Booking your Spa Date
We decided to book our spa treatments on our last full day at the resort. We figured that this would be a wonderful way to end our vacation. It was not a bad idea at all but I would say....any day that you can book this spa experience....do it!
You can book your spa date before you leave from home. We chose to wait till we got there so we could see how the days worked out with weather dependent activities such as the Road to Hana or Sunrise at Haleakala Crater. I would recommend booking your visit close to when you first arrive at the resort so that you get the day that you want. When we arrived the resort was not full at all. Half way through our stay a convention descended onto the premises and things were packed. The day that I ended up going to the spa....the place was full and there were guests who said they had been turned away on a certain day and had to book another. If you are going to be at the resort during a peak season I would call ahead and book your spa treatments ahead of time.
We booked our spa treatments in person and the staff was wonderful about explaining the treatments and suggesting treatments that we would enjoy. They were also very in tune with our comfort level and booked us with therapists they felt would be the best for us. Based on their recommendations we booked the Duo Pala'au Journey. This was explained as a couples Lomi Lomi massage with a body wrap and foot massage. Ok.....sign me up!!!
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How is The Spa Grande Experience Different?
I have been to spas before..mostly a local de Spa which has wonderful services but I have gone to some in places where we have traveled. Some have been extravagant such as at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and some have been a little toned down such as just in a specially designed guest room as in the Embassy Suites in Oxnard, California. The Spa Grande was just a bit intimidating when we first started to look into it. Let me ease your mind about those differences!
Terme Baths
When you book your spa treatment the staff will tell you to come about an hour or so early to enjoy the Terme Baths. I wasn't familiar with this term (no pun intended) so I had them explain. There is a women's side and a men's side which have identical facilities. As part of your treatment, you can arrive early and will be treated to full use of the spa facilities before your treatment begins. This area has many different kinds of baths that can be enjoyed. There is an area with bath salts from each of the different Hawaiian island, a Roman Spa, Japanese Spa, shower areas, a steam therapy room, a waterfall and a room for your full body exfoliation treatment (which is included). This area helps relax you and release tension in the muscles before your treatment so the therapists can work the muscles better and it's not so hard on your body.
Clothing or No Clothing
Ok...I have to admit this was the biggest sticking point for me. I am not a person who is comfortable walking around nude in front of other people and was afraid that I would feel very uncomfortable when I read that clothing in the spa area was "optional". I asked about that during our booking process also. It was explained to me that most people wear bathing suits for the Terme Baths and the pre-spa treatments but they are optional if someone choses to not wear one. Towels are provided so it's not an awkward experience and there are changing rooms in the spa area so you don't have to change in front of other guests if you don't wish to do that. Treatments are done without clothing but you are given a robe to wear as you travel to and from the treatment areas. Ok....this eased my mind immensely. It was also nice to know what to expect before going.
The Smells
Ahhhh....the smells of the Spa Grande. You can seriously "follow your nose" to the spa! It just smells so wonderful...so clean and so relaxing and so perfect! I seriously wanted to bring the smell home with me just so it reminded me of Maui!
Spa Day Arrives
So we booked our treatment the first day we arrived at the resort and then waited for the day to actually arrive. We were so looking forward to it! Here is how the experience unfolded for us.
Arrival
We arrived at the spa about 1.5 hours before our treatment time to check in. There were some other guests checking in so there was a bit of a wait but nothing too long. Once we checked in...we were directed to the correct changing/spa areas. Like I said above...the first part of the experience is separated by gender so if you are doing one of the couples experiences you will be separate at first and then meet up on the Lanai for the couples part of your day.
The Terme Baths
Once you get through the doors of the women's or men's side of the spa there will be an attendant at a desk who will take you to your locker and show you the locker room area amenities. You will be shown how to set your combination on your locker and will be given a towel. This attendant will then tell you to go into the spa area when you are ready and check in and they will show you around.
Now this is where my experience and my husband's experience differed greatly. What we didn't know when we booked our spa day was that there was a very large convention that was coming to the resort during the last part of our stay (which was when our spa date was). The good thing was that we had booked enough in advance that our times were not affected. The bad thing was that the women's side of the spa was PACKED!! The men's side was not affected as much and my husband experience a much better level of service in the bath area than I did. I spent much of my time confused and feeling a bit awkward I have to admit.
