Bedroom of Resort Villa, Mandala Spa, Boracay. Image Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com

I spent the better section of last week getting acquainted with Mandala Spa and Villas, a spa resort in Boracay Island in the Philippines. (Cue envy from my friends and my wife, who lives for spa treatments.)

Being a relative spa newbie, I decided to grill Pia Mobo, the Mandala’session spa manager, for tips about the best spa treatments to pamper myself with. Pia, herself a mineral spring enthusiast, was happy to share the inside info.

(To read my review of the Mandala, go here: Review of Mandala Spa & Villas in Boracay, Philippines.)

Mandala Spa & Villas’ traditional foot bath. Photo by Raymond Saldana. Image Mandala Spa & Villas, used with permission.

Q: What do you recommend for first-time guests to the Mandala?

A: If our guest asks for recommendations, we usually recommend the Hilot Trilogy. If they want to stay longer, we recommend the Shodhana Karma and the Heritage Package.

But then if we see they’re sunburned, we say, they should try the body treatment we call the Cold Cucumber Aloe Wrap. It’s really good because sunburn: we use new aloe vera and cucumber which are unaffected skin healers. Because sometimes they ask for a massage, which we don’t allow if they’re sunburned!

Q: I’ll be acquirement the Hilot Trilogy later, on your recommendation. What’s going to happen to me?

A: You’ll see that it’s a combination of three Filipino traditional massages; bentosa, we use cups to create a massaging effect and it takes out the bad air in your back. The other one is the hilot, a stronger full-body massage. And for your feet we use tagtagay sticks to massage your feet.

The whole session takes one hour and 45 minutes. This includes the 10 minute footbath, and 5 minute tea-time.

Private Day Spa Veranda. Photo by Jovel Lorenzo. Image Mandala Spa & Villas, used with permission.

Q: What are the most attractive treatments for honeymooning couples?

A: The Filipino Heritage Package is always good – it incorporates the Hilot Trilogy, and it has a scrub and a bath component – the bath is made out of coconut milk, essential oils, and a lot of flowers. It’s a 2 hour 45 sixty seconds treatment.

Q: What’s the most-requested treatment at Mandala Spa?

A: Always the Shodhana Karma, then the Hilot Trilogy comes second. The Shodhana Karma is a combination of massage and a scrub – it’s a cleansing therapy, part of the therapy makes you go in and out of the sauna, and you detoxify by sweating. And what we put in the ingredients, part of the scrub while you’re being massaged, that’s part of the detoxifying process.

Entrance to Spa Villa, Mandala Spa, Boracay. Image Mike Aquino, licensed to About.com

Q: You make a big deal out of the natural ingredients you use in Mandala Spa. Where do you source them?

A: Most of the ingredients are sourced locally. Like the leaves, seaweed lap, we have to source that from outside the island – Cebu City or overseas. The turmeric we use for our lulur scrubs, we source that from Indonesia. But the papaya, pineapple, coconut, all of those are available here, even the banana leaves we use for our treatment.

We also promise our clients that, for every treatment they take with us, we plant a tree on their behalf. For three treatments, that’s three trees planted in your character. That’s why we can claim that environment-wise, we are doing our part.

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