For many of us, who work five days a week a visit to the spa is a blessing that we all look forward to. So when I was invited by the beautiful Devashree Mahajan of Leela Ambience Delhi Convention Hotel to the stunning Shanaya Spa I hardly needed any convincing to accept the invitation, especially when I had the choice of treatments before me in the finely curated spa menu.

It’s not my first visit to the spa, I have visited it often, indulging in the therapies that they have to offer in the past too. Each time I come back there is a sense of excitement of trying out a new treatment that I have not done before. Each time I visit I drown myself in the fragrance of scented oils that float at the reception, in the corridors and in the treatment rooms. as simultaneously my eyes begin to feast in the beauty of this urban spa – Shanaya which mean the first rays of the sun.

Located on the 4^th floor of the hotel, the spa has a variety of Ayurveda treatments and a Hamam treatment room seldom found in Delhi spas. At the reception a therapist takes the mandatory consultation and makes me sign a form that says I do not have any major illness or undergoing any serious  treatment thereby taking any kind of medicines. That done I find myself being led along the beautifully and softly lit corridor to a door that opens up to beautiful views of Delhi from its enormous glass window. Oh how nice, I am ready to be pampered at the spa’s only couple therapy room. It’s beautiful, it’s large and I feel puny inside it.

After the customary feet watching ritual, I lie on one of the spa beds as the therapist begins the process of using her fingers, palms and elbows in circular motions on my city bruised body. I choose the Swedish massage this time with strokes that are softer and leave myself in the hands of the masseuse who obviously is an expert in finding the pressure points. I am enveloped by a sense of well-being, calmness with a flow of energy and I find myself in a free tranquil space drifting and floating, my feelings heightened by the soft music in the background that is reminding of soft gurgling stream and rustle of green bamboo leaves. I must have slept off because I am gently tapped on the shoulder and the therapist indicates that it was time for the Herbal Body wrap which is my next treatment.

I am flooded with the fragrance of sandal wood, turmeric, rose metals mixed in honey and milk as I am wrapped with the paste for half an hour and left to relax in the zen like space. The serenity of the space is so welcoming that the half an hour Is over before you even realize it and the therapist is again tapping you lightly on your shoulder for the sauna. No surprise that the herbal paste wrap has my skin moisturised and glowing and leaves me shining and smelling like a rose for the rest of the day.  The massage has cleansed me not just physically but from within too and I am super ready to face my deadlines, presentations and the usual social whirlpool that you cannot escape if you are an always-on-the-rush urbanista.

Website : http://www.theleela.com/locations/delhi