25 Apr 2019
Amber, gold and crystal sound treatments: Croatia’s new Ikalia Spa inspired by ancient Illyrian mysteries
BY Jane Kitchen
The Ikador Luxury Boutique Hotel & Spa — a new ultraluxe hospitality project created by Croatian entrepreneur Pavo Zubak — has opened the Ikalia Spa, which occupies the entire third floor of the hotel.
While the hotel has just 14 bedrooms, it is one of the most expensive new properties in Croatia, with the total investment of over €1m per accommodation unit. Interiors have been designed by Atellior.
Created by international spa consultants Illyria Wellness, Ikalia Spa uses artisan natural ingredients, including 100 per cent pure Baltic Amber powder, local olive crush, organic distilled plant oils, and premium plant-based skin care featuring Croatian spring waters.
“Two thousand years ago, a water springs goddess named Ika was revered all along this coastline. Today, Ika’s springs still rise up through the salty Adriatic in the place that bears her name,” said Liz Ugrin, co-founder of Illyria Wellness. “The Amber Road of the ancients also passed through this place, so as I set out to define the spa concept and develop wellness rituals, the stories began pouring out from the abundance of antiquity — just like Ika’s springs.”
Special treatment rooms include the Crystal room, which includes its own terrace and sea view; the Gold room, which features a Lemi All-in-One treatment table that enables nail services as well as sap treatments; and the Amber Spa Suite, a double room with private rasul and experience showers, a jetted bathtub, and terrace with Fabio Alemanno infrared stone loungers.
The Ikalia Float Room includes a Zero Body float table by Starpool, where guests can experience the Ikalia Sonic Float, a live music therapy treatment.
The spa also includes a solarium; Savu sauna; conifer steam room; ice fall; salt crystal relaxation lounge; a relaxation lounge with Note vibroacoustic loungers featuring sound therapy, heat and chromotherapy; emotion showers; hydrotherapy pool; and a fitness room with Matrix equipment.
Signature treatments at the spa include an Ancient Amber Journey and ‘Perfect Sounds: Tuning Ceremony in 432 Hz’, a 50-minute treatment designed to stimulate deep listening and attune energy to the patterns of nature. ‘The Worship of Ika’ is a 140-minute treatment that includes a sugar polish with Immortelle essential oil, a neroli-scented bath for the ceremonial pouring of the Waters of Ika, a 24K Golden Body Massage with colloidal gold, a 24K Gold Rejuvenation Facial, and an art application of 25K gold leaf flakes.
“The Opatija Riviera has long been a place of inspiration for musicians, intellectuals, and writers. But at Ikalia Spa, we are tapping into why so many artists — from Puccini to Isadora Duncan — felt called here for renewal,” said Zubak. “There is a mystery in Ika, just below the surface, that has attracted seekers not just for hundreds of years, but thousands.”
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