Heavenly Spa Treatments Tap Into Bali Traditions

Some travellers may think that Bali has pretty much mastered the art of the wellness holiday. Yet few spas have actually sought to tap into Bali’s and Indonesia’s rich healing traditions, aside from the ubiquitous (and, more often than not, inauthentic) Balinese massage. New spa treatment menus at Four Seasons Resort Bali at Jimbaran Bay and Four Seasons Resort Bali at Sayan expose visitors to Bali Usada, the unique healing tradition that exists on the Island of the Gods.

“Similar to Ayurveda, Bali Usada combines herbal remedies, bodywork and more energy-based therapies to cure imbalances, which oftentimes manifest themselves in sickness and disease,” explains Spa Director Helen Norman. “We worked with local healers and midwives, and even lecturers at Bali’s only university, to offer an Usada major on the development of our treatments.” And the results are positively heavenly.

At Four Seasons Hotel Bali Sayan, therapists performing the Balinese-Ayurveda spa services spend time chanting and meditating with guests in addition to massage time. The spa treatments last several hours and take place in the Resort’s spacious spa villas, which are set down by the raging Agung River. Even the more practical spa treatment menu options give a nod to their location: Facials are performed using products with local medicinal plants and herbs macerated into them, in a process that takes two months.

Four Seasons Resort at Jimbaran Bay pulls from Bali’s healing arts while also looking to the ocean for inspiration. Spa products here are infused with seaweeds and algae, both of which are rich in antioxidants and minerals. They also incorporate flower baths (which blissfully take place in your spa treatment room’s outdoor tub) and locally distilled oils in massages.

“Bali is an amazing place, with such a rich healing tradition,” says Norman. “It’s our responsibility to present something that is unique and authentic to this place.”