I put my things in my locker...got my spa shoes out and headed into the check in area. I stood there for several minutes while an attendant was finishing up some paperwork before she noticed me standing there. Once she did, she asked my name and showed me around a little bit. I was shown the different bath areas, told to use the shower by the baths between baths in order to keep the salts from mixing together and then was told that I could enjoy everything and I would be called for my exfoliation treatment. As soon as she stopped showing me around...before I could even get into anything, I was called for my exfoliation because they were expecting a crowd and wanted to get me in before the group came. Ok....so off to exfoliation.
Exfoliation
This was an odd experience. It was nice but a bit like something out of a SCI-FI movie. I was led into a separate room which had a large table in the middle covered with rubber sheets. I was told to lay on the table....ok...then they started the scrub and rinse process. I do believe this was the first time that I have ever rinsed off while laying on a table! It really was quite nice. It was about a 5 minute procedure then I was told I could go ahead and enjoy the other areas till I was called for my treatment.
The Car Wash
So here I am on my own....I figured I would go ahead and start with the baths with the different bath salts in them. I decided I would spend about 5 minutes in each and then go ahead and rinse off.
Here is a tip....BE PREPARED for the high powered rinsing shower! I was not. My initial guide just told me to select the water temperature on the outside by pressing a button...Cold....Warm....Hot and then stepping into the shower. That was it.....seemed pretty easy....um....
So I get out of my first bath and head to the power rinser (that is a nice term for it!)..I push the button for Warm...not knowing how Hot..Hot would be and certainly not wanting a cold rinse. Nothing happens. I push it again...and step into the shower....still nothing. I step out and push it one more time and step into the shower.....nothing and then.........all of sudden there were sprayers coming out of everywhere (and I do mean everywhere) that were like pressure washers! They went from over my head to my knees and hurt!!! This space was barely large enough to fit a person into and these jets were coming out at some ungodly pressure! I had no clue how long I was going to be in there with these things on and finally couldn't stand it any more so I got out of the shower and tried to shut the door.....now I guess in hindsight I should have figured that high pressure water jets and a door probably wouldn't work well. I couldn't get the door to stay shut and the stupid jets kept pushing the door open and spraying me in the face. It must have looked hilarious! Finally the jets stopped and hurried up and shut the door and ran (well as fast as one can run in spa shoes!) away from it. It was like some sort of water torture chamber as far as I was concerned! You would think they could have warned you about that!
I went back into the next salt bath...dreading the next power rinse. Luckily another guest was in another of the baths and said...."I hate that shower too". Obviously I had been witnessed during this horrible experience! She told me she refused to go back into it and found the regular showers in the next room and just used those between the salt baths. AH....thank goodness!!! Once I did that...it was much better! As I was sitting in the baths...."the group" came in and were being shown around. It was explained to them that if you are height challenged you should use the car wash on the right hand side (there were two) because the top jets were turned off...otherwise they would hit you in the eyes. Now I am all of 5'2 1/2" again....you would have thought that someone could have pointed this out to me before I hopped in the LEFT side!
Lesson learned....If I am ever lucky enough to return to this spa I will NOT be using the water torture chambers to rinse off but rather the regular showers!
The Waterfall and the Roman Spa
After the bath experience...I decided that I had pretty much had enough of the rinsing thing so I headed to the waterfall area. It's a big pipe with lots of water falling from near the ceiling. It comes down with quite a bit of force. You sit in the bottom and can move to adjust where the waterfall hits you. This was amazing! It felt like a back massage in and of itself! I would definitely recommend this part of the experience to everyone!
I finally ended up in the Roman Spa. It was basically a large jacuzzi/hot tub. There was a cold rinse area beside it which they tell you you should do because it enhances your circulation...um...not sounding real appealing at this point. Much better sitting in the warm part!
The strangest part of this area for me was that it was difficult to get a dry towel. They give you one towel to start with. Well after the power wash that one is pretty much trashed. I carried a wet towel around with me for quite awhile. Only thing it was good for was a slight squeegee effect. I never saw an attendant the entire time I was in the baths after my exfoliation. I am guessing this is unusual and not quite the normal service..probably due to the group that had descended on the place. The reason that I think this is because my husband said his attendant checked on him multiple times and brought him dry towels and drinks. I finally located an area where there were dry towels hanging on the walls. I grabbed one and used it for awhile. Just kind of awkward.
