The Sunday Times - UK (2022-05-29)

(Antfer) #1

Cruise Luxury special


TOP DECK The Otium concept pairs a Roman-
accented luxury spa with caviar and cocktails;
make your own pasteis de nata, above, in Lisbon

at the intellectual pursuits to come.
I try a new treatment, the Otium
massage — at 100 minutes, the longest
I’ve ever had, and at £325 the most
expensive. My therapist, Mei Lin,
pummels me with hands and elbows and a
selection of items, from warm salt rocks
to bamboo. I drift in and out of a blissful
sleep, inhaling the scented oil. By the end
I look zoned-out and dishevelled, my hair
sticking up in spikes. I totter back to the
relaxation area. “Now I will make you
a cocktail,” Mei Lin says. What?
Alcohol is the last thing I want
right now. She looks
crestfallen, so I accept
some white chocolate
truffles and a glass of
orange-infused water. I
chat to two friends who
have just had the same
treatment. A woman reading
in the corner gives me a look.
I’m not sure the concept of the
spa as a place for socialising rather than
silent contemplation has sunk in yet.
At my suite my butler, Oleto, presents
a balcony experience: an indulgence
you didn’t know you needed until you’ve
tried it. There’s a choice of white, milk
and dark hot-chocolate balls that dissolve
deliciously when Oleto pours hot milk
on them, accompanied by homemade
marshmallows and shots. In warmer
weather this might change to fruit-infused
water, cocktails and bowls of chilled
berries. He keeps trying to persuade
me to enjoy the bath experience,
bringing a range of scented salts to seduce
me, but my schedule is too packed. I
forgo the champagne, the macaroons

AT SEA


The luxury cruise line Silversea has introduced its


new spa and lifestyle concept, inspired by the bathing


rituals of ancient Rome. Sue Bryant tests the waters


PALACE


PAMPER


Continued on page 10→


The bartender


remembers


exactly how


I like my


martini


SILVERSEA MEDIA; OKSANA BRATANOVA/ALAMY

W


hen there’s champagne
on tap, caviar for
breakfast and you
have a personal
butler to polish your
sunglasses, what comes next?
Silversea, one of the most luxurious
cruise lines, has elevated indulgence to a
new level with Otium, a spa and lifestyle
concept that has recently made its debut
on the company’s newest ship, the
596-passenger Silver Dawn.
As I board for a short preview cruise
from Lisbon, at first glance there’s nothing
about this sleek ship that particularly
shouts “decadence”. No glitz, just
gleaming Italian marble everywhere,
and a colour scheme of soft gold, taupe,
cream and pale grey. Perfect orchids
bloom in tasteful urns and there’s a
soothing collection of contemporary
art dotted all over the ship.
Otium is unveiled throughout my
cruise. It’s based on the bathing rituals of
ancient Rome, where the spa was a place
for discussion, philosophising, making
music and dining as well as washing.
“We wanted to create a holistic
experience focused on pleasure,” explains
Silversea’s chief commercial officer,
Barbara Muckermann. “The important
thing to understand is that encouraging
indulgence is not an ode to being
unhealthy; it’s about balance, about doing
what you feel like doing right now, with
the help of an expert and the highest
quality products and experiences.”
As such, there’s the somewhat startling
offering of chocolate, cocktails and
champagne in the spa, as well as a range of
other “experiences” that could make you
wonder how you ever coped without a
butler to run you a candlelit bath or serve
foie gras burgers in your suite.
The spa is certainly striking. A bucket
the size of a small hot tub sits at the
centre of the pre and post-treatment
relaxation area, overflowing with ice
and studded with bottles of champagne.
Paintings of reclining Roman gods and
goddesses on the walls indicate which
side is sauna and steam for women and
which for men. A marble chessboard hints
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