ABSOLUTE NIRVANA: One of the
Hottest New Spas in the World
Absolute Nirvana
Spa
The New Age Vortex of Santa Fe has perhaps the nation's
highest concentration of massage therapists per square mile,
so it can be hard to know where to begin. Thankfully,
Absolute Nirvana body-workers have a minimum of five years'
experience. The Indonesian-themed day-spa has only four
rooms; you can indulge in facials, hot stone and Thai
massages, and two-hour treatments such as the Javanese Lulur
($220). Dating back to the seventheenth century, it begins
with a foot-bath and continues with an hour-long hot oil
massage before clinets are slathered with yogurt and honey;
rubbed with turmeric, sandalwood, and rice power; stuck in a
steam shower; and finally dunked in a hot rose-petal bath in
a granite tub before a crackling fire.
by A Global Guide: The 10th
Annual Hot List of the Top New 55 Spas
Conde Naste Traveler, May 2006
Santa Fean
Magazine
There's something kind of
ironic about hunting down the latest in Santa Fe spa
treatments in a hurry. But after a week on this spring's
beautification beat, I can now say with authority that
nothing quashes deadline pressure like a head-to-little-toe
seaweed exfoliation, followed by a steamy rose-petal bath and
a coconut dusted truffle (organic, of course).
As its name implies, Absolute
Nirvana does not mess around. This three-room boutique spa -
which opened last summer in the Madeleine Inn, a downtown
B&B - is Santa Fe's smallest and most decadent, a
pleasing blend of the high-end and the homemade. The inn's
ivy-shrouded brick exterior screams old-fashioned charm, but
inside the casita the treatments are 100 percent exotic.
Inspired by a vacation in Bali, Carolyn Lee designed her
deluxe treatments using such Indonesian elements as soothing
footbaths and all-nautral body scrubs, along with tinctures
she makes herself. For two delicious 'Ocean and Flowers'
hours ($220) I was massaged, coated with seaweed, steamed,
and left to lounge in the aforementioned rosewater soak while
inhaling a truffle that Lee had whipped up that
afternoon.
by Santa Fean Magazine, May
2007
BEST OVER-THE-TOP
INDULGENCE
With Santa Fe boasting the highest number
of licensed massage therapists per capita, we could easily be
considered the de-stresssing capital of the country. Choosing
the one ultimate indulgence from the city's numerous
full-service destination spas was no easy feat. Absolute
Nirvana absolutely lives up to its name. This
Balinese-inspired retreat at The Madeleine Bed &
Breakfast offers an otherworldly two-hour indulgence that
begins with a cup of an Indonesian herbal elixir and a ritual
foot cleansing. Next comes a full-body massage, after which a
melange of cinnamon and brown sugar is mixed with warm oil
for an all-over body scrub, follwed by a honey and papaya
mask. Then comes a stint in the steam room and a leisurely
soak in a granite tub filled with hundreds of rose petals, a
roaring fire nearby. A tray of chocolate turffles and piquant
ginger honey tea provides the perfect finale.
by Santa Fean,
May 2006
Sublime Happiness!
It is difficult to describe just how beautiful and unusual
the layout, decor and vibe at Nirvana Spa, Tea Room &
Gardens really is. It is such an unusual design that I can
say with almost absolute certainty that you've never been to
a spa like it......read more
by SantaFe.com
Delivering on the promises their beautiful images
provide, Nirvana spa touches every nerve and every
stressed point in your body. From the welcoming fire and
bath, to the sensitive, yet firm touch of the practitioners,
Santa Feans are in for a rare treat. Memories of my visit
still linger. It truly was pure nirvana.
by J. Elaine Spear, who lives in
Santa Fe, is the Editor-at-Large for DAYSPA magazine. She is
constantly traveling throughout North America and the
Caribbean in search of perfect spa experiences.
Voted Top 3 in Santa Fe
Spas
by the Reporter's "Best of Santa
Fe", 2005
"The last time I was standing in
the yard to The Madeline, it was a rose garden. Now, as
impossible as it is to beat a rose garden, there stands a
beautiful, intimate little building that is the private,
unique ABSOLUTE NIRVANA SPA. Owner Carolyn Lee was inspired
by the Balinese spa tradition, and each room is designed to
be very simple and quiet, but with a touch of the ornate and
luscious.
Carolyn has hired massage
therapists who have a minimum of 5 years of experience,
though most of them have 10 to 15 years experience. She uses
only organic essential oils in her spa treatments. The
all-granite tubs are custom-made, and continuously cleaned
with UV light and a little hydrogen peroxide that dissipates
rapidly in the process.
The Deluxe Spa treatments
include a ritual foot bath, an hour-long massage, your choice
of a skin conditioning or detoxifying treatment, a steam
room, and a rose petal bath. All supplemented by wonderful
teas, lemon water, strawberries, and the faint essence of
Bali. There are three different Deluxe Treatments: the
Javanese Lulur (wedding day preparation, or for fun); the
Ocean and Flowers Treatment, which has detoxifying seaweed,
and the Brown Sugar and Papaya, for revitalization. For the
descriptions, see ABSOLUTE NIRVANA’s Web site. I chose the
Papaya and Brown Sugar Treatment, which uses the Spicy Bali
Massage Oil, and perhaps it was this smell that took me more
completely into the exotic. Besides the medical benefits of
massage, which are numerous, (to name just a few: it helps
your lymph glands to cleanse themselves, your muscles to
relax and release toxic build-up) and besides the medical
benefits for your skin (your largest organ) of exfoliation
and cleansing with steam, what really happens is that you
find the spa is a door you step through that allows you to
find your own path, your own way, into the exotic and sensual
and spiritual ever-expanding, ever-becoming you, as though
you were always right there, waiting for the Nirvana Spa that
will allow you to tap into the person you always wanted to
be."
by Bliss Magazine, October
2005
"That was the best experience
of my life!"
by Cindy Bellinger,
freelance reporter for the Santa Fe New Mexican, after her
Javanese Lulur Treatment. August
2005.
Nothing could be
sweeter than the Brown Sugar & Papaya
Extravaganza ($220, 120 minutes) at Absolute Nirvana Spa
(Santa Fe, NM). The treatment begins with a ritual footbath,
followed by a full-body masage using the spa's signature
Spicy Bali massage oil, a completely organic blend of jojoba
oil and esential oils. Next, an exfoliation is performed
using organic brown sugar and cinnamon, and a freshly blended
papaya-pulp body mask is applied. After a 10-minute steam
shower to help the papaya and oils penetrate, the session
wraps with a 25-minute fireside soak in a rose petal-filled
granite tub that is accompanied by hot ginger tea and a tray
of homemade chocolate truffles (and fruit). This fruit-filled
infusion is most certainly the path to total
bliss.
by
American
Spa Magazine. February 2005