The first time I saw any spa employee was while I was in the Roman Spa. They were looking for people who needed exfoliated and people who were going to their spa treatments. Finally my name was called for my treatment and I was given a towel and a robe and told to go change, put my robe on and meet them at the bottom of the steps. I went to get my spa shoes which I had left by a chair and realized that someone from "the group" must have walked off with them and left me a pair that was 2 sizes too small. I went to the front desk area. People there looked a bit scared that I was standing there but did find me a pair of shoes in my size. I headed to the locker area, put my wet swimsuit in a bag that was provided and headed out to the steps.
The Spa Treatment
Now this is where the real relaxation began. I was taken up to the lanai, given some water and told to wait till the therapists came to get us. I met up with my husband there. He asked how the bath experience had been for me....I said...a bit weird. He looked at me kind of funny but just said that his was very nice. Neither of us elaborated at the time.
We sat for awhile (not long at all) and then were greeted by our therapists. They led us to our treatment room (it was quite a walk...lots of treatment rooms!) They showed us the lotions they would be using...let us choose our favorites, explained the treatment and told us to disrobe and climb between the sheets on the treatment tables (tables are separate). The reentered and began the massage portion of the treatment....it was HEAVEN! Absolutely wonderful! Next thing I know I hear my husband snoring away on his table. I was fighting it but I know I fell asleep for at least a portion of it.
After the massage they wrapped each of us up in a "cocoon" which they accurately described as feeling like a burrito! The blankets and sheets were warm and you feel completely encased. They place a warm cloth over your eyes so it is totally relaxing. They told us they would not leave the room because occasionally someone feels claustrophobic and they are there to remove them from the wrap. During this time they did the special foot massage. Again...amazing! They wrapped our feet and then let us stay in our cocoons for awhile. I hear my husband struggling to get his arms out...a little too close for him. The therapists helped him get his arms out and he was fine then. I on the other hand loved the warm protected feeling of the cocoon.
They unwrapped us and then left us to dress and fill out the bill and the gratuity section at our leisure.
This is when we started noticing the differences between our services in the bath area.
The bill listed spots for gratuities for each of our therapists. Ok....get that. Then there was an area that listed the names of the spa attendants. I said, "Who is that?" Hubby says "Mine was David...he was great...got me everything I needed. Definitely want to leave him a tip!" I said, "I don't even recognize the name that's listed as my attendant. I never really saw anyone after I checked in." Hubby says..."They didn't take you for your exfoliation?" I said, "Yeah...it was a lady but I didn't know her name and I never saw her again after the exfoliation was done." Hubby says, "Oh..David was with me the whole time...got me dry towels...got me things to drink...we had a great talk about the Island." I just looked at him and said, "Really?? I don't even know who was supposed to be with me. It was really awkward...I just kind of wandered around not knowing what I was supposed to do." He was shocked at the difference in the level of service as was I.
We finished filling out our gratuities and headed back out to the lanai to relax for a few minutes before heading back down to our separate areas to shower and change back into our regular clothes.
Leaving the Spa
I headed back down to the women's area, quickly got a shower and changed into my clothes as I was leaving someone asked if I had enjoyed the day...I said yes I had. Again, another person altogether. I really have no idea who the person was that I tipped for being my attendant. My husband said David met him when he got back to the men's area and again checked on his experience as he left.
Overall....
It was a fantastic Spa. The facilities were the best I had ever experienced. The massage therapy was fantastic. The baths were nice and relaxing. Other than the spa attendant or lack thereof on my side everything was just perfect. I probably wouldn't have even realized that it was lacking had I not had my husband's experience to compare. I am pretty self sufficient so it really didn't bother me that I was pretty much left alone to find my way except that there was a certain "awkwardness" about it. If I am lucky enough to return (and I certainly would if given the chance) I would know what to expect a bit more and feel much less inhibited or awkward with the bath area. I would highly recommend spending a relaxing day here if you can fit it into your Maui schedule you won't be sorry!
Next: Maui Day 8: Last Day in Paradise
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