beauty: health

Bodyhaven: let it flow

Ana Maria Moore brings a world-class spa experience to central Wellington
photographed by Sharyn Jones

A LUCIRE SPECIAL PROMOTION

WE’VE KNOWN Ana Maria Moore, the founder of Bodyhaven Spa Style Boutique, for many years. She is not just an expert in spas, but a smart businesswoman who realizes that customers are not just interested in a pleasant experience: it must be world-class.
   She has written on beauty and health, as well as etiquette: being well travelled, Moore is a fount of knowledge when it comes to all aspects of one’s well-being.
   It’s no surprise that Bodyhaven is devoted not just to helping its clients discover healthy skin, but a more holistic approach to wellness.
   ‘Our working method is to achieve the balancing of mind, body and spirit: once realized, peace, harmony and beauty are achievable,’ reads the spa’s profile. Her therapists, often trained under Moore, have been instructed to let rhythm, flow and long connective strokes guide them. Spa therapy treatments help the body absorb the skin care products, which are formulated exclusively for Bodyhaven.
   The products do not target ‘mending, fixing, suppressing or curing,’ according to Moore. The approach seems almost east Asian: they are to improve and attain balance for the client.
   Most east Asian medicines, for example, deal with that concept of balance, restoring it for the person. The ingredients used are exotic enough, to be sure: flower essences of geranium, lavender, frangipani, jasmine, champaka and tanjung, complemented by orange, clove and ginger. The three most popular blends combine jasmine, ylang ylang and champaka; frangipani and champaka; and vanilla, coconut and patchouli—all three are used in the couples’ Love Bird package, performed in Bodyhaven’s Cloud 9 suite.
   Bodyhaven’s ginger and honey, and passionfruit and papaya body wash is available for clients to purchase and take home. The spa even has a gel to help with jet lag, using lavender, geranium and grapefruit, complemented by a clay wrap, body wash, scrub and lotion. There is also a Spice Island body wash, body scrub and body lotion featuring sandalwood, nutmeg, ginger and patchouli.
   The range has taken Moore years to research and develop. Unlike the products used in some spas, these are developed exclusively for New Zealanders, taking into account our drastic temperature changes and ever-quicker lifestyles.
   She also realizes that many New Zealanders travel to exotic locations and that a spa experience here must rank with the world’s best: that one can discover a little slice of paradise at home. With an international clientèle, too, Moore is conscious that visitors seek an experience that is not only world-class but unique to New Zealand.
   To add to the exoticism of Bodyhaven, Moore is adding a copper milk bath to her range of services.
   And beyond the spa, it’s not uncommon to find Bodyhaven sponsoring various events, especially those for a good cause.
   It’s not only Lucire that likes Bodyhaven: Australia’s Women’s Health magazine’s spa guide gave it a ‘highly recommended’ accolade among the top 32 spa experiences of the world, endorsed by editor Felicity Percival.
   Most recently, Moore has announced a special for Bodyhaven customers.
   ‘The perfect way to start a Wellington spa day is to indulge your senses with the city’s best massage followed by a delicious luncheon at Whitby’s Restaurant,’ she says.
   At $130 per person, the special begins with a 90-minute massage.
   One can choose from the Bodyhaven massage, an enhanced variant with Tibetan singing bowls (the vibrations enter the body with deep, resonating tones), or a hot stone massage (focusing on the neck, shoulders and back) that helps release back tension.
   The Whitby’s lunch, with great views of Wellington Harbour, is the perfect finalé to the pampering and therapy.
   Bodyhaven Spa Style Boutique is exclusively located at the James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor on Level 16, 147 The Terrace, Wellington.
   To make an appointment, call (04) 495-3255 or (04) 499-9500, extension 8542; or email bodyhaven@paradise.net.nz.
   Bookings are based on availability. Bodyhaven is open daily from 10 a.m. Find out more at www.bodyhaven.co.nz. •

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Moore realizes that many New Zealanders travel to exotic locations and that a spa experience here must rank with the world’s best: that one can discover a little slice of paradise at home. With an international clientèle, too, Moore is conscious that visitors seek an experience that is not only world-class but unique to New Zealand