SÉ SPA

1047 Fifth Avenue, San Diego 619-515-3000

 

The first thing that strikes you about Sé’s 5,500-square foot spa as you sip a welcome “Soma” shot made with organic vodka, honey, and pomegranate juice is that the establishment’s attention to detail is passionately unrelenting. The installation art that delights throughout the hotel also permeates the sensual spa themed around the ancient Silk Road so that Pakistani burl wood walls, traditional Raku artwork and a mesmerizing wall studded with hundreds of small, colorful teacups by artist Jennifer Prichard provide a prelude to the myriad treatments.

 

Past a spa boutique stocked with carefully selected products from the likes of Sampar and Red Flower, the aesthetic journey continues in a softly lit Moroccan-style relaxation lounge where one can’t help but pull the I-phone out to snap a few photos for post-treatment bragging. Nine personal treatment rooms with private steam showers, two of which are specialty suites for couples, allow patrons the ultimate privacy so you never have to leave the room to change or get dressed.

 

Treatments are influenced by the culture and aesthetic of the Silk Road caravan route originating in Southeast Asia, India, Northern Africa and Japan so that traditions are merged with cutting edge technology to keep any treatment from being mundane. A mani/pedi throws light on this by using light therapy tubs and while classics like the Swedish massage are available, there is also an abundance of signature treatments that standout. Consider Thai Gamelan massage, where warm, detoxifying poultices with lavender, calendula, desert chaparral, chamomile, lemongrass, mint, nutmeg and clove are used to knead your body and make you feel like royalty. The spa also prides itself on an authentic Moroccan Rasul where clients can experience the Arabic cleansing ritual that exfoliates the skin and draws out impurities by using a choice of mud, dry heat, aromatherapy-infused steam and finally, a rainforest shower.

 

-- Ghalib Dhalla