So if you want to bring your mum to one spa during her trip to Dubai, or your sister, or a good friend – I highly recommend So Spa. Such beautiful interiors, and it’s huuuuge – a whole ‘2500m2’ according to their website blurp. I’ve been to so many spas during our time here in Dubai – and for the life of me I don’t know how I missed this one. I’ve heard recommendations of it from here and there – I must have just chosen to ignore it. So what makes it different?

Here’s my review of Sofitel Spa at Sofitel Dubai Palm Jumeirah :

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Experience Pool

Within that 2500m2, you have the usual sauna, steam and ice fountain. On top of that – there’s the central area where you can sit and have your green tea or chamomile tea while you munch on almonds and apricots (The Dubai post-treatment standard 😉 ). In this giant room, you’re surrounded by an “Experience pool”, which is supposedly 27degrees celcius (but honestly felt much colder today). There are jets there which is so good for the head, shoulders and back.

Plunge Pool

Right next to it, is the circular ‘Plunge Pool’ – icy cold at supposedly 16degrees celcius. I wasn’t brave enough to get in there today. Felt like an ice bath 🙂

Hydrotherapy Pool

In a separate area, is the ‘Hydrotherapy Pool’, well-heated at 35 degrees. This is the Dubai spa-standard ‘jacuzzi’ – just 10 times bigger 😀 And super strong jets that’ll make your lower back, thighs and feet very happy 🙂 Couple of jets weren’t working today though – would be good to get that fixed – lucky for me it wasn’t too busy (Friday afternoon) – it was just me and another lady in that pool 🙂

Couples Massage

Now if you came with your husband and did a couples massage (which we did today) – you get your own room during the massage which is great 😉 The massage tables were so comfortable – I don’t know if it’s because we haven’t been to one for so long and all the spas in Dubai have ‘upgraded’ their massage tables, but you know that ‘hole in the bed’ area for your face? It’s usually so uncomfortable. This one’s so soft and spongey. Spongey. Does this word exist? As a Dubai standard – it’ll be female to female and male to male. I was very happy with my massage today – she (Yumi?) was firm on where I wanted her to be.

Things that could be better

The only bit that I felt may need a bit of change/improvement was the couples relaxation room. There seemed to be a lot of traffic through there which didn’t quite feel like a ‘relaxation’ room. Suggest to introduce some sort of partition or otherwise, I don’t know – do the men from their spa areas have to walk through this room to get to the outdoor pool?

Outdoor Adults-only Pool

Ah, onto the outdoor pool – again, the other area where you and your husband can use together. Felt like we were in a hilltop resort somewhere far away 🙂 Those shrubs in front worked well in shielding the passerbys, and to us in the pool to create that whole ‘feeling’ that we were not actually, in Dubai 🙂 So clean and green. Until I leaned over the edge of the infinity pool and saw empty plastic water bottles floating around the pool drain beyond. Bummer. Please clean that up 😉

Overall Thoughts

As an overall – like I said in the beginning – one of the spas you can literally spend a couple of hours at. Give yourself an hour before the treatment, and possibly another 90 minutes after.

Other than the few suggestions I mentioned above, it would also be good if So Spa can introduce a timeslot where husband and wives can use the indoor spa areas together. Kinda like the Rainforest Spa at Ritz Carlton Al Wadi.

Thanks again to Yumi for the massage. To the guys at the entrance for letting me charge my phone 🙂

On price-point?

To be noted that our treatments were complimentary today as I had won two 50-minute massage vouchers from the Privilee team on a Facebook competition (yay!) 🙂 However, it’s definitely value-for-money, considering the space and quality of the indoor areas. A 50-minute massage would be 580 AED (steep, yes – on the higher end of spas in Dubai)- however, with the Entertainer, that would be 290AED per person. It’s the same price as the Groupon deals which are always on 🙂 Don’t want to spend so much? They also have a 30-minute spa treatment for 189AED.

How to get the most out of what you’ve spent?

Currently they allow access to the main resort pool and beach as well if you book a spa treatment – so you could literally spend an entire day at Sofitel. Get daddy to drive home and pick the kids up after the couples massage and you can spend the rest of the evening at the slides and pools with the kids 🙂

• So Spa
• Website
• Sofitel The Palm
• Deals : Ongoing Groupon deals, 241 in the Entertainer, 30% off with Privilee

Have a read through our piece on how to spend an entire day in Sofitel the Palm with little ones.

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Disclaimer : We were guests of Privilee/Sofitel The Palm for the spa treatment.