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Baan Saen Doi
The most salient memory of my time at Baan Saen Doi is during the
hot stone massage. It is a rainy late afternoon and there is little
noise except for the whispery strains of music and the distant otherworldly
pounding of a sudden rain-shower outside the air-conditioned windows.
I lie on my stomach, eyes closed, as my massage therapist slowly,
silently, rubs away the cares of the world with her warm stones,
cleansing my stressed muscles with the soothing powers of the earth.
This memory was but a precursor to a wondrous 24 hours for my wife
and me at Baan Saen Doi, the highlights of which were a potpourri
of massage, a sumptuous dinner at the nearby Saenkham Terrace Restaurant
and a restful night's sleep in the master bedroom (known as Doi
Kham).
Baan Saen Doi is a treat for both spa and interior design enthusiasts,
a Lanna-style product of Architect Adul Hilunya infused with hill
tribe atmosphere by Interior Designer Yutthana Mohprasit. It is
a worthy and most luxurious contender in the ongoing escalation
of spas in the north, a secluded spa about 20 minutes west of Chiang
Mai that counts uniqueness as a quality just as important as comfort.
The spa appeals especially to those who seek "boutique"
accommodation, upscale locales that keep things small and manageable.
Wanpen Sakdatorn, the owner and driving force behind Baan Saen
Doi, was away on business, but her husband, Honorary German Consul
Hagen Dirksen, was available to give us a quick tour before we settled
in for our evening of pampering.
What is immediately apparent upon entrance is the great care that
has been taken in the design, as much as the abundant comfort of
a modern-day spa. Two giant pots frame a footbridge that leads over
water to the main living room. From here, one can enter the three
residences on the left or head right into the beauty parlour or
spa. All the rooms within feel airy and sunlit, with high ceilings
and plenty of glass.
Each room has its own theme and in fact all are named after local
famous mountains, but it's the little hill-tribe inspired touches
that become apparent the more you walk around. Various lamps display
a "longneck" appearance, with coils looped about their
bases, while chairs in the Doi Pui room come with leggings, imitating
the style of the Akha tribe. Black pillows from Vietnam and Southern
China (features of the Yao tribe) are sprinkled about on sofas throughout
the house. Dress, colour, fabric patterns, musical instruments and
other tools of everyday use are spread everywhere, organized into
absorbing decorative focal points for visitors.
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Pressed aluminium and bamboo, two mainstays of hill tribe life,
are used to great effect, framing doorways in the former case and
providing furniture in the latter. Other decoration is elegant and
discreet and reflects the desire of Sakdatorn to keep things uncluttered.
The dark brown of wood is framed by the green of surrounding foliage
and few well-placed white orchids. Staff members are attired in
Northern Thai full-length brown dresses, the better to enhance the
exclusive atmosphere.
"I think it's quite unique and new," said Dirksen, "She
got the idea actually from the fact that I was working in the highlands
before when I came to Thailand … we travelled extensively to that
area. She liked very much the fabric of the highlands and the handicraft
of the highlands. So this is how she got this idea of bringing everything
together."
While I could wander about and look all day at the interior decoration,
it's the spa that gets first priority for both of us. The stone
treatment is the centre piece of a comprehensive spa package, which
includes herbal compresses, body polishes, Shiatsu, Swedish massage
and reflexology treatment to name just a few. All staff has undergone
three months of professional spa therapist training at the renowned
Chiva Som in Hua Hin and display a prowess at both eastern and western
techniques.
My wife and I are treated to our own special courses of massage
treatment. After a short steam and soak and then full body polish
of sesame seed oil and crushed sesame seeds, I am primed for my
special stone massage, which is applied by the lead therapist and
spa manager Aksarapak Nilpai. Stones are heated under an electric
blanket and then are cradled in the therapist's hands, dipped in
oil and then rubbed against the body. There are a rainbow of colours
and an array of sizes and each stone has its designated area of
the body. The treatment is supposed to counteract stress, increase
blood circulation and improve muscle tone. This massage feels particularly
good in the leg area, especially the arches of the feet, which are
thoroughly rubbed to loosen and rejuvenate muscles.
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I would consider this enough, but I am given one more treatment,
a vigorous Indian-style head massage, which involves curling and
pulling hair and ear lobes, rubbing deeply into the curvatures of
the face and skull. This actually serves to wake me up from my sleepy
state after the stone massage and sends me on my way to the master
bedroom. My wife, in the meantime, has enjoyed her salt scrub, body
oil massage and face massage. She will have the added bonus of her
own stone massage the following morning. I speak so highly of it,
that she is eager to try.
The nearby Saenkham Terrace Restaurant, which is also owned by
Sakdatorn, is just next door and we brave the continuing rainfall
and are treated to a bountiful meal of Northern Thai and Central
classics. With the closeness of this restaurant and the presence
of tennis courts and a swimming pool, it would seem that one would
never have to leave during a stay at Baan Saen Doi.
We retire with full stomachs and enjoy the comfort of our beautiful
master bedroom. The Doi Kham room is dominated by Artist Vichit
Chaiwong's giant painting of the mountain and this inculcates a
natural, peaceful feeling about the sleeping area. The palatial
bathroom area includes a giant tub, behind which three etched stone
figures of hill tribe women are forever frozen in their own bathing.
My wife and I opt for a soak in the tub and then drift lazily toward
our bed and are soon fast asleep, the cares of the world as muffled
as the rainfall during my hot stone massage.
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