While celebrating Valentine’s Day in the Maldives, we decided to splurge on a spa treatment package at the Park Hyatt Maldives Hadahaa. We went back and forth before deciding to do it due to the price ($400 per couple), but figured we may not get the chance again so we’d better fully enjoy, or we may regret it later. I remember having the same thought after our honeymoon in Cancun, when we were broke college students and couldn’t afford a massage. I didn’t want to look back and think that we should have indulged in this chocolate-inspired spa experience that we would surely love. It also helped that we read glowing reviews of the spa here and decided that it would be worth it, that we were worth it. YOLO! Another small incentive that tipped our decision was that we would get 10% off for booking the treatment before our arrival, and then learned that we could get 15% off if we booked a spa treatment between 9am and 11am. Spa staff originally told us we couldn’t get that extra discount for the Valentine’s spa package, but when we asked the outstanding general manager Mariano Sylvestri about it, he made it happen, which made us very happy. So $400 was now $340, which seemed much more reasonable for 2 1/2 hours of spa indulgence for two people. One final reason that convinced us to go for it was looking at the savings we had racked up on this extravagant vacation, which would normally be far beyond our travel budget. Bertaut has become a master at working the credit card points game, and booked our First Class flights on Emirates from NYC to Milan and Milan to Dubai, as well as our economy flight from Dubai to Male on points. He booked our stay at Park Hyatt Maldives on a combination of points and Hyatt Reward stays for opening a Hyatt credit card for each of us. We will be writing blog posts in the future explaining in more detail how we do it and how you can do it too, so stay tuned and sign up for our RSS feed so you don’t miss any of our blog posts. Anyway, let me tell you what the Be My Valentine spa package included, in their words:
“Your indulgent Valentine’s treatment starts with a rich chocolate body wrap followed by a customized massage. The treatment finishes with a romantic flower bath in the privacy of the spa treatment villa coupled with smoothies and a rich chocolate cake. Chocolate is known to help detox the body while polyphenols in cocoa delay the aging process by reducing the appearance of fine lines. This results in smooth healthy skin as it gets moisturized and hydrated during the wrap. In addition to smelling wonderful, the scent of chocolate releases endorphins causing you to feel happily loved.”
We were sold for this unique spa experience, and afterwards honestly felt it was worth every penny. Let me start at the beginning of our amazing spa treatment.
We arrived at the Vidhun Spa’s serene atmosphere and were immediately put at ease. There is a secluded pool, which is available to any guests staying at the resort. However, there never seemed to be anyone at the spa pool since the resort offers so many beautiful locations to relax and enjoy the breathtaking views. The waiting area at the spa was equally inviting with nice decor, fresh flowers, and an array of spa products available for purchase.
Upon arrival, we were served chilled cups of coconut water and given peppermint scented ice cold washcloths to refresh our hands, faces, and feet, which felt lovely on the scorching hot day. We filled out our customized massage request forms, where you can specify if you have any areas that you want more attention or areas to be avoided, as well as any medical conditions that need to be noted and the amount of pressure that you prefer. I requested to have my shoulders focused on since I tend to carry tension in that area, and asked for a lot of pressure to work out the knots.
We were accompanied to our spa treatment villa, which had a private changing room with a full bathroom, an inviting massage room, an outdoor relaxation area with cozy couches and beautiful decor, a large stone bathtub, and an outdoor shower.
Our masseuses, Catarina and Ayu, asked us to change into robes, slippers, and disposable nylon underwear (optional) they provided in the changing room. Then we were escorted to the massage room and our spa treatment began with a relaxing foot ritual. They plunged our feet into bowls of hot water sprinkled with their signature sea salt with camphor and peppermint oil for a lovely soak. The foot ritual also included a brief massage of our feet and calves.
