Once we stepped through the doors of El Leon Spa, we lost all sense of time. Proprietor Barry Walker has created a beautiful space with carefully chosen antiques and furnishings from Spain and Egypt, lending an Old World ambiance befitting an upscale day spa specializing in exotic body treatments.

Our visit began in the spa's wet room, where a very hot bath awaited in an old-fashioned claw foot tub (as we eased in, we couldn't help but think of the Bugs Bunny cartoon in which he is lured into a pot of boiling water to make rabbit stew). But once we'd settled into the Dead Sea salt-enriched water, the sense of relaxation was immediate and profound. We sipped tea and let the heat work its way deep into our weary bones in preparation for the body scrub and Thai massage to come. After we had simmered for about 15 minutes or so, massage therapist Thip came to administer a thoroughly rejuvenating body scrub. She worked over the entire body with exfoliating scrubbing mitts, periodically dousing us in warm water – an absolutely delightful sensation. She even shampooed and conditioned our hair, treating us to a heavenly scalp massage in the process.

After a quick shower, it was off to the curtained massage room for some traditional Thai bodywork. Much like the body scrub, this was a relaxing yet results-oriented treatment - Thip used all her strength to work out our kinks and knots, occasionally using aided stretching to work more deeply. Afterward, our muscles were slightly sore in that good way that comes from an effective workout...even though Thip was doing all of the work: our favorite kind of exercise.