On my latest visit to Abu Dhabi, I was exhausted and sleepless. Luckily, I was staying at the Yas Viceroy hotel, home to the best spa in Yas Island. I just had to free my afternoon schedule and reward myself a relaxing day at the spa.
It is located on the ground floor of Yas Viceroy, overlooking the Yas Marina. It comprises nine treatment rooms, separate male and female private areas, a relaxation lounge overlooking the Yas Marina racetrack, plus the Viceroy Presidential Treatment Suite featuring its own hammam, and a steam room with a rain shower, color therapy and Kinesis fitness equipment. Women can easily enjoy a private event at the spa with dedicated treatment rooms and a white lounge area designed as a majlis for female guests.
The two-floor urban spa is both modern and sophisticated that takes you on a journey of comfort and relaxation. The spa is cool and quite, which are features those who want to escape the noise of the city are looking for.
The spa is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to both hotel guests and outsiders. I found the spa menu to be very detailed and it catered to the needs of all guests. As soon as I walked in to the spa, I was approached by a therapist, Jene, who asked me the reason of my visit and my top concerns (which were being jet lagged, insomnia and stress).
I was offered a treatment from their ESPA Facial Focus. The advanced back, face and scalp treatment is perfect for those who work long hours sitting and suffer from back and shoulder pains.
Jene informed me that the spa works on what the client needs. “What the client wants, the client gets,” she said. “Some people come with limited time so we cater to what they need exactly in that short period and we deliver the best service in whatever time and place,” she added.
I was taken to the women’s locker room to change into the spa’s robe and slippers. Then I was escorted to my treatment suite on the second floor. The suite offers a shower, a bathroom and the treatment room where the bed is. Jene then sat me on the chair and requested I smell different types of oils from the ESPA products. I was to point out what smells gave the strongest sensation to me. She informed me that the stronger smell is what my body needs the most and it’s a call from my body to use that product.
The strong scent to me was a soothing bath and body oil which is a formulation to help quieten the mind and is the perfect precursor for a deep sleep whilst it effortlessly nourishes moisture deep down into the skin.
To prepare me for deep sleep, Jene started with a gentle scrub only for the back and shoulder area using an exfoliating body polish infused with cooling spearmint essential oil for a refreshing, uplifting experience and beautifully radiant skin refinement. She then applied their famous Pink Hair and scalp mud on my back, shoulder and hair and wrapped my body in it. This unique conditioning treatment helps promote healthy hair and scalp. It is a mineral-rich red clay made with apricot kernel oil that helps stimulate circulation and promotes healthy hair and skin.
The therapist later massaged my feet using the strong scented oil as I started to let go and relax. She unwrapped my back and shoulders and wiped the mud using a combination of cold and warm towels and then massaged using the same oil.
Thirty minutes later, she offered to give me a detailed consultation and an in-depth skin analysis using a woods lamp to identify skin conditions not visible to the naked eye. This allowed her to tailor the treatment to my needs for my facial. She offered to show me and explain to me the meaning of the colors in my reflection; purple is for dry skin, dark purple is for dehydrated skin, orange is for oily skin and brown is for irritated skin.
To my surprise, my skin was a combination of purple and dark purple when I always thought I had oily skin. I had dark purple circles around my eyes, which is a clear call for rich moisturizing creams. Jene used their ESPA facial treatment starting with the cleansing milk all the way to the treatment oil, mask, which followed with moisturizing and massaging the face.
As soon as the treatment was done, Jene offered me an ESPA skincare menu to help me shop at the spa and find the best products. The brochure is very helpful where there is a section for skin vision analysis showing the areas that need special care for the face and neck. Based on the therapist’s advice, she wrote that I need to drink more water daily, exfoliate face and neck twice a week, and tone and moisturize. She also asked me to apply a re-hydrating face mask three times a week for 15 minutes, moisturize twice on a daily basis and massage the face to help blood circulation at least once a week and visit the spa for a regular facial at least once a month.
She also helped me learn how to change my daily beauty regime, informing me I should always start with a milk-based cleanser, toner, then comes the serum and then the moisturizer with special care for my eyes.

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