Just What the Doctor Ordered | Ahavia Spa Review

It was a Saturday afternoon and all I could think of was going back to bed. The week has been unrelenting --- and the weather wasn't being kind. Our office air con tends to crank up {or down, in this case} whenever the temperature outside goes up so I was kind of dying of cold. Much as I wanted to though, I did make an appointment to see my doctor that afternoon for my persistent headaches.

If it was any proof, I tend to get worked up on every single thing that annoys me. Always.

As my doctor asked me each and every question she needed to, to find out what had been causing the morning headaches, she had only two orders: 1) Sleep earlier {I tend to sleep at 11 PM the earliest and wake up at 5 or 6} and 2) Go to the spa and get a massage.

She handed me prescriptions for painkillers and I happily bounced off --- insistent that I kick out this tension headache.

I had debated with myself whether to just call my reliable masseuse to come to my house --- or drive a couple of blocks for a nice spa. It was then that I remembered this nice upscale-ish establishment whenever I'd drive to work. I headed to M. Marcos St. in Addition Hills in Mandaluyong and got excited to try out Ahavia Lounge and Spa. I've always seen their tasteful banners flaunting promos like 199 and 499 massages and I didn't want to splurge with my usual choice of Neo Spa and The Spa so it made perfect sense. I guess I was a bit surprised.

From the outside, Ahavia Lounge and Spa looked like a modern home turned into a watering hole of wellness. It kind of reminded me of my favorite spas back in Aguirre St. {BF Paranaque}

This reminds me of BF's standard home patio. And even from here, I could smell the peppermint and immediately I am in a dream-like state.

The waiting area which smells like peppermint {of course I ended up buying the peppermint oil!}. They serve tea and they have a lounge which serve all sorts of snacks!

There's a little corner with massage oils and essential oils produced by Ahavia themselves and I was tempted to buy the White Tea variant!

The Baroque interiors are in full display at the locker and rest room areas. I love that you can take a shower after your massage and there are complete toiletries, too.

The couple's room -- very pleasant!

The individual treatment beds {there's another wing for male visitors} are sufficiently covered and enveloped in nice instrumental music.

I availed of the Oriental Ritual --- and it was great!

I did not expect such superior treatment for such inexpensive price.

As I got out of Ahavia an hour after, I realized it had been two weeks since my last massage and my headache -- was completely gone. Audrey Hepburn, in a memoir called What Would Audrey Do? {thanks, Jill!} was said to have had three massages a week and it helped her deal with the stresses of being an actress. While I was no Hollywood personality, it did feel like everything was so stressful --- I was at that point that I needed to take anger management classes and even little annoyances always got the better of me. While a massage is not a surefire way to fix our way of handling stress, it sure helps in quieting the mind albeit for just an hour. As soon as I stepped into Ahavia, I was so tranquil I couldn't answer the receptionist very well. And for the record, I think I have a new favorite spa <3

What I Loved:

Ahavia Lounge and Spa is a 5 minute drive from where I live and where it's at {M. Marcos St. cor. Allenby St}, is quite tranquil --- no pesky jeepneys, no side cars, no playing children. Perfect.
Peppermint. Some spas tend to give up having scented oils when it's one of the cheapest, if not the best way to keep a customer coming back.
AH-MAZING SERVICE. I just had to type that in all capital letters. I did not fall asleep during the 60 minute massage, not because it wasn't great -- but because I fought the urge to sleep because the pressure was just right, and the masseuse's moves were unique, at least to me, who according to Foursquare, had been to 10 different spas in the past year. Oriental Ritual, the service I had was shiatsu massage and Arlene, my therapist gave the best scalp massage. EVER. Especially for Php 299, I wanted to gush endlessly how nice the massage was.
The spa's robes and shorts were just enough, not too heavy nor too threadbare.
The Baroque Designs. Very, very tasteful. In my book, that is perfect.
The music. In some spas I've been to before, the therapists just play whatever is playing on the radio --- which can be really unfit for a time when you're about to doze off, sometimes. Ahavia played Japanese zen music. Lovely.
Separate wings for men and women.
Ample parking space and security.
Php 299 1 hour massage with all the works? This is a gem, man.

What I Did Not Like:

When I had my massage, it was too dark that I couldn't see myself plus I couldn't inspect if the sheets were clean {so I just smelled them!}.
Some folks bring their kids but while that isn't a problem the time I was there, I sure hope next time that there will be no screaming/crying toddlers.

Already, I'm looking forward to visiting again next week to try their signature massage {Php 599}, or that Thermal Therapy. Can't wait!