The VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Spa provides guests with yet another reason to stay at the legendary VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa.
For the past 140 years, the VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa in Interlaken, Switzerland has provided gracious hospitality to the luxury traveler. In December 2003, they added the beautiful and tranquil 5,500 square-meter VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Spa, which offers treatments in the ESPA and Clarins Beauty Center, features a hairstyling salon and Spa bar where Spa guests can enjoy healthy meals. In addition to the new Spa, they also added 10 junior suites in the Bel Air wing offering spa guests the ultimate in convenience and privacy.
Edward F. Nesta and I stayed in one of the new junior suites in October 2006, and found the location perfect as we padded down the hallway in our robes and slippers for "Time – the Ultimate Treatment," a 2-hour Spa session. One of the hardest decisions that we had to make was deciding on which of the 35 different treatments we wanted. If only all of life's decisions were so difficult.
The ESPA features Asian inspired décor in its 16 treatment rooms and Private Spa for Two, and offers Oriental, Western, Ayurvedic, and Holistic treatments, all designed to best meet the client's needs.
We began our Time experience in the steam room where we sat for five minutes, then moved on to the sauna and spent an additional five minutes. Our next experience was using their Ice Fountain to apply ice to our faces. This experience reminded us of when we were children and stuck our faces into the snow. Faces refreshed, we stepped into the Icy Shower where three levels of water jets on both sides of the shower sprayed icy water at calf, thigh, and chest level. Now, we were definitely awake and ready to begin our treatments.
Our treatments began with the foot ritual, a warm footbath where the therapist gently scrubs the feet and using marma points on the feet and ankles, distresses the body and raises the energy level. Ah, this was lovely, and our thoughts were, "Can we schedule one of these everyday?" Our therapists asked if we had any health issues, and then asked us to smell a few different scents to determine which oil would best suit our needs.
Treatment continued with an ESPA Balinese body massage where the therapists poured warm oil, from the scent that we had chosen, into the center of our backs, and then used long sweeping movements to sooth the body, and finally placed hot stones on our body. Ah, this was heavenly. If we were practicing yoga at the time, we are sure that we would have been in an "ohm" state of mind. It was time to turn over, and this time our therapists poured warm oil onto our stomachs, more of those fabulous sweeping movements, and the application of the hot stones. While this fabulous experience was occurring, the therapists applied creams to our faces and using marma points, gently relieved facial tension. When we thought that life could not get any better, our therapists finished our treatments with Shirobhyanga, an Indian scalp massage, which is soothing and focuses on the vital energy points.
When we went to our Spa appointments, the day was dark and very gray, but by the end of our Time – the Ultimate Treatment, the sun had come out and was shining. Although ESPA cannot guarantee that it can change the weather, it will definitely change your mood. At the conclusion of our treatments, we relaxed on lounge chairs in the Relaxation Rooms with cups of tea, and enjoyed the view of Mount Harder from the wall of floor-to-ceiling windows.
Thoroughly renovated from our treatments, we padded back down the hallway to our room, changed into our clothes, and went to the Spa bar for lunch. The Spa bar features a comfortable atmosphere with wood tables and white canvas chairs, with a scattering of palm trees throughout the restaurant.
We ended our Spa day with a deliciously light and healthy lunch. Edward selected Natural Yogurt from the Bernese Oberland with Seasonal Fruits and Müesli (Victoria Müesli, Oberländer Nature Jogurt, Saison Früchte), beautifully presented with fresh cut strawberries, oranges, and pineapple in a white bowl, the yogurt in a large art glass square bowl, a bowl of honey, and a bowl of muesli to sprinkle over the yogurt. I had the ESPA Salad with Vegetables and Garden Herbs, (ESPA Salat mit Gehobeltem Gemüse und Garten Kräuter), which was an artistic rendering in a large glass bowl with red leaf lettuce, fresh herbs, yellow cherry tomatoes, carrot curls and cucumbers. Although served with a lovely assortment of fresh rolls, I remembered why we were at the Spa and refrained. Again thinking healthy, we paired our lunch selections with Ramseier-Süessmost apple juice.
Read other articles on the VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa in the Hotels and Resorts, Restaurants, and Chefs' Recipes sections. The VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Grand Hotel & Spa is part of the Victoria-Jungfrau Collection, www.Victoria-Jungfrau-collection.ch.
The VICTORIA-JUNGFRAU Spa
Victoria-Jungfrau Grand Hotel & Spa
Höheweg 41
CH-3800 Interlaken
Switzerland
Telephone: +4133.828.2828
Fax: +4133.828.2880
Email: Interlaken@Victoria-Jungfrau.ch
www.Victoria-Jungfrau.ch
Read other articles on Switzerland in the Destinations, Hotels and Resorts, Restaurants, Chefs' Recipes, Spas, Liquor Cabinet, Wine Cellar, and Adventures sections.
For information on Switzerland, please visit: www.MySwitzerland.com. For information on Lucerne: www.Luzern.org. For information on Interlaken: www.InterlakenTourism.ch. For information on Bern: www.BernInfo.com. For information on Zurich: www.Zuerich.com. For information on Swiss International Air Lines: www.swiss.com. For information on Swiss Pass: www.SwissTravelSystem.ch.
© December 2006 Luxury Experience www.LuxuryExperience.com All rights reserved.
