own bed without actually being in it!

I can't say enough good things about the massage itself also - the therapist was gentle when she needed to be and firmer on the areas I'd asked her to pay attention to before we'd started. She was clearly able to feel the tension in these areas herself so I didn't have to direct her any further during the treatment at all, which happily allowed me to just lie back and float off into a dreamy world of luxury, comfort and much needed muscle relief.

The spa is now also home to a new set of famous products using Forlle'd and Amra for facial and body care treatments, though of course for the pregnancy massage just a simple, unfragranced oil is used.

Even the ceilings are fancy!

If it's a 24-carat gold oil, diamond oil or caviar infused massage you're after, of course the Emirates Palace spa is still the place to come for such decadence, although don't be fooled by the name alone, these oils genuinely do have scientific calming and restorative properties.

I'm not quite sure why I'd never visited the spa before to be honest. I think perhaps the decadent image and idea put me off, coupled with the idea that the prices would be very high. I have to say - you do of course get what you pay for, though given the absolute elegance and glamour of the spa along with the quality of the treatments, the prices are not more expensive than many of the other five star spas in the city, and perhaps even slightly cheaper. Personally, I find the higher end spas and treatments may require a slightly higher outlay but provide far better value in the long run and enable me to feel more relaxed for much longer - visiting a place like the Emirates Palace Spa is not just a treatment, it's a full on experience, and I find that  leaves me feeling the benefits far longer than some of the other less glamorous spas might. So don't rule it out without investigating. I'll certainly be going back for more and I'm sure you'll feel the same once you're tried it once!

The Emirates Palace Spa has a whole range of massage, facial and body treatments (I'm curious to try one of their bath treatments out having seen those baths they have!) and now also offers manicure and pedicure services using Bastien products. And men need not feel left out either as there's a section just for them using Gentlemen's Tonic products and offering the full range of barbershop and grooming services you'd expect, along with all the usual facials and massages too.

To find out more about the spa click here.
Now go forth and spa-aaah! :)