Destination of the Month: Six Senses Spa at Puntacana Resort & Club

All over the globe, the spa industry is booming, and today’s savvy travelers are seeking out the best each destination has to offer. From old-world European mineral hot spring “cures” to modern day spas featuring the latest technology, it’s all just a plane ride—or mouse click—away. Every month, we profile one of our favorite spas, and whether international or domestic, each one is out of this world.

Six Senses Spa at Puntacana Resort & Club   Known for offering unique, thoughtful spa services with a modern Asian flair, Six Senses is one of the globe’s top spa brands—a frequent name on “Best Of” lists and a favorite of spa insiders. Until recently, though, fans had to head exotic outposts like the Ma’in Host Spings in Jordan, Ninh Van Bay in Vietnam and Soneva Fushi in the Maldives to get their Six Senses fix, since the company’s 15 locations were mainly scattered around the Far East. Thankfully, that changed a little over a year ago with the opening of the Six Senses Spa at Puntacana Resort & Club in the Dominican Republic—the brand’s first foray into the North American region.   In keeping with Six Senses’ exclusive reputation, this new spa enjoys an idyllic setting at one of the island’s best hotels. Guests can check-in to either the main Puntacana Hotel, which offers beach casitas, junior suites and deluxe rooms in a traditional resort setting, or the Tortuga Bay enclave, a hotel-within-a-hotel made up

of 15 Oscar de la Renta-designed ocean- or golf course-view villas. The latter is worth the splurge, since Tortuga Bay guests enjoy extra amenities like personal golf carts—a big plus in navigating the vast grounds—and priority VIP service at the Punta Cana airport.

From the villas, it’s a scenic, 10-minute golf cart ride along the beach and golf course to the spa, which is perched on one side of the hotel’s beach club. True to the brand, the design aesthetic is sleek and serene: low sofas, dark wood furnishings balanced with white and beige fabrics, small pools strewn with tropical flowers. Treatment rooms are spacious and well-stocked; most have private showers, and those designed for special services like Thai and Shiatsu massage have plush, double-wide massage beds with built-in face cradles. Pre- or post-service, clients may relax on one of the oversized daybeds on the spa terrace, which overlooks the beach club pool and, beyond that, the ocean.

The basis of the Six Senses philosophy is to incorporate all five touches—sight, sounds, smell, touch and taste—into each service. (The “sixth” sense of the name is meant to represent the unique sensory experience of the spa itself.) Accordingly, the vast menu covers the usual bases—facials, massages, scrubs—padded with luxuries like foot baths and scalp massages. The menu also represents both East and West: Signature Facials use Australia’s potent, 100 percent natural Sodashi product range, along with lymphatic drainage massage techniques, to clarify and tone; Signature Massages combine a variety of styles, including Swedish, Lomi Lomi and Ayurvedic; and the signature Sensory Spa Journey is a four-handed massage plus Thai-style foot bath. A separate Regional & Asian Therapies menu details services that are more traditionally Eastern, like the classic Thai Massage, Indian “champissage” head massage, Vietnamese Massage with cupping, Thai Facial and Thai Herbal Compress; the latter two incorporate natural ingredients like oatmeal, coconut, yogurt, watermelon, turmeric, camphor and lemongrass. Tai Chi, Pilates and yoga instruction can be arranged.

For more on the Six Senses Spa and Tortuga Bay, visit www.puntacana.com.

-- Sandra Ramani

Previous Destinations

	June, 2008 Grand Heritage Hotels
	May, 2008 Canyon Ranch - Tucson
	March, 2008 The Verandah Resort & Spa
	February, 2008 Miraval Tucson Resort & Spa
	January, 2008 Canyon Ranch
	December, 2007 Six Senses Spa at Puntacana Resort & Club
	November, 2007 Milliken Creek Inn & Spa
	October, 2007 Red Door Spa at The Wigwam Golf Resort & The Westin La Paloma Resort (Exclusive Spa Week Destination Sponsor)
	July, 2007 The Laveda Spa at The Ritz-Carlton Istanbul
	June, 2007 Regency Spa and Salon at the Manchester Grand Hyatt
	May, 2007 Red Mountain Spa
	April, 2007 Skaná: The Spa at Turning Stone Resort (Exclusive Spa Week Destination Sponsor)
	March, 2007 Amanjena Resort, Marrakech
	January, 2007 Spa at Mandarin Oriental, Macau
	December, 2006 Lake Austin Spa & Resort
	November, 2006 Spa SPC at The Stoke Park Club
	October, 2006 Spa Avania at Gainey Ranch (Exclusive Spa Week Destination Sponsor)