Nature and nurture

Namita Gupta checks into White Mantra, a new spa in the city, and revels in the tranquility of the place and the expertise of the therapists

For a stylish soak: The bath area opens out into a private garden

Tucked away in a leafy locality off HAL Airport Road, the spa offers therapies with exotic names like Lomi Lomi, Balinese Boreh and Javanese lulur. There are also traditional treatments like hot stone therapy and Balinese and Thai massages, besides treats like chocolate and almond skin exfoliation, strawberry and oatmeal skin smoother, frangipani and grapefruit facial.

Aparna Raghavan, techie turned entrepreneur, says, "When I travelled the world as IT consultant, I used to make it a point to visit spas. The sheer variety that spas, around the world, offer inspired me to start White Mantra in Bangalore."

White Mantra is housed in a spacious bungalow surrounded by greenery. There are four individual treatment rooms and one couple treatment room with a soak set in a natural setting. The spa has trained professionals to administer therapies.

What's hot: I tried Lomi Lomi, an ancient form of massage native to Hawaii. It was an intense massage with rhythmic strokes to relax tense muscles. Warm Hawaiian oils are applied with long palm strokes. The massage, which lasted over an hour, soothed me and helped me take on the week after with extra vigour and zest.u00a0

What's not: The massages are steeply priced.

Wallet factor: Rs 1800 to 4000; packages cost Rs 5500 upwards.

Where: 142, Pop Cottage, Rustam Bagh, HAL Airport Road, Behind Manipal Hospital.
Ph: 3242 9960.

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