Next it was time for our chocolate wrap, which I’ve never seen offered in any spa and wasn’t quite sure what to expect. We laid face-down on the massage tables, which were covered with a plastic sheet, and they began to slather our back sides with a concoction of cocoa powder and cocoa extract. It smelled so delicious that I was tempted to have a taste, but then imagined how that would look (pretty disgusting, I think). They applied the liquid chocolate with a light pressure massage, and it felt sublime. I peeked over at Bertaut, my chocolate-complexion husband, and couldn’t help but giggle seeing him being smothered in chocolate. Then they wrapped the plastic sheet over us and tucked us under a blanket to seal in the moisture. While waiting for the chocolate to work its magic, they massaged our scalps and rubbed coconut oil into our hair, which smelled equally delicious. They had us flip over and smothered the rest of our bodies in chocolate, including everything but the face and private areas. They even covered our stomachs, with permission, and mine was growling by this point since we were so busy snorkeling earlier that we forgot to eat lunch. I knew our spa package included chocolate smoothies and chocolate cake, so asked if we could have our smoothies before the massage so that I wasn’t miserably hungry the whole hour. Luckily they were able to satisfy my request, which was not surprising since the customer service at this resort is exceptional. They go above and beyond to make sure you have everything just right, and no request seemed to big during our stay. So after we washed off the chocolate in the outdoor shower, we got to taste some chocolate while lounging in the relaxation area. The tasty smoothie had a subtle chocolate flavor and kept my stomach from rumbling, which was very much appreciated and allowed me to go deeper into relaxation.
Next it was time for the customized one hour massage with hoonu oil, which is made from rose and sandalwood and has a cooling and soothing effect. Catarina invited me to take in a deep breath of the oil before starting my massage which smelled divine and sent me deeper into relaxation. The Vidhun Spa features products made from local plants and herbs including the national fruit- coconut, and the national flower- rose. They follow Maldivian holistic wellness traditions to make their guests shine both on the inside and outside and radiate good health. Vidhun means “to shine” in their native language. Vidhun Spa prides itself on balancing hot, cold, and dry humors in the body to create Sehathu, or “good health”. I have had many massages at some fancy spas and I have to say this was one of my best ever. Catarina spent a lot of time working on the knots in my shoulders (per my request) and used just the right amount of pressure, so that it was ever so slightly painful at times, but extremely therapeutic. I had a horrible sunburn on my back side from snorkeling earlier in the day, and she smoothed aloe vera with peppermint essential oil for a cooling and healing effect, which took away some of the sting. She checked on me many times for comfort regarding pressure level and if I was too hot or too cold. She went out of her way to ease my sunburn and help me get more comfortable. She put cold wet towels under my sunburned bottom to absorb some of the heat, and kept smothering on more cooling and soothing oils and aloe vera to ease the pain. She even gave me some extra aloe vera to take back after the massage to relieve the burn through the evening, which provided much relief. Bertaut’s massage was so relaxing that he fell asleep and I could hear him snoring. I didn’t have the heart to wake him, since I figured that meant he had achieved the ultimate level of relaxation.
After our blissful massages, we headed back to our private relaxation area and enjoyed a rich chocolate cake. We brought along a bottle of sparkling wine that we had received as a welcome gift due to being Hyatt Gold Diamond members. Catarina had it chilling during our treatment and poured some into frosted champagne glasses to enjoy with our cake. We then had a half hour to enjoy the romantic flower bath sprinkled with aromatic bath salts while sipping our bubbly. We were feeling like a million bucks by this point, and literally left shining after our final outdoor shower. There’s something exotic and exciting about being able to shower outdoors.
It was a heavenly spa experience and I highly recommend it! We thought it was expensive before we actually received the treatment, but considering all that you receive, we feel it is actually a fair price. Especially when compared to the prices at some of the luxury hotels in Las Vegas and New York City, Vidhun Spa offers an excellent deal. Even if it still seems expensive to you, I hope you consider splurging because you will enjoy every minute of being pampered. Now please share with us some of your most memorable spa experiences. What is your favorite spa treatment and where did you receive it? If you liked this post, please sign up now for our email newsletter to get our tips to travel like a millionaire.
