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Feature Story

Hawaiian Health Spas

Photo: Courtesy of the Hyatt Regency Waikiki

Ancient methods and New Age treatments commingle to create true island relaxation.

By Robert W. Bone

Amid soft music, gentle lighting, pleasant fragrances, beautiful views, and guided by deft, professional fingers, health spas are springing up in Hawaii faster than you can say “Lomilomi, please!”

Lomilomi (pronounced “low-me, low-me”) is the traditional massage of the Islands. Gentle or invigorating as required, this spiritual and physical therapy was established as a healing art long before European contact. Today it is offered alongside other massage choices such as Swedish, shiatsu, Thai and reflexology methods.

Both vacationers and locals today are pursuing “wellness,” some with almost religious fervor, embracing natural treatments for body, mind and spirit. Some speak of these pleasures in tones reminiscent of a connoisseur describing fine wines.

In many island spas there are special tropical touches such as the use of kukui nut oil (from the official state tree), ti leaves, local mud, Hawaiian seaweed, lava rocks and the like.

Locals point out, however, that less glamorous but still expert massages can often be found at much lower rates from independent therapists outside the mega-resorts.

Here are some of the spa leaders for 2005, organized island by island.

Oahu

On the capital island, site of Honolulu and Waikiki, luxury spas have grown up more slowly than in other islands of the Aloha State. Nevertheless, many believe the preeminent establishment throughout Hawaii is the JW Marriott Ihilani Resort & Spa, far from other hotels, a half-hour's drive west of Honolulu.

The Marriott's award-winning health center offers dozens of different therapies, ranging in length from 25 to 110 minutes, at prices ranging between $50 and $200. There are also special half-day and full-day programs combining several treatments. Younger guests can also enjoy the new “teen spa” program.

One distinctive treatment is the Green Tea Detoxifying Wrap, an experience with mud mixed with extracts from both green and Paraguay tea, along with essential oils such as sage, ivy, rosemary and grapefruit.

Back in town, the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Resort & Spa features the 10,000-square-foot Na Ho'ola Spa, which overlooks Waikiki Beach from the fifth and sixth floors. Open 12 hours a day, it offers several types of massage, body treatments, body wraps, facials and waxing services.

The Tokyo-based Abhasa Spa has opened in the venerable Royal Hawaiian Hotel, offering aromatherapy using natural flowers and herbs, along with thallassotherapy, phytotherapy and a list of more traditional services. One unusual specialty is Shirodhara, “an Ayur Vedic treatment that restores inner calm while stimulating the third eye or window to the soul.”

Hawaii 's home-grown Outrigger chain features its Serenity Spa Hawaii and Rejuvenation Center at the Outrigger Reef on the Beach hotel. Treatments use Hawaiian sea salt, seaweed, kukui nut oil, tropical fruits, plant extracts and minerals. Massage techniques offered include lomilomi, Swedish, shiatsu, sports and deep-tissue.

At the Hilton Hawaiian Village Beach Resort and Spa, the last word refers to its Mandara Spa, a link in an international chain. Guests enjoy Hawaiian and Balinese treatments in its 25 treatment rooms.

Outside of town, on Oahu's North Shore , new life has been breathed into the Turtle Bay Resort. The beach-level Spa Luana has windows where guests can gaze at incoming waves while receiving a complete menu of body, skin and massage treatments. Luana can be said to be the approximate Hawaiian language equivalent of happy, friendly, contented.

The Big Island

Health spas sprouted earliest in the luxury resorts on the Big Island of Hawaii. One such is the Kohala Sports Club and Spa, installed on the vast grounds of the Hilton Waikoloa Village. A popular treatment is the Healing Stone Massage, in which heated rocks are placed “in your hands, along the back, at the feet, and used with oils to massage your muscles.” The Big Island Healing Ritual includes Hawaiian kava tea served in a coconut shell.

