Yesterday I had the royal pleasure of paying a visit to my masseuse, Mandy, at Spa Utopia in DT Vancouver. I have been seeing her for a few sessions now and I simply love how chill she is. Rather than being all "spa-talky" which makes me uncomfortable, she talks to you like she's talkin to one of the guys and just gets down the business... the massage itself was a wonderful mixture of painful torture and blissful relaxation. But what was extra special about this session at Spa Utopia @ the Pan Pacific is their new partnership with the Pan Pacific Hotel and the use of their outdoor heated pool and hot tub on the 8th floor of the high end hotel. I went extra early to my appointment to ensure I had plenty of time to try out this new feature. I checked in at the front desk and got changed, grabbed an extra towel, and headed up to the 8th floor. The only awkward moment in this whole experience was having to walk out of Spa Utopia to the elevator lobby, which looks out to the parking lot, taking the elevator up to the main ground level, and having to switch elevators to the main hotel elevator while walking past business execs in the convention centre in my robe and sandals. That said, I sucked up my pride, and scurried over to the elevator which took me to the 8th floor. I swiped the security card and walked out to the pool deck and had to catch my breath -- the view.was.amazing! The sun had just broke over the rainy Vancouver city. Standing on the pool deck, you could see over Stanley Park to the left and all the way over to Deep Cove and beyond to your right. Below was a cruise ship boarding for departure later than day. As the sun had literally just come out, no one was on the pool deck yet. I stepped into the perfectly heated pool and began to swim some lengths, pausing occasionally to stare up and around all the city of glass surrounding me. It occurred to me from time to time how exposed I was to people spying on me, and my private experience was slightly shattered when I considered how many people could be watching me... but i got over that. I had a good 45 minutes of uninterrupted swimming and hot tubbing before guests of the hotel took the chance to swim in the semi-sunny weather and came to the pool. I got a little irritated, and like an only child, didn't want to share... so I left and decided to make my way back down to Spa Utopia, dripping and sandle-squeaking through the Convention Centre as I had to switch elevators again. Mandy was amazing as always. She decided to incorporate a Hot Stone Massage treatment on my back. It was the coolest feeling! Smooth and slick, but hot and at times a little painful... nothing I couldn't handle. My massages with Mandy are usually a mixture of physio and relaxation - at times I wince as she works through a knot in my back, and other times I drift into a coma like world as she massages my scalp or rubs my feet. But all in all, over the year that I've gone to Spa Utopia, I have definitely noticed a change my car-accident-caused lower back problems lessoning each session. And I highly recommend if you have a benefit package, as I did, to use it towards treating yourself to a little body therapy... in the crazy hectic world we live in, we all deserve a break once in awhile. And Spa Utopia @ The Pan definitely goes beyond their means to ensure you have a fantastic experience.
I can't wait to go back... hopefully next time, the sun will be out full time and I could include some summertime suntanning as my experience :D
Check out Spa Utopia's signature massage treatments at - http://www.spautopia.com/massage_bodywork_hydrotherapy/signature_massage_treatments.htm#uhgsm
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