Nadine Dilong The highly anticipated Crown Spa Sydney has opened its doors, ready to make guests feel like royalty.
It’s not every day that a six-star hotel opens in Sydney, so you can imagine my excitement levels when I was invited to experience Crown Spa, located at Crown Towers Sydney in Barangaroo. For years I had been watching the skyscraper grow, level by level, changing Sydney’s skyline forever and adding a little bit of opulence and ‘extravaganza’ to Sydney’s rather conservative hotel scene.
Walking down the marble-clad hallway to the spa, I am greeted by exceptionally professional and polite staff and am handed my consultation form along with a wet towel – a welcome treat for my hands, which have been drenched in sanitiser way too many times this morning. The reception area offers a sneak peek of what is behind the locked door that leads to the treatment rooms and Aqua Retreat: an interior design lover’s dream. Hues of lilac and deep blues, round shapes and wave-like patterns, velvet stools, chrome accents and art-deco inspired lights and fittings – the design is serene, modern, and luxurious.
Blainey North is the genius behind Crown Spa, having created a “tranquil oasis from the demands of the city,” as the spa menu reads. Indeed, it is hard to believe I am in the middle of Sydney’s busy CBD as I enjoy the quiet infrared sauna that is available for spa guests as part of the Aqua Retreat area. There is also a Swiss shower, a steam room, heated lounges and a whirlpool to enjoy pre- and post-treatment.
The waiting lounge is where guests can relax on velvet futons and sip on a cup of tea as they wait for the therapist to pick them up for their treatment. My therapist, Beenu, guides me to my treatment room, where a lime foot bath awaits me. As my feet soak in the bowl, Beenu shows me two options for my body moisturiser and allows me to choose my favourite. I am about to experience a 90-minute ‘Pearl Infused Remineralising Body Mask’ using Subtle Energies products.
I lay down on the heated treatment bed and relax as Beenu scrubs my entire body with the Rasayana Detox Body Scrub. The scrub is thorough and effective, lifting dead skin and preparing it for the indulgent part of the treatment: the mineral mask infused with pearl and conch shell extracts to stimulate skin cells and regenerate. I am cocooned in several layers of towels and enjoy a quick facial massage using a rose oil with soothing and anti-ageing properties. The massage technique used is called ‘marma’, a traditional Ayurvedic pressure point technique believed to promote energy flow through the body. Using her thumbs, Beenu gently but firmly presses down on different points on my face, especially around my eyes.
I am then guided to the shower (which is part of the treatment room) to wash off my body mask, and return to the bed feeling clean and smooth like a baby’s bottom. Beenu then coats my body in a beautiful, rich moisturiser, ‘Divine Passion Double Cream’, which includes Saffron, Mogra, and Patchouli, but has a really pleasant, subtle smell. A soothing Hydrosol is spritzed over my face to signal the end of the treatment.
Feeling as though not only a layer of dead skin has been removed from my body, but also some stress-induced tightness, I return to the waiting lounge area to enjoy an avocado mint smoothie. My skin feels deeply hydrated and soft, and as I seemingly float back to my locker, I can’t help but wish I could stay a little longer. Until next time, your royal highness, Crown Spa.
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