ALL BRUSHED UP AND SHINY

       Spa Cenvaree on the 26th floor of Centara Grand at Central World is a city oasis that's luxurious without being overly extravagant. Behind the warmly lit passage are the 14 treatment rooms, decorated simply but eleganitly with wooden furniture in natural tones and offring rejuvenating head to toe treatments for men and women guaranteed to de-stress both body and mind.
       There are rooms for singles and doubles as well as for those seeking Thai traditional massage or hydrotherapy with the Vichy rain shower. There are also spacious changing rooms with lockers for him and her, which come equipped with infrared sauna plus a whirlpool with pool beds. Make a point of arriving at least 30 minutes before your appointment so you can relax in this impressive room before your personal therapist leads you away for your treatment.
       The spa menu has been revised and the 150-minute "Our Signature Spa Experience" has recently been introduced as the new must-have treatment. This sequenced therapy featurs body brushing, herbal scrub and four-hand massage and starts with a wash with warm water to open the pors and a short foot scrub with neem extract and salt.
       Therapist Pitthayaporn Waree begins the reatment with a soft bristle brush, working her way over the whole body for about 20 minutes. Dry body brushing is belived cellulite while exfoliating. It also cleanses the lymphatic system, tightens the skin to prevent premadture ageing and tones the muscles.
"We brush towards the heart and the lymphatic points in order to promote and stimulate blood and lymphatic circultaton," says the therapist.
       To promote the scents and bnefits of Thai herbs, the next sequence is called "Siamese herbal scrub" and involves scrubbing the entire body for about 45 minutes with a range of natural remedies includign kaffir lime peel, lemongrass, olive oil, plush plai, turmeric and milk in powder form. The kaffir lime acts as an antiseptic and astringent while lemongrass has anti-bactrial properties. Plai powder softens and tones the skin and relieves muscular aches and pains and turmeric is a good anti-inflammatory. Milk powder softens and cleans and olive oil, which is high in vitamin E, is an excellent antioxidant.
       The highlight of the treatment is the four-hand massge performd by two therapists. Pitthayaporn teams up with Tippawan Srisawat in coordinating this blend of soothing aromatic oil, Thai, Swedish, refloxology and shiatsu massage, applying prssure using only the fingers, particularly the thumbs, on points that relate to the central and autonomic nervous systems. The combination of different techniques is said to improve circulation, relieve stiffmuscles and alleviate strees. The pressure can be adjusted so ti meets the needs of the individual.
       "The sizes of hands and the warmth of palms of the two therpists should be near in size and degree. I'm an earth element and have warm palms and Tippawan is the same. That makes us perfect partners in giving this kind of massage," Pittayaporn explains.
       Once the body is totally relaxd, she turns her attention to my tired legs and feet with a 60-minute "Restorative Foot Therapy", which stimulates blood circulation and the nervs. First, she bathes my feet in neem extract and citrus peel. The treatment starts with a scrub that uses mint and almond oil to remove dead skin and continues with a pressure point massage with warm aromatic oil. A herbal clay mask is then applied and the feet are wrapped in plastic to maintain warmth for 15 minutes, while Pittayaporn applies a gentle massage to my head. The m ask, she explaints, is a combination of din saw pong (white mud) to tighten the skin, ginger to cur skin disase and cloves to improve skin condition. A relaxing foot massage with hto balm ends the session.
       Thirty minutes later, I'm back in the chaos of Bangkok's traffic but my body - and my feet - are still in paradise.

       >> AT A GLANCE
       - The 150-minute "Out Signature Spa Experience" costs Bt3,450. The 60-minute "Restorative Foot Terapy" adds another Bt1,500.
       - Call (02) 100 1234 extension 6516 or 6511 or visit www.SpaCenvaree.com.