Spa getaway: French Polynesia
The Manea Spa pampers you with local ingredients. Well, local to the South Seas.
By Carly Milne
Manea Spa at the Manihi Pearl Beach Resort & Spa, Tuamotu, French Polynesia; maneaspa.com
Pack up your significant other for this spa visit. Situated on a flat, three and a half-mile-wide island awash in powdery-soft white sand, swaying palm trees and water so turquoise that you’d be forgiven for thinking it was man made, the Manea Spa is tropical heaven. Slightly inset from the beach, the spa inhabits a thatched-roof bungalow with an outdoor shower. Outside the private garden treatment room, where you can opt to have your partner join you, awaits lounge chairs and a relaxation-inducing waterfall. But the ultimate outdoor specialty actually takes place in the water. Make a special request and you’ll be face down on a massage table placed directly in the ocean, giving you an up close and personal view of the exotic, tropical fish swimming by as a masseuse works the stress out of your body. If you’re lucky, you’ll have therapist Auria’s magical hands intensely relaxing your scalp, hands and feet during the 50-minute Monoi Rae Fenua massage ($175). Just five minutes into the rhythmic stroking of our tired tootsies and we were on another planet, transported by the gentle scent of monoi oil, Tahitian vanilla, Tiare flowers (the area’s official bloom) and pure coconut oil—all local ingredients that have found their way into the spa’s line of products. Known for their supple skin and shiny, well-conditioned hair, Polynesians have been using monoi oil for years to moisturize their hair and skin. Manea’s signature body service, the decadent 80-minute Monoi Poe treatment ($265) is an authentic, must-try island experience that combines the oil with Tahitian black pearls.
Headed to Central America? Get the scoop on a private spa getaway in Belize and read about more great spas in the November issue of FASHION.
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