Maya Ubud, BALI's Spa

Spa in the Hills
Maya Ubud
text by Gabriella Semele
photos courtesy of Maya Ubud Resort and Spa
We arrived early at the beautiful Maya Resort, a five-year old luxury resort surrounded by jungle and river. After a pleasant walk through the property, we discovered the magnificent unobstructed view of the hills and lush jungle surrounding it. A short ride in the elevator down to the foot of the hill brought us to the Resort Spa, a garden hideaway, lying beneath the jungle and enveloped by the babbling Petanu River.

After a quick inspection of the spa menu and some helpful guidance from the spa manager we settled on the Lalur Scrub followed by the Rejuvenating Facial, the perfect way to freshen up and soothe away all the rough spots.

Our treatments were in the Siulan Pavilion, named for the flowers that are set around it at one of three new private pavilions recently built to accommodate the increasing demand from hotel guests and day-trippers like us who want to enjoy all the Maya has to offer. The room is simply fantastic, set above the river with natural waterfalls trickling into the room; one can imagine living this way all the time.

Our treatment began with the body scrub; there are three options for this treatment including tangerine and frangipani for sensitive skin, Pandan (a Balinese herb for dry and rough skin) and Lulur.

We both chose the Lulur, a traditional Javanese concoction that gives your skin a tingling sensation and a deep cleansing scrub. This is followed by a soothing yogurt rub and finally washed away with a shower for two and a romantic flower bath with an orange and rose scent.

Feeling completely blissed out and our skin feeling baby soft, our discreet and lovely staff gave us some yummy treats and left us for a bit to contemplate how lucky we were to be in this paradise. We retired to the bale overlooking the pristine river view we agreed that this, our day in paradise must be repeated, and often.Before we knew it Swarni and Prila were back and its was time for our facials. There were two choices for facials at Maya, the Maya facial using natural ingredients like orange, avocado, cucumber and yogurt, and the rejuvenating facial with Biokos products containing a bio-seaweed extract.

We decided on the rejuvenating facial. This one-hour treatment is total bliss! My friend seemed to enjoy it so much he fell asleep. I however was able to resist the temptation to drift off and savor every minute of it

Our treatments done, we headed off to the River Café to have lunch. Somehow, getting pampered always makes me ravenously hungry and on that day we were in luck because the River Café has a menu that leaves nothing to be desired, in fact we had quite a hard time choosing.

The River Café menu is made to compliment the spa's philosophy of healthy, restorative treatments and offers a delicious selection complete with fresh juices and tonics as well as many naughty treats, just in case you have a sweet tooth.

After a wonderful lunch and a beautiful day it was time to head back to the hustle and bustle of our busy lives feeling totally refreshed.

The Maya Ubud is a very special place indeed, with a seemingly endless list of activities from meditation and yoga classes to mountain biking, tennis and guided trekking; there is never a shortage of things to do.
This complimented by a Spa that's won 9 awards including spa of the year, most beautiful wellness resort worldwide, best spa design and best spa experience makes it's safe to say that a day at the Maya Ubud will not disappoint.
T: 977 888
www.mayaubud.com