Relaxing and Rejuvinating at Sanctuario Spa

The Sanctuario Spa offers indigenous Filipino as well as oriental treatments and therapies such as hilot and albularyo. The services are offered by male or female therapists, young and well trained. Okay, this is where I won’t complain about job discrimination in the Philippines. There’s perfectly nothing wrong with wanting a young with pleasing personality therapists. We want strong yet gentle and smooth hands kneading our tired bodies. More importantly, they must be courteous and pleasant to deal with. Once you start hearing the ‘po’ at ‘opo’, that’s when relaxation therapies really begin. The expression we rarely hear in the new generation comes alive and really soothing and welcoming from the therapists.

It is close to the ABS-CBN studio – if that is anything interesting to you. The spa theme is very pinoy with the prominent use of dark wooden decors, tribal figurines, intricate carvings on the walls, ornaments or knick knacks made of native materials, pots and vases, another figure noticeable is the old and antiquated side doors which according to the receptionist is a door of a Quiapo church. I saw some nude paintings on the wall which I think were made by famous Filipino artists. On the second floor, the theme doesn’t seem to be consistent though, I think it was more mix modern, retro and traditional. Another plus, I like that the bathroom is clean. I mean, it’s hotel clean.

When I enter a spa, I really like someone to approach me at the door and make me feel really welcomed. When a guest enters a door, you don’t want him or her to feel like he or she is approaching the office receptionist and asking for Mr Hotshot for a job interview. I didn’t feel that welcoming vibe here at Sanctuario, but maybe it’s just me.

I tried the usual and the only kind of massage I am most familiar with, the Swedish deep tissue massage – to relieve my body aches and pains from the long hours of working on the computer and intense and competitive play of tennis during weekends. I spent about P900 for the full body massage and about P700 for the foot spa.

I am looking forward to trying acupressure, acupuncture or even the ‘hilot’ and ‘albularyo’ treatment. Hey, in the US, I’ve had five different chiropractors and physical therapists in five years and it still hasn’t alleviated my lower back pain. I’ll stop being cynical about it, maybe the local and indigenous methods will do wonders for me.

Another plus for this spa is the website. Sanctuario spa really presents itself very well at http://sanctuariospa.com

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