Taking the Kids: Spa can be entré to a new culture

I’m slathered in thick black mud from head to toe – on purpose. And I’m thrilled by the experience.

That’s because I’m at the Kempinski Hotel Ishtar Dead Sea, which includes “the oldest naturally occurring spa” on the shores of the Dead Sea and about an hour from Amman, Jordan. The resort is also the largest in the region and boasts the largest spa. We can literally see the lights of Jerusalem.

We are on a two-week Jordan-Egypt tour with Abercrombie & Kent and after an exhausting visit to the ancient city of Petra, one of the new seven wonders of the world, we are glad for the overnight respite here before heading to Egypt (more about that in future columns).

The Dead Sea is the lowest body of water on earth with salinity 10 times that of the ocean, allowing unique mineral content that long has been regarded as helpful to many topical ailments. That means filtered UV light and high oxygen levels. The black Dead Sea mud is said to improve blood circulation and is thought to be one of the healthiest things to use for your skin.

So, first we float in the Dead Sea, a strange experience, then a smiling beach attendant slathers us in the mud. We’re told to wait 10 minutes then shower off before he rubs us with Dead Sea salt, which is naturally rich in magnesium and calcium, natural moisturizing factors. Is my skin glowing? Feels like it. No wonder Cleopatra was such a fan.

The next morning, I have a massage at the 10,000 square-feet Ishtar Spa by Resense, complete with a Dead Sea plunge pool and the largest hydro pool in the Dead Sea and many treatments created to benefit from the healing power of the Dead Sea – from The Dead Sea Hamman, a bathing experience complete with a full-body black soap cleanse, an Arabian massage and a Dead Sea Purifier Facial.

Earlier in the week, at the Four Seasons Hotel Amman Spa, I was treated to the Dead Sea experience 21st-century-style with a treatment that started with a body scrub, followed by a Dead Sea mud wrap to detoxify the skin and then a massage.

I should note that we felt completely safe in Jordan but first the Arab Spring and now the Gaza War has totally derailed tourism on which much of the country depends. “We are very nice but surrounded by naughty neighbors,” one of our guides lamented. Also, spa treatments seemed to cost significantly less than at comparable resorts elsewhere.

The treatments in Jordan and then at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza in Egypt (our room overlooked the Nile) made me realize that wellness treatments, whether at far-flung locales or in places like Iceland ( gotta soak in the thermal springs like at Sky Lagoon in Reykjavik with the sauna overlooking the ocean) or Arizona (treatments inspired by the desert) can be a window into a new culture, just as is food. Certainly, White Lotus fans have gotten vicarious enjoyment from the focus on wellness treatments at the ultra-luxe Thai resort, the setting this past season. This as wellness experiences continue to be a growing selling point for vacationers.

In Cairo, I had the Nefertari Herbal Massage that included warm herbal poultices with a mixture of cloves, chamomile and mint rubbed on my body before a massage. Nefertari was one of the best-known Egyptian queens who was married to Ramesses II and famous not only for her beauty but influence in ancient Egyptian society. We were disappointed that her spectacularly decorated tomb in the Valley of the Queens is currently closed because of damage to the fragile wall paintings.

With Mother’s Day coming up, consider treating the favorite women in your life to a treatment the next time you travel, including plenty of prenatal offerings. See if you can find one that reflects the region where you are visiting.

All of the Red Lane Spas at Sandals resorts feature Caribbean influences. Have a Blue Mountain Coffee Scrub at the new Sandals Dunn’s River in Jamaica. The Wanderlust spa menu aboard Windstar Cruises uses ingredients sourced from the sailing destination, like a Body Nectar Nourishing Wrap in Tahiti.

Scottsdale boasts 22 resort spas. The Palo Verde Spa and Apothecary at the Andaz Scottsdale, takes inspiration from the Sonoran Desert, using native plants and aromatics. How about a purifying juniper massage or a Desert Ritual that includes a facial message with prickly pear? The Fairmont Scottsdale Princess spa touts a Havasupai Falls Rejuvenation, with a sage smudging ritual, a scrub with desert salts and a massage with jojoba body butter and a Sedona clay detoxifying mask on your face.

In Montecito, California, Sense, Rosewood Miramar Beach’s Spa has “Lost Remedies” treatments inspired by the flora along the coast. Plants and flowers in this region have been linked to healing for centuries. For example, there’s the Undaria Seaweed Age-Defying Ritual inspired by California ocean seaweed famous for its vitamins, minerals and nutrients. Start with a sea foam foot soak, a body brush treatment and massage with marine algae-infused oils.

Farther North in Sonoma, California, in the heart of Wine Country, is one of my favorites, The Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn & Spa. The spa is built atop an ancient thermal mineral spring and has five geothermal mineral pools. Here you can indulge in a floating massage with signature thermal waters, for example.

In Park City, Utah, The Edge Spa at the Lodge at Blue Sky touts “energy journeys” in a secluded aspen grove along the banks of the Alexander Creek in a cozy glamping tent. How about an ice plunge on the rocks with focused breathing?

You will find many treatments at Hawaiian spas inspired by local culture. The Kilolani Spa at the Grand Wailea in Maui honors the stargazers of ancient Hawaii with treatments drawing inspiration from the Hawaiian moon calendar. Perhaps a holistic Hawaiian beauty facial with naturally derived botanicals or a Lomilomi Hawaiian healing massage? The Ko’a Kea Resort in Kauai, touting a new Blissful Beginnings experience for expectant moms, uses Hawaiian ingredients from the mountains to the ocean in their Honua Experience facial.

In Jordan and then Egypt, as we toured museums, ancient sites and tombs with their spectacular colorful wall paintings and stories about their lives thousands of years ago told in hieroglyphics, I kept thinking how glad I was to literally dip a toe into the Dead Sea and experience ancient wellness rituals. Wherever you go, there is a lot to be learned from them.

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(For more Taking the Kids, visit www.takingthekids.com and also follow TakingTheKids on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram where Eileen Ogintz welcomes your questions and comments. The fourth edition of The Kid’s Guide to New York City and the third edition of The Kid’s Guide to Washington D.C. are the latest in a series of 14 books for kid travelers published by Eileen.)