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Cover Story
Mother's Day 2008
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May 08, 2008 One of my girlfriends is going to have the best Mother's Day ever. She gets to go to Las Vegas with her mom, sister and sister-in-law for five days. The best part? No kids. But as she told me the good news, she confessed that she wondered if leaving her keiki behind to celebrate being a mom might, in fact, make her a crappy mother.
I don't think so, and I told her that. She's a mom every minute of the day for the rest of the year, so why not take a break? The only thing five days off will do is make her a little less crazy and appreciate her darling little Gremlin that much more.
Granted, not everyone can get away for a vacation. Money's tight and airfare just went way up. But what you can do is book a mini-getaway for Mom without having to starve your own kids to pay for it.
See, we're already cruising one of the most lusted-over places on the planet. Not to mention, we have some of the greatest spas and innovative treatments available to us. We're highlighting some of the best below, as well as finding out what some of the spa employees will be doing for their moms. So get that credit card ready and prepare to pay–she did, after all, carry you in her womb for nine months–so your poor mother can finally relax.
Honua Spa, Hotel Hana Maui
Hana, in itself, is one of the most relaxing places on Earth. So when you add a trip to the spa over at Hotel Hana Maui–which has been voted into the top 25 Hotel Spas of Hawai'i by Travel + Leisure–you get indescribable bliss. The massages there are supposed to be phenomenal and the hot stone–lomi pohaku–comes highly recommended. Instead of just laying the warm stones on Mom's body, the masseuse actually uses the stones to rub and massage her tired muscles. They also offer fancy body scrubs, wraps and facials like the Hawaiian Ginger Body Scrub and Honua Wrap, which starts with a fragrant body scrub using Hawaiian Ginger and ends with a super-hydrating Honua Wrap. The Honua Spa is one of three places on the island that has a watsu pool that is used for aquatic renewal. The water in the pool is kept at a comfortable 98 degrees and floats are placed on Mom's neck, hands and feet. A therapist then does gentle cranial sacral work while Mom drifts off to the underwater music. How cool is that?
Pukanala Baybayan, Spa Concierge: "I would get Mom a body treatment. Probably the hot stone massage or the Awa Spirulina scrub which is detoxifying and exfoliating."
Hotel Hana Maui, Hana, 248-8211
Maui Body and Soul
This is a great one-stop-shop for everything and anything that you need to help Mom relax. Naturally, they offer all the good spa stuff like a Jacuzzi, steam room and a sauna, but what really sets them apart is their floatation tank. What's a floatation tank? It's a sensory deprivation chamber that you float in to ease your muscles and your mind, of course. Floatation tanks are great for all kinds of things besides just chilling out. For example, Mom can take a CD with her–foreign language anyone?–and the state that the tank puts her in is supposed to help the learning process.
Aida Figueroa, Manager: "Spa treatment or a gift certificate for a massage is always good."
Azeka Shopping Center, Kihei, 875-9004
Soleil Luna, A Boutique Salon & Spa
In one word, Soleil Luna is hip. Lots of fashionable Balinese décor and eclectic music add to the ambiance. This is a great place for the Mom that gets mistaken as your sister or for the woman who appreciates animal print. The staff are all highly trained and spend time traveling the world keeping up on the latest trends, products and services so that you can sit back, relax and be completely assured that you will get nothing but the best from your time spent with them. They offer all kinds of stuff like facials, manicures, pedicures, body polishes, waxing, massage and salon packages for those of you that want to get Mom a little bit of everything.
April Page, General Manager: "If I could get my mom anything, it would be a plane ticket to come visit me!"
242 Lahainaluna Rd., Lahaina, 662-0203
Green Ti Boutique & Massage
I really like Green Ti because it's located really close to my office. And judging from the overcrowded parking lot, it's close to a hell of a lot of other Mom's jobs too. The vibe in the boutique is very chill and the place just smells really good. Mainly they offer massage and acupuncture, but they also do Reiki, an awesome, non-invasive, very gentle form of energy balancing done by a trained practitioner who lays hands on your body. Besides their services, they sell a bunch of cool stuff like bath and body products, handmade jewelry, products from the lavender farm and eye pillows. You can't go wrong.
Erica Oleksa, Receptionist: "I'd get a deep tissue massage because it's just a nice treat to help relax tired moms."
40 N. Market St., Wailuku, 242-8788
Grande, Grand Wailea Resort
Hands down, this is my favorite place in the whole world. I've only been to the spa once and am still paying for it, but man, was it worth every penny. And it costs a lot of pennies. Guess what? Your mother–she who carried you in her womb, birthed you and then supported your ass until you were at least 18–totally deserves it. Each treatment starts off with "Terme Wailea Hydro Therapy" which is just a fancy name for hot tubs and luxurious baths. I am in love with the furo, Roman Jacuzzi, waterfall, cold plunge pool, eucalyptus steam and redwood sauna, aromatic baths and even the Swiss jet shower, though the later really tickles. I've experienced one of their body wraps and it's absolutely amazing. You get all slathered up and then cocooned in warm fuzzy stuff and then wrapped in space age material. It sounds weird, but trust me it's totally heavenly.
Christina Yumul, Public Relations : "We have two great Mother's Day promotions to choose from. The Mother's Day Escape Package, which includes a one-night luxury, ocean view accommodation and a day of pampering at Spa Grande and also a $300 gift certificate to Spa Grande that comes with a luxurious robe."
3850 Wailea Alanui Dr., 875-1234
Spa Luna
Spa Luna began in Makawao but found its home in Haiku at the Haiku Cannery. Today, they put a lot of focus on their esthetician and massage school, but still have an absolutely fantastic Day Spa that's bound to have something Mom will love. Some of the services that they offer are body wraps, facials, Italian body toning, massage, sauna, skincare, tinting (eyebrows, eyelashes), waxing (everything that you could imagine), and lymphatic drainage. While the words "lymphatic drainage" don't sound especially soothing, it's reported benefits do, like an improved metabolism, eliminated waste and toxins and a boost to the immune system. Every mom could use one of those.
Fern Findeisen, Office Manager: "For Mom? Definitely a facial with a pumpkin peel and a body wrap."
810 Haiku Rd. Ste. 209, 575-9267
Blue Bamboo II
I've been to Blue Bamboo a few times when it was still in Wailuku–where it had been for six years–and loved it. Lucky for Lahaina people, it relocated to the Westside about a year ago. This is a Japanese-styled wellness center that offers both massage and acupuncture as well as spa-type therapies. The ambiance is very soothing, yet not at all pretentious. It's serene and you are never made to feel like a gigantic, noisy jerk even if you accidentally make a loud noise. The spa room has a furo soak tub and offers light therapy that, according to those who use it, balances the body system. Not to mention, Blue Bamboo II is committed to offering extremely good prices on all of their services which means that there's really no good excuse not to treat mom to an afternoon or evening of relaxation.
Elizabeth Homan, receptionist: "If I had a choice for Mother's Day, I would recommend a gift certificate or an 80-minute deep tissue massage. Mom's will be extremely well taken care of here and will feel it the minute they walk in the door."
181 Lahainaluna Rd., Lahaina, 661-7200 MTW
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