From The Straits Times    |

The Reverie Saigon – Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam

Eat, pray, love? No, stay, spa, shop. The three-night package marries a three-hour personalised shopping experience in Ho Chi Minh City, with three spa treatments in The Spa at The Reverie. Guests get to choose three treatments from a selection including: Classic Vietnamese, a combination of Vietnamese cupping and massage techniques; Thai Oriental with gentle Thai-style stretching; Aromatherapy using gentle Swedish and deep-tissue techniques; Five Elements, a Tibetan-style massage with cupping, kneading, hot stones and herbal poultices, or Seaweed Hot Stone utilizing seaweed-based product by Voya. You also get access to The Reverie Lounge, where afternoon tea is served daily and cocktails and canapés are offered every evening.

Palace Hotel Tokyo – Tokyo, Japan

From indulgent facials to leisurely afternoon teas, Revitalizing Tokyo combines some time out with the girls with complete indulgence at one of Tokyo’s most prestigious addresses, Palace Hotel Tokyo. The two-night package features 135 minutes of pampering with the CARITA anti-aging Three Gold Premium Full Treatment at evian SPA, a choice of an afternoon tea at The Palace Lounge or a half-day (three-hour) privately guided recreational experience – including choice of a guided cycling or walking tour, two nights of accommodation in a Club category room or Executive Suite – including exclusive access to the hotel’s 19th floor Club Lounge with private outdoor terrace, a choice of an early check-in (12:00 pm onwards) or late check-out (until 3:00 pm), and for those planning a big night out an option to do In-Room Dining for breakfast one morning. 

The Sanchaya Bintan – Bintan, Indonesia

A spa treatment that instantly smoothens facial wrinkles makes for the centerpiece of the ultimate weekend getaway at The Sanchaya Bintan. Developed by renowned Japanese healer and skincare expert Kazumasa Kawasaki, ‘The Kawasaki Way’ challenges widespread belief that plastic surgery is needed to combat the ravages of aging. Dubbed the ‘Non-Surgical Lift’, the 60-minute treatment prescribes specialised massage techniques to boost blood circulation and uses skincare product made from rare, natural Japanese ingredients. Complete the relaxing weekend getaway with yoga by the powder white sands overlooking aquamarine waters with a private yoga instructor, croquet on The Sanchaya’s croquet lawn, or a swim at the Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Grand Hyatt Taipei – Taipei, Taiwan

Moor mud may not be one of the most glamorous forms of treatment in the world, but it’s certainly one of the oldest. The mineral-rich, black mud was first used by ancient Romans for its unique healing properties. Perfect for detoxifying the skin after a long haul flight, the 180-minute experience at the Grand Hyatt Taipei’s newly opened Oasis Spa uses moor mud from Hungary’s Heviz Lake, the largest mineral lake in the world. The treatment includes a therapeutic moor mud body wrap to promote circulation and release toxins, a Swedish-style deep tissue massage to knead away aches and pains, followed by a moisturising moor mud mask to lift, firm and hydrate the skin. End the girls’ getaway with champagne and live music at Ziga Zaga or get your tan on at the hotel’s stunning outdoor swimming pool.

Sanctum Inle Resort – Inle Lake, Nyaung Shwe, Myanmar

In a region long closed off to the wider world, Sanctum Inle Resort, situated on the banks of Myanmar’s storied Inle Lake, has opened the doors to a reinvigorating spa experience. Dubbed the Inner Sanctum Journey, the two hour-plus package at Sanctum Inle’s Sanctuary Spa starts with the signature tamarind scrub. This 30-minute deep cleansing and exfoliation treatment uses tamarind sourced from the resort’s gardens brimming with tamarind trees – some more than 100 years old – as well as natural rice meal and honey. In addition to nourishing the body’s skin by removing dead skin cells and replenishing moisture, the scrub’s scent is sublime. You can then choose from either a 60-minute Aromatic Bliss or Swedish massage, before concluding the package with a deep cleansing facial. As Inle Lake is renowned for the quality of its organic fruits and vegetables, you and your girlfriends can augment the rest of the weekend with healthy fare such as soups and fresh garden salads from the resort’s Refectory restaurant, and even venture out onto the lake to see the floating villages’ vegetable gardens.

La Residence Hue – Hue, Vietnam

La Residence has a new Perfume Pleasure package that includes two nights in a river view room (on the Perfume River). The pleasures begin with a 60-minute back and shoulder therapy treatment, specially designed for people who log long hours on a desk. After this relaxing treatment, the hotel’s executive chef ushers you to a local market, where you’ll shop for ingredients fundamental to aromatic and delicious Vietnamese dishes. You eat the dishes, but you go home with the recipes. Then it’s back to more relaxation with a herbal sauna or steam bath, a Jacuzzi bath, and a Swedish foot massage.

Sofitel Bangkok Sukhumvit – Bangkok, Thailand

Le SPA with L’Occitane has launched two new spa packages this month. Through the end of the year, the Relaxing Aromachology Massage — a 60-minute massage utilising Swedish strokes, Chinese acupressure and Balinese techniques with essential oils — can be combined with the guest’s choice of a 60-minute facial. The new Scrunch Package includes a 30-minute Body Scrub with the Relaxing Aromachology Massage. The 32-story, 345-room hotel is in a prime position for shopping excursions but there is also plenty on offer on site. The lobby has been reinvented as an art gallery, with a 100-square-meter space showcasing works by established and emerging international and local artists, and an upper concourse rimmed with striking images. The signature pastry at its sidewalk cafe, Le Macaron, is an over-sized macaron filled with fresh raspberries, lychees and a custard-like pastry cream in between two rose-flavored macaron shells — a must-try treat.