A massage that robs you

Amatrra Spa is a soothing experience but with niggling glitches.

I thought it was easy when I logged on to the well-designed website of Amatrra Spa to book myself a massage at the spa chain's new outlet at the Le Meridien, New Delhi. It's all fine as you get an email with your booking ID, but there is no place to leave your telephone number for the spa to call you. Two hours before my slot, I have to make the call, and get the response: "We were just about to email you, sir, to get your details."

The website mentions prices for each treatment "" but it was the call that revealed that if you're not a guest at the Le Meridien, you're charged Rs 1,000 extra. Now, I am not alone in questioning the wisdom of this when you are quite plainly courting customers who are not staying at the hotel. Further, you have to have your credit card number handy to confirm your slot "" and you stand to be charged that Rs 1,000 even if you don't turn up.

At the spa you are welcomed with a drink. There is an indemnity form to be filled before I start my chosen treatment: the Shirodhara, a traditional Kerala ayurvedic head massage. The staff make a point of hygiene and dole out cloth covers to be worn over your footwear while in the spa. And, as a policy, mobile phones have to be left behind on silent at the front desk.

The floor of the spa has been raised by a foot to accommodate intersecting water channels. It is a nice idea, but you don't hear any sound of running water to soothe you and, worse, you have to tread carefully or risk spraining an ankle. The raised floor also means you have the uneasy feeling of being in a room with a low ceiling.

Two reasons probably contribute to the ambience of the spa not quite enveloping the visitor "" hasty design and a sheer lack of space. The meditation room, for example, is only a little larger than a modest office cubicle and the hum of the central airconditioning is never far away. In the shower rooms, someone conveniently forgot to earmark a closet to change in.

You have to use an unoccupied lavatory for that.

But I can find no fault with the treatment on offer. The Shirodhara is as good as any I have experienced in Kerala and my attempts to strike up small talk with the two masseurs was to no avail. It's as professional as it gets. The massage, supposed to help insomniacs, did its trick as I sank into never-never land with warm oil gently trickling onto my forehead.

Score: 6/10. The cloistered ambiance, buggy booking process and extra-charge for walk-in guests are definite detractors.

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