Mr. Sand-Hands

This week's blog postings (by Jen) will be dedicated to all things related to my recent trip out to Phoenix and spring training!

I start with today's post about my spa treatment at the resort we were staying at while in Arizona. My husband and I decided to splurge a bit and stay at the Sheraton Wild Horse Pass resort and spa in Chandler, AZ. It is about 10 minutes outside of Phoenix. The resort is in a nice, secluded, and picturesque part of town that has an 18-hole golf course, an equestrian center, spa, Indian casino and the set of the live-action, rodeo, western town of Raw Hide. Very exciting stuff!

When I go on vacation, I try to really be on vacation - that includes getting a spa treatment. Especially if it's on the premises, all the better. I scheduled a traditional Aji massage at the Aji Spa. This massage was described as: A combination of traditional Swedish and Therapeutic massage techniques used to induce the highest level of relaxation and stress relief customized to your specific body needs. My specific body needs always includes my lower back and I threw in the shoulders this time around because I've been feeling a lot of tension in there lately. I couldn't wait to get my massage.

When I entered the Aji Spa, I could tell it was going to be great - the co-ed relaxation room was so serene and comforting. The women's only relaxation room was even more serene and relaxing and then the women's lounge/facilities were fantastic - with an outdoor hot tub, indoor sauna, steam room, and another hot tub. They had fully. equipped showers (I'm talking razors, shave gels, towels out to wazoo, slippers, robes) with the rain shower heads. I made it a point to get ready for dinner at the spa because I couldn't pass up the opportunity.

My massage was administered by a male massage therapist - I always request a male because I like my massages deep. I am always so self-conscious under the sheets because 1) I'm naked and 2) I was feeling way fat. I always feel like I should be apologizing to the therapist for all the extra rolls he has to knead. But once I start relaxing, I start to really feel his movements and his hands and I was thinking, 'Hmmm...his hands are a little rough.' I could feel some callouses on his hands and I wondered if this was good. I've never felt callouses before so I was not looking forward to the remaining 40 minutes of the treatment. But then he started doing these things to my legs and I got hot towels galore - like when he was done with my back, he put a hot towel on the upper and lower back to keep it warm while he worked on my legs. When I flipped over and he was massaging my legs, he put a hot towel over my eyes and under my neck to keep me comfortable, and then he put hot towel booties on each foot while he worked on my shoulders. All that hot towel service really made me forget about his callouses and essentially put me in this blissful state where I just wanted to sleep the rest of the day in his treatment room. I forgot about Mr. Sand-Hands and just chalked it up to the super-dry weather in Arizona....

Even though I couldn't stick around very long after the massage, I was assured by the friendly staff that I could return to the spa later in the day to take advantage of the rest of the facilities (ie - sauna, hot tub, steam room). And you better believe that I "persuaded" my husband to leave the ballpark before the end so I could go back and hang out in the spa. I sat outside in the hot tub, under the shade and it was heavenly. I went inside and sat in the indoor hot tub. The only thing that I regret was not having a girlfriend there. When Amanda and I were hanging out in the gym-spa in London, that was totally fun.

So some suggestions and recommendations:
If you're in the Phoenix area, I do recommend the Aji spa - the staff is super friendly and no need to worry about tipping your therapist - tip is already built into the price (20% - which is what I normally tip for a good massage).
I also recommend clearing your calendar for an afternoon just to take full advantage of the spa. As a paid customer, you can use all of their facilities for as long as you want - they have a gym, workout studio with yoga classes, a co-ed outdoor pool that is always kept at 78 degrees, and all the other facilities that I listed above. One lady walked in at 9:30 am - the same time I went in to get ready for my treatment....and she left when I was getting there for the second time - around 4:30pm - seven hours for $35 (she didn't get a treatment)....she really took advantage!