The drive to Ko’ Olina is worth the wait! As you drive up the driveway to the JW Marriott Ihilani, leave your cares behind, as this luxury resort is lush and located on 640 acres of tropical opulence. The Spa is located in a separate building near the entrance to the resort.

Once you make your way to the locker room and put on your robe and slippers, it’s easy to slip into the nearby hot Roman tub, set at about 103 degrees. Nearby, also is a steam, sauna, and Vichy shower.

My first spa experience was the Thallaso tub, 125 jets rotating on your bottom-side, starting up by my neck and pulsating on my upper back, then moving down to the undersides and sides of my thighs, calves, and then feet.

There are bars in the Jacuzzi-like tub, to hold your feet in place and hand bars to hold onto. It is one of the only two Thallaso tubs in the USA. It is fed by filtered sea water. There are options colors to chose, to enhance your bathing experience. Each color has a different significance. Red for energy, orange for joy, yellow for wisdom, green for harmony and love, blue for calm and peace, indigo for awakening intuition and violet for awareness and creativity.

They are meant to enhance and realign the spirit. It was such a soothing, relaxing experience! My attendant, Lee, was so serene and caring. She left me to the music and the jets. What a wonderful feeling and experience!

Lee came back and led me to the wet treatment room for my Pua Kai (Flower by the Sea) signature scent scrub and wrap. It is meant to express the romantic nature of the naupaka, one of Hawaii’s most common beach plants. One of Hawaii’s most famous legends is built around naupaka, in which early Hawaiians believed it was based on a love story of a couple, one from royalty and another a commoner.

As it was strictly forbidden for members of royalty to marry people from the common ranks, the two lovers were separated. There are different versions of the naupaka legend, but all carry the same theme: lovers that are separated forever, one banished to the mountains, the other to the beach and that when the beach flower and the mountain flower are once again brought together, the couple would be together again.

Lee scrubbed my body gently with this lovely scent – reminding me of bits of jasmine, roses, orange blossoms, coconut and ginger. After thoroughly rubbing my body with this mixture, she then showered me down with the overhead vichy-shower arm. I was then led to a large vichy shower to rinse off completely, and then into another room to make a choice of a masque lotion or oil mixture for the wrap portion of the treatment.

After my relaxing treatments, I made my way out to the lanai and ordered a refreshing lunch, relaxed for a while afterwards and then made it back into the amenities area and got freshened up before my walk around the grounds.

Suggested improvements:
The lanai where I had lunch was right off of the hotel, meaning that if it’s a high-traffic time, one has to deal with the hotel traffic.

With that said, they say at the Ihilani Spa that they will do everything they can to make sure your visit is not only relaxing, but uplifting. This 35,000 square-foot oasis offers state-of-the-art facilities, helpful conveniences, and service intended to cater to your wellness. There is a fitness center, tennis courts, Pilates room and Yoga is offered on the ocean-front lawn.

This beautiful resort by the sea is set away from the hustle and bustle of Honolulu. Golf (Ted Robinson 18-hole course), snorkeling, whale and dolphin excursions are offered from the property. There is a 43-acre marina with 270 full-service slips imbedded into the Ko ‘Olina community. While on my stroll, I crossed bridges with small hammerhead sharks, rays and assorted fish below. The property offers unique interactive and interpretive guest activity programs here, utilizing this ocean water pond — Reef Shark Feeding, Hawaiian Fish Feed, Seafari Hunt, Hawaiian Ray Experience and the Keiki (children’s) program. There are kids and teens programs, also tennis lessons and clinics for young adults and adults.

The JW can accommodate your small group or a several-course dinner for 1100.

Get away, relax, and enjoy at this oasis as their motto is: Every Step Reveals Paradise…

Here the ocean does not care where you’ve been, the cascading sun does not care where you are going. All that matters is that you are right here.

Review by: Sherrie Strausfogel “Hawaii’s Spa Experience”

As they say right inside their brochure:

“From the crown of the head to the soles of the feet, and the four corners of the body”. It is an expression used in prayers of healing. The four corners of the body are the shoulders, hips and between them are the vital organs of the body.

As you walk into the spa, you’ll notice a water wall and orchid bins on the wall. They say, “Natural paradise and urban Mecca embrace like yin and yang”.

This two story spa has fantastic views of the pool and Waikiki Beach with their floor to ceiling windows it enhances the viewing pleasure. You can see out into the beautiful Hawaiian waters from the relaxation rooms, facing the ocean on both levels. You can even sit in a multi-jet bath and soak in the view from the tub! When you get out of the bath, grab your warmed towel to dry off with. The massage tables are all heated for your comfort. There are different-smelling large sachets draped across the treatment tables, so you smell beautiful scents such as lavender. They use other sachets on the doors as their Do Not Disturb tags. They, of course, have the sachets and drawer liners for sale in the small shop, with an assortment of their own body wash, shampoo, conditioners and moisturizers.

Try the Nб Hуola Body Polish:
A fine grain, gentle body cleansing scrub using macadamia nut oil and a synergistic blend (specifically made for their Spa) of Noni (the Noni plant is grown locally in Tahiti), Aloe Vera and other essential oil extracts.

The Hyatt has some great restaurants – there is a sushi restaurant on street level, Furasaki…it is so good that I make a point of going every time I visit Waikiki! It won’t be difficult to miss, as there is usually a small line outside during meal times. The Hyatt also has a great Italian/Chinese (yes, you read right) restaurant Ciao Mein. It is a unique combo of the two foods and is served family style. I have never had a bad meal there, either!

Review by: Sherrie Strausfogel “Hawaii’s Spa Experience”