The promise
To promote wellbeing through a massage that incorporates techniques from all over the world.
The experience
Jumeirah’s extensive Talise Spa is a sprawling complex of hallways and doors, in keeping with the carefully designed décor Jumeirah prides itself on.
We head in for the signature massage – a combination of the best techniques from massages all over the globe.
We enter our low-lit private room and the therapist directs us to a seat. We then dip our feet in a small bath of water infused with salts and rose petals. While we are sitting, the therapist offers a selection of scented oils for us to choose from: there’s uplifting lemongrass, a soothing jasmine aroma, a fruity, rejuvenating fragrance and a special scent for men. We choose the jasmine as it’s our favourite.
We sit and enjoy the heat of the water for a minute before our therapist dries our feet and asks us to settle on the massage table.
Now, we have had a lot of massages, on a lot of tables – but oh, Talise! This is the most comfortable massage table we have ever lain on. It’s more like a bed, with a heated mat under the sheet in case we feel cold (which we don’t, because the room temperature is perfect).
In an unusual turn of events, our therapist begins with our shoulders – giving them a brief massage over the towel – and works her way down our body.
Then, using our chosen oil, she sets to work on our legs. It’s a strong massage, with stretching, stroking movements, pulling and bending the muscles. When she works her way to our back – we have mentioned we have sore shoulders – she folds our arm up behind us, pushing our elbow towards our body. She then presses sharply into our shoulder blade. We have a lot of tension, so it hurts as whatever knots we have hiding under the surface get dislodged.
To finish the massage, we have our shoulders, chest and back rubbed with pressure points applied, which loosens up the tension in our chest. The therapist then touches our forehead at the hairline and proceeds to drag her fingers over our scalp and through our hair – which is surprisingly satisfying.
The results
We feel relaxed but also energised – it’s not a sleepy massage. The tension in our back is gone and we feel lively and ready for anything.
The pros
The combination massage means there are multiple benefits: we get Thai without the pain, the soothing sensation of a Swedish massage, and the circulation promotion of a Balinese in one session.
The cons
It’s a little difficult to find the spa – tucked on the mezzanine floor through a number of walkways.
5/5
Dhs450 for 60 minutes, Jumeirah at Etihad Towers, jadspa@jumeirah.com (02 811 5858).