Nearby, the Waikoloa Beach Marriott is proud of its Hawaiian Rainforest Salon & Spa. There, among other things, guests can “refresh themselves with an exotic herbal body wrap or relax in a luxurious, lightly scented whirlpool bath.” The 75-minute Thai Stretch Massage with Aromatic Herbs costs $145.

Also on the Kohala Coast is the Hualalai Sports Club and Spa, tucked into the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai. New arrivals might opt for the Jet Lag Rejuvenating Massage “specifically formulated to counteract the effects of air travel.” Other procedures include acupressure, craniosacral therapy, myofascial release, Reiki, Siddha Abhyangha, and many lesser-known techniques; specialties include the Dead Sea Mud Mask Body Treatment and the Hawaiian Eclectic Premier treatment.

Farther up the same shoreline, the Mauna Lani Bay Hotel offers some interesting techniques employing hot rocks. Then there's its new Watsu Bath featuring underwater acoustics, tranquil lighting, and a “surreal waterfall.” Another interesting specialty is Golf Conditioning, which teaches mind-body techniques designed to advance your golf game.

Also in the neighborhood is the Spa Without Walls at the Fairmont Orchid Hotel. An original program is the Wisdom of the Roses, a “rose powder massage to gently exfoliate, followed by a shower with rose gel and a nurturing rose oil massage.”

Each of the two hotels at the Mauna Kea Resort boasts its own spa. The venerable Mauna Kea Beach Hotel features Light & Life, Inc., with all the tried-and-true treatments plus a few more intriguing choices, such as the 30-minute Hawaiian Sea Salt Body Glow and the hour-long Aztec Clay Masque.

On the same campus, the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel has the Paul Brown Salon & Spa. The Hapuna Special combines any body treatment or facial with your choice of massage, “guaranteed to leave you feeling like Hawaiian royalty”—two hours for $210.

Maui

The innovative Spa Moana, attached to the Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa, offers the solid standbys—lomilomi and all the rest—plus some unusual classes by different health and nutrition specialists. Traditional Hawaiian healers demonstrate the medicinal powers of fruits, herbs and other exotic flora used by the ancient Hawaiians.

Always popular is the 50-minute anti-aging facial, which uses marine spring water for toning and anti-free radical effects. Some body treatments involve the use of authentic Maui coffee—both regular and decaf.

In the Wailea resort area on East Maui, the Grand Wailea Resort Hotel & Spa has a facility it calls the Spa Grande. Its amenities include the Termé Wailea Hydrotherapy Circuit, an invigorating water therapy, as a prelude to all massages, facials and body treatments. The spa is perhaps the largest in Hawaii and features dramatic architecture and colorful decor.

Nearby, the Four Seasons Resort Maui has every standard treatment, plus dozens of special wrinkles. These include the 120-minute Hawaiian Temple Bodywork, using two lomilomi therapists—four knowing hands “combining ancient dance, flowing touch and conscious breath to facilitate profound relaxation, the release of limiting concepts and the integration of body, mind, and spirit.” Price for the 20-finger works is currently $480.

Lanai

Here on the former “Pineapple Island,” the Manele Bay Hotel spa features tea house and cabana massages overlooking the ocean. The 80-minute Deluxe Facial by the “licensed aesthetician” costs $165.

Kauai

Over on the Garden Isle, the leader is the recently rejuvenated ANARA Spa at the Hyatt Regency Kauai Resort & Spa. ANARA stands for A New Age Restorative Approach.

Each massage room faces its own private garden, and it offers several treatments directly based on native Hawaiian healing practices. Two of these are the Kapu Kai ‘Alaea, a “sacred bath and clay treatment.” It makes use of a honey mango bath gel and loofah pad, plus papaya blossom oil. Another is the Ti Leaf Cool Wrap, a really cool technique to alleviate the effects of mild sunburn.

With the islands of Hawaii already famous as a place to unwind from life's stresses, it's not surprising that spa visits are an increasingly popular option with travelers.

The only problem? You may never want to leave.

Honolulu resident Robert W. Bone is the author of The Maverick Guide to Hawaii (Pelican Publishing Company).