Give Us the Skinny 

Early for my appointment at the new Angsana Spa at Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui, I lingered in the lobby of the hotel absorbing cascading views of Victoria Harbor and Hong Kong Island beyond. The crowded sidewalks I’d thought I’d left behind seemed to follow me here as I dodged families with strollers and roller suitcases wheeling between check-in and elevator. Looking for a space to chill for a moment, I found a sculptural spiral staircase and paused midway up them, transfixed by boats plying the water. I’d just spent the last two days crisscrossing the city, surrounded by dazzling art—and people—at Hong Kong Art Week fairs. It was exhilarating and exhausting; and I was looking forward to shifting gears and slowing down for a few hours. 

The Vibe 

The views! Angsana Spa, located on the 11th floor of the hotel, serves them from a pastel-hued reception nook wrapped in the same stunning panorama as the lobby. This is the third Angsana Spa to open in Hong Kong—and the setting makes for a perfect urban retreat. 

Over a cup of the spa’s signature Emerald Harmony tea—noted to aid digestion and circulation with a mix of lemongrass and pandan leaf—the gracious spa manager guided me through their treatment menu full of treatments offering a combination of Asian traditional medicine and modern technique. It was not difficult to relax and unwind, surrounded by the lounge’s calming, soft music in the background and the clean scent of the tea beginning to melt away my tension.   

I chose the Angsana body massage with signature Euphoria oil. Designed to strengthen qi, the oil is said to promote concentration and rejuvenation. After all the inputs over the past week, this sounded just right. While drawn to the Age Defying facial (who wouldn’t be?), I opted for the Exclusive Angsana instead, promising to “plump fine lines” with mushroom gua sha. More about that to follow, but my interest was piqued: I pictured a petrified portobello magic wand returning me to my former, un-fine-lined self.  

The Design  

After a few more minutes sipping and contemplating my younger self, I was introduced to Iris, my spa therapist who led me to the end of the corridor lined with flickering candles to the spa’s premier Bauhinia suite; all Angsana Spa treatment rooms are named for a regional flower. 

And yes—the views again. The double suite devotes an entire wall to sweeping vistas reminding me that I was tucked away, high above busy Kowloon, about to be detoxified of all that city stress.  

At the room’s center, two treatment beds draped in smoke-colored micro-fiber sheets, ornamented with jade-hued silk runners, anchored the room. Tucked in a corner, an oversized tub filled with rose petals invited a soak to watch commuters crossing Victoria Harbor below, but I was drawn to the pair of plush sofas where spa oils and a foot bath—marks of spa ritual commencement—were arranged. In the discreet dressing area, concealing a full shower, changing and washroom, I slipped into one of Angsana Spa’s signature patterned orange kimonos and sat down to begin the session. 

The Massage 

Paying extra attention to my neck and shoulders, the treatment began with me face down as Iris’s expert hands began working out the travel stress. The fragrance of Angsana’s Euphoria oil—with ylang-ylang as the base—permeated the room. As if sensing I had clocked a record number of steps traversing gallery booths at Art Basel Hong Kong the day before, she deftly erased all traces of tension.  

I melted into the heated bed, cocooned in impossibly soft sheets and a plush blanket. Her arm work was unlike anything I’d experienced: a combination of firm pressure, assisted movement and stretching that ultimately unlocked my right arm—overstressed from my unorthodox tennis grip. She signaled transitions with an open-handed squeeze, indicating the next phase of the treatment without breaking the spell.  

The Facial 

With one such signal, Iris whispered the facial would begin. Using a series of Angsana Spa signature elixirs coupled with Anne Semonin Paris products, she cleansed and steamed my skin, coaxing my pores open.  “This will be a little cold,” she warned, so I braced myself as she began to massage my face with a pair of chilled jade—not hardened organic material—mushroom-shaped gua sha stones. The sensation was instantly invigorating, and easily my favorite detail of the treatment: I could feel my skin all at once cooling, lifting, and tightening. Next, as she applied a hydrating mask, I dozed off and was gently awoken by the subtle aroma of neroli oil falling like morning dew on my newly plumped and luminous skin.  

Iris lifted a Tibetan singing bowl and struck it three times, bathing me in a healing resonance. Helping me sit up, she gave my back and shoulders a final stretch before helping me slip back into my kimono. 

Did it Work? 

Both treatments were sublime and left me feeling rested and refreshed. Sipping the restorative longan tea and nibbling coconut pudding Iris had placed by my side, I asked Iris, half-serious, if I looked twenty years younger.  “Yes madame,” she giggled. Well, Iris, you certainly did your best. It hardly seemed fair to put clothes on and return to reality, but Kimpton Tsim Sha Tsui and Angsana Spa offered me a much-needed reprieve. Feeling re-energized, I tied my sneaker laces and prepared to head back into the fray. Next mission: Causeway Bay and a stop at Brandy Melville for the teen. 

angsana.com; 90-minute Angsana Massage HKD 1,450 (weekdays), 90-minute Exclusive Angsana Facial HKD 1,850 (weekdays).  

Hero and lede images courtesy of Angsana Spa.

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The information in this article is accurate as of the date of publication.

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