Review: Coconut Paradise at Sense of Touch

The journey to Repulse Bay may be a long and winding one, but for an afternoon at the Sense of Touch spa, it is definitely worth it. Walking past throngs of bamboo and through old Chinese arches in the Repulse Bay complex, I arrive. The spa is tranquil with a bit of Moroccan flair and feels as though I’ve been transported to a faraway resort. A courtyard garden, fitting for girly spa parties, adds the perfect touch of tranquility to the experience, a far cry from Sense of Touch’s more urban Lan Kwai Fong location.

I’m here to try one of the spa’s new summer treatments, Coconut Paradise, and the experience starts off with a generous glass of coconut water and a seat overlooking the garden. My feet are placed in a mandarin tonic footbath and left to soak for ten minutes. My therapist, Babita, sits down to describe the treatment that’s about to ensue, which includes a coconut body scrub followed by a massage and topped off with a cooling coconut sorbet.

She then leads me to the spa’s Cassia room where the treatment will take place, my feet feeling soft and lithe from the tonic bath. I lie face down on a cushioned massage table and Babita enters the room to begin. A softening Balinese scrub made from dried coconut, sea salt and coconut oil is vigorously rubbed into my skin, sloughing off dead skin cells to prepare me for the impending beach and boat season. After about thirty minutes of scrubbing, Babita asks me to rinse off in the in-room shower and as I do, I can feel that my skin has become dramatically softer – I’m pleased with the results so far.

As I step out of the shower and move back onto the massage table, Babita returns with organic coconut oil for a 60-minute massage. I’m told that the coconut oil is cold pressed from the treetops and bottled within 48 hours to preserve nutrients and minerals. The massage is firm with long strokes and slowly lulls me into a slumber. I awake as my treatment comes to an end and after a few minutes to change and reawake my senses, I follow the hallway out to the waiting area and am given a refreshing coconut sorbet to wrap up my afternoon.

Once I leave and wander back through the arches and rows of bamboo, I admire how soft and supple my skin feels and how at ease my body and mind are. The two-hour treatment is offered at various Sense of Touch spa locations for HK$1,480, a genuinely affordable price for such a relaxing and rejuvenating experience.

Sense of Touch, G211, 1/F The Repulse Bay Arcade, 109 Repulse Bay Road, Hong Kong; +852 2592 9668