Calling all spa lovers – spa week is fast approaching. Taking place from October 15 to 21, spas in Washington, DC and around the country will offer three $50 spa treatments as part of a bi-annual event to draw the country’s tired and stressed-out masses into their warm and welcoming retreats.
We’ve long been fans of the concept, which helps make one of our favorite pastimes affordable, often cutting prices by 50% or more off of retail.
As part of a partnership with SpaFinder and Spa Week, we paid a visit to Parma Spa and Wellness Center in Vienna to test out one of the services being offered, an hour-long deep tissue massage.
We’ve long been fans of this intimate spa and wellness center, tucked into a small suite of townhouses across from the Tysons Corner mall. Spa-goers are greeted warmly in the small reception area before being ushered into a well-appointed changing area and bathroom to put on a fluffy spa robe and slippers.
My massage, billed on the website as a 50-minute Ayurvedic Massage with Essential Oils, Choice of Deep Tissue, Reflexology or Aroma Massage (normally $125), began with a warm footbath, where my therapist, Dianna, rinsed and dried my feet in a small copper tub filled with rose petals. As we discussed my areas of concern (my neck and back), she dried my feet and instructed me to lay down on the heated bed.
I wish I could tell you more about what happened during the next hour, but I drifted in and out of sleep as Dianna kneaded muscles that have been causing headaches and tension for weeks. As I turned to my back, she kindly offered a whiff of a minty essential oil to ease my stuffy nose, the result of some unfortunate fall allergies.
Parma specializes in Ayurvedic spa treatments, an ancient Indian method of spa and wellness therapies. One wouldn’t notice much of a difference between the Ayurvedic massage and a standard Swedish or Deep Tissue, only perhaps that the essential oil used felt a bit thicker and more moisturizing. Upstairs, spa-goers enjoy facial treatments and medi-spa appointments. Both facial and one area of IPL (hair removal) treatments are also on the spa week menu.
An hour later, I drifted awake – my treatment had taken an entire hour. A pleasant surprise, indeed. Parma’s spa week massage is a full 60 minute treatment, not the 50 as noted on the website.
For new spa-goers or just those in need of a budget relaxation fix, Spa Week is an excellent time to try out a new spa or just book a day of pampering. Some of our favorites on the list include the aforementioned Parma, Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door (multiple locations), Pamper Me Please travel spa (they come to you!) and the Spa and Salon at Saks Fifth Avenue.
Hurry and book now, however – appointments will fill fast.
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