February 2014
Inspired by the healing qualities of the indigenous plants of the Malay Peninsula, the Penaga Spa features ancient remedies and treatments that are perfected to rejuvenate the body, calm the mind and uplift the spirit. They provide manicures, pedicures, massages and salon treatments but it’s their spa packages that are highly recommended.
Neatly tucked between garden and rooms housed in a cluster of heritage buildings of Penaga Hotel is this spa by Tanamera. Penaga Spa is a fairly new addition to the chic boutique hotel on Hutton Lane and it offers massages, body scrubs and masks, facials and scalp and hair care for both women and men.
The spa’s treatment suites are private, caters to couples as well as singles and has a free-standing bath tub for mandi, plus ensuite bathroom with a steam-shower cubicle. Dark wood interior gives off a traditional feel that enhances the spa’s branding and style.
Treatments are mainly of the traditional kind using Tanamera spa products of herbal ingredients. From their five packages available, we choose the Semarak Api at RM350 that begins with a 20-minute steam in the bathroom before a one-hour long urut that’s followed by a coffee body scrub with a moisturising chocolate body mask after, and finally, mandi in a tub filled with fragrant flowers and pandan leaves. The whole process takes nearly three hours.
There are of course, utterly decadent 4.5-hour packages as well as a 3.5-hour one from RM450 that includes foot and hair works. They’re simply perfect for brides to be or those simply looking to be pampered while enjoying some alone time.
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Choosing the coffee massage oil from a range of choices they have – includes coconut, ginger and basil – for its cellulite eliminating properties, the urut which is a traditional Malay deep tissue massage is administered using fingers, palms, elbows and fists.
While Penaga Spa’s version is a little milder compared to some we’ve tried, there’s still enough effectiveness to it to ensure a release of tension from limbs and muscles while easing blood flow throughout the body. The scrub of crushed coffee beans is simply lovely and to have aromatic chocolate painted on the whole body is simply hunger-inducing but moisturising as well.
The clincher is the 20-minute mind-clearing mandi ritual at the end where we soak in delightful fragrant water at just the right temperature. It certainly punctuates the whole experience, a moment when all is right with the world. Su Aziz