Latvia ' s Burgeoning Spa Scene

Latvia ' s Burgeoning Spa Scene

A trim five - minute legwork from Riga ' s Old Latitude, foregone crooked medieval houses, cobbled streets and handsome municipal buildings, takes you to the elegant Kronvalda Park. Once the playground of 19th - century sports club the Rifleman Society, the grounds was habituated to the public in 1930 so they could drink in strolls along healthy - lined paths and over tinsel bridges, with the calm waters of the Riga Latitude Canal passing below. Attached the arena is Kronvalda Boulevard, a grand, foliate entrance along which trams rumble to and from the historic center. Here, in a simple but elegant 19th - century former legion storehouse is Taka Spa, one of the most glorious additions to Latvia ' s burgeoning spa scene.
Established in 2006 by former health journalist Dina Vjatere and her sidekick Agnita Vavere, the nerve center is on a holistic approach. " Our aim is not to work just for relaxation, but for results, " says Ms. Vjatere. " Many therapists work together and we elevate worldliness things with hands than with organisation. It gives us the might to sympathize the clients ' needs better. "
Taka Spa ( www. takaspa. lv ) caters to a wealthy, mainly local crowd, which flocks here for treatments that include lymphatic drainage, Elemis lime and piquancy scrubs and wraps, as well as yoga and Pilates classes in the airy space in the converted loft at the top of the setup.
Ultimately, the aim is to provide an escape from the stresses and strains of everyday life. Aija Ozolins, a regular customer, says, " I love it for the facials - using a firm, disciplined touch, massaging my face and shoulders into deep relaxation with the application of natural oils. "
On the other side of the arena - and at the contradiction end of the scale from the intimate, cozy approach of Taka Spa - is the glitzy ESPA ( www. espariga. com ), attached to the Radisson Blu Hotel Latvija, which opened in 2009. Leading the show in the village in terms of obtrusive, the six - tile shack caters to the new, rich Latvians and wealthy tourists.
A giant Swarovski chandelier hangs down from the atrium. The dark broad prosperous pool is more suggestive of a disco. Gold - flecked walls shimmer, orchestration is moody and there is a bar persuasive Cristal champagne, fresh - fruit smoothies and sushi. There is and Riga ' s most useful gym, a never-ending space kitted out with the latest Technogym equipment. Upstairs on the top level, sauna pods are located with an outside plunge pool and there is a large relaxation area, complete with white hide sofas, modern art and piles of loganberries and apples to snack on, as well as the latest glossy magazines.
Treatments are both theraoeutic and relaxing. The Stressbuster combines head and lead massage and a motionless eye treatment, while the spa ' s Amber Clarion treatment involves skin brushing, exfoliation and a cleanse, with chakras massaged by amber crystals.
Those looking for a more boutique savoir-faire can try one of the treatments at the comely Dome hotel ( www. domehotel. lv ), located in a 400 - year - old merchant dump in the emotions of Old Riga. Here, a stone ' s sling from the Romanesque and early Gothic Dome Cathedral, lay - weary guests can relax with a Kamisimo massage - a Japanese method using sunny rice - or a body shine in the hammam, using olive blend. This is a good option for weekenders looking for a fuss - free option in a great, historic latitude.
As a distinction to these niche spas, the scenic coastal resort of Jurmala - about an hour outside Riga - offers pressing for spa - seekers looking for a longer beachside race. Jurmala has great been a pleasing mission for the uptown. Spa resorts - familiar for the seat ' s mineral springs and beer climate - were built in the 1800s, catering to Russian soldiers ensuing the Napoleonic Wars. It was and a popular duty for Colonizer camps, which sprang up here in the Soviet term, and where family would come and spend the summer in the remedial angle.
Many of the sublime 19th - century wooden villas that once graced the clowning - lined avenues of Jurmala have been torn down and replaced by more - elaborate holiday homes with manicured lawns and jewel peacocks. The host of blacked - out SUVs in the driveways viewpoint at the well-off residents inside.
The Amber Spa ( www. amberspahotel. lv ) is a modern and illumined addition to the historic spa scene here. Located on a hushed road, five swindle sheet from clean white sands and calm seas, the spa has been catering whereas 2009 to the horde of Russians and Latvians who quiet pile up to the pad, and is now targeting the international mart.
The spa was obvious by obsolete Latvian nutrition - tennis promoter Vadim Sokolov after thanks to the benefits of therapies he erudite as an athlete. It offers complete weeklong programs such as weight - loss and sports therapy; locally hep treatments using traditional herbs, buckwheat and birch; and amber massage, which uses the stones to stimulate muscles.
Rooms are furnished in orange and treacherous tones, as befits the theme of the spa ( Amber is Latvia ' s state stone ). Its excellent restaurant, My Life, offers healthy spa food according to as pork loin with cranberries and, for breakfast, homemade yogurts and breads served with lank berries.
The spa offers a traditional Russian banya forbearance, involving a approach of hot saunas, cold baths and an wholesome banya besom treatment - a stimulating massage using birch or oak twigs. Ostentatiousness goes out of the window. You are asked to don a elegant cap and are deviating nude for much of it. Refreshments between treatments come in the form of cranberry juice, pickled herring and gherkins. The latitude in the main spa is clean, serene and attractive, and the treatments have salutary aims - the conspicuous male masseurs finding knots you never knew existed.
Even the sanatoriums of old, holdovers from the Communist - eternity in both feel and style, are adopting improvements. Jumala ' s Amber Shores Sanatorium caters to Soviet pensioners and old state officials who still flock to it in their Ladas. For around โ‚ฌ80 a night, guests can sleep in simple, die over - clad residence, dine on comfort food resembling as borscht in the canteen and be treated to mud baths and mineral soaks, administered in ancient hurl - callous tubs by stern babushkas. While basic, it ' s considered solace by locals, says director Viktor Daniloh: " Before, you used to just misrepresentation down in a mud pool in the cold. But it was difficult for the affection to take. "