BORACAY - WHO CAN RESIST AN INVITATION to this island? Especially when the invite comes with an offer to try out the services offered by Kai, the newest hotel-based spa on the island, and the food in Zhu, a just-opened Asian restaurant, both at the Boracay Regency Beach Resort.
Our trip was to promote a special “lean season” promo package where, for just over P10,000 per person, one could fly into and out of Boracay (via Caticlan) on SEAir; three days, two nights accommodation based on twin sharing in a superior room; daily buffet breakfast; roundtrip transfers and a 60-minute “well-being Swedish massage” at Kai. The offer is good until Sept. 30.
For our part, to get better acquainted with Kai, we were offered virtually the entire menu of massages, wraps, facials and foot- and hand-care services. On the day of our arrival, we had our choice of facials, followed by our choice of body massage or scrubs/wraps the next day, to be capped with a hand- and foot-treatment on our day of departure.
“Kai” originates from the Chinese word meaning “soothing,” and just on the corridor leading to the spa (located at the third and fourth floors of Boracay Regency’s Garden Wing), lined with water features and reeds, one could feel one’s tensions and concerns melting away. On our first day, in consultation with the receptionist, I chose the “Green Tea Soothing Facial,” holding on to her promise that the treatment would “refresh and moisturize” my dull, dry complexion.
We then embarked on a brief tour of the entire spa, with Cathy Velez, the spa consultant, leading the way. Described as “modern Asian” in influence, Kai boasts of themed rooms drawn from Asia’s varied cultures: Chinese, Japanese, Thai and even a “tropical” room. Especially appealing were the four “Suite Havens,” each of which features a king-size bed, roomy enough for a couple undergoing a joint massage, with a large tub on the balcony outside. “It’s really meant for honeymooners,” Cathy remarked, surely a canny marketing move in this island that draws honeymooners not just from around the country but even around the world.
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THE ATTENDANTS at Kai are mostly local girls who underwent a minimum of six months’ training and are all accredited by the Department of Health. But they bring to their interaction with clients something that urban spa attendants have largely lost: provincial charm emanating from the gentle cadence of their voices and the caring touch they bring to the spa services.
At the start of our facial and the massage the next day, the attendant would sound a gong that sent a soft, reverberating sound through the room—meant to instill calmness, we were told. The attendant then greeted us: “Peace and tranquility to you.” What a nice touch!
The “Green Tea Soothing Facial,” aside from the usual steps of cleansing and polishing, involved the use of green tea balm and mask, leaving one’s skin feeling soft and indeed refreshed.
I chose the “Aroma Hot Stone Massage,” mainly because I’d been advised to use hot compresses on my stiff neck and shoulders. Contrary to my fears, the hot stones proved bearable, placed on strategic parts of the body and even used to rub and soothe sore muscles. As I lay on the treatment bed, heat rising not just from the hot stones but also from aromatic packets laid around my head, I could feel sweat and toxins escaping from my body. Best of all, as I rose to change for dinner, I felt the stiffness easing a bit, and I resolved to try more “hot stone” massages when I got back to Manila.
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SURPRISINGLY, the rates for Kai’s menu of services are competitive with those in Manila’s spas, considering that Kai offers not just clean and relaxing services, but the incomparable ambience of Boracay as well. In fact, many of the services are designed to ease sores and body aches incurred during a beach vacation: sunburned and dry skin, sore feet from walking around the beach, and even jet lag.
Kai Spa can accommodate up to 56 clients at a time, and Cathy says they are in the process of preparing “party” rooms where prospective brides and her bridesmaids or groups of women friends could avail of services while enjoying each other’s company. Inaugurated last month, Kai Spa was built at a cost of nearly P50 million, and could possibly be the biggest hotel-based spa in Boracay.
And when your mind turns to concerns other than sore muscles and dry skin, Boracay Regency has new and old restaurants to fill your hunger. Over lunch at Zhu, we were treated to a virtual feast of Asian cuisine, from dim sum to Tom Yum soup, chili crab and steamed fish. At Christina’s, which serves Continental cuisine, we enjoyed an appetizer of three cheeses topped by caviar and red fish roe; a salad of greens, grated parmesan and seafood; and an entrée of roasted sea bass and prawns. During our dinner on the first day, we were hosted at the Food Plaza, which is owned by a Korean concessionaire, and were treated to a smorgasbord of Korean specialties, from roasted pork to seafood “shabu-shabu.”
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FOR many reasons, this is the best time to visit Boracay.
While the sea is a little rough (but not too rough for intrepid swimmers), there is not a trace of the algae that otherwise spoil the seascape during summer. While there are still a lot of local and foreign tourists, the island doesn’t feel suffocating at all. Typhoon Frank wrought havoc on the frontages of some resorts, but otherwise it’s business as usual.
And while we expected that the entry of other, bigger airlines into the Caticlan route would affect SEAir negatively, marketing director Patrick Tan shook his head vigorously. “We offer a premium service,” he said. And considering how we’d been treated on our brief visit, who were we to dispute the claim?
