GIFTS OF LOVE
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Massage, togetherness, a warm steamy bath ... Couples indulge in
chocolate ‘quality time’By Betty Shimabukuro
bshimabukuro@starbulletin.comThe only thing missing from this setting for romance is some silky, sensuous chocolate.
Presenting the ultimate Valentine's Day indulgence: "An Exploration in Chocolate" at the Mandara Spa.
Short form: You and the person dearest to your heart rub chocolate all over each other.
Long form: In a "deluxe twin spa suite," couples receive side-by-side massages for 50 minutes. "And then we leave the room for an hour and half, so they can pretty much get to know each other," says Hawaii sales manager Judy Hollister. Left alone, that is, with a potful of chocolate scrub, so that they may -- as Mandara's literature explains -- "embark on a private journey together ... and discover the many applications of chocolate."
Then comes an aromatherapy bath by candlelight, which they'll need, being smeared head to toe with chocolate.
Cost: $450 per couple.
The chocolate polishes, smoothes and moisturizes the skin; the 90-minute interlude is "total quality time" that allows couples to escape the pressures of life and have a good, long talk, Hollister says.
Yeah, right.
Well, whatever they're doing in there, it's bound to be sweet.
Explorations in Chocolate has been offered since the spa opened in September, with about 10 couples indulging in the treatment per month. The scrub itself is made by Island Essence on Maui of unsweetened dark chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, macadamia nuts, oils and vanilla extract. It is completely edible, which brings further images to mind, but let's not go there.
As a Valentine's Day special, Mandara is offering a 25-minute chocolate body scrub free with any 80-minute massage (those start at $135). A jar of chocolate scrub (for take-home fun) is $27.50. And by the way, if you're not into chocolate, Mandara also offers Kona coffee and coconut body scrubs. Call 945-7721.
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