It’s with great anticipation and a tinge of desperation that we storm into an appointment at a new spa. Like the delirious aroma of good perfume or the tingle of a delicious new bubbly, we seek, crave, and devour novelty. The backlog of knots to work through as our excuse, we booked an 80-minute custom massage at the Argyle and a plunge in the Turkish hammam. For those familiar with Los Angeles, the Argyle Salon & Spa is located in the hotel we will always call The Argyle, though it is DBA an alias called the Sunset Tower. Our arrival signaled the refreshing appearance of an orange juice, and we were escorted downstairs to the quiet blur of the Argyle’s spa suites.
We love the bright and easy waiting rooms of most spas, with their cucumber-spiked water and delicious brownies (well, at Bliss), but we also love the decadently anti-social treat of having our own suite for the duration of our visit, stocked with Arcona products. After settling in, our masseuse (and cruise director for the afternoon) supplied us with an icy washcloth, a scoop of coconut brown sugar scrub, and a quick immersion on how to operate the Hammam jets. We love a good steam and the hammam did not disappoint, smothering us in a wall of hot water vapor as we lingered under the cold tap. Twenty minutes was our ration of dizzying heat, and we were back in our suite ready for a reset.
We remember the best massage of our life like our first trip to Europe, and we’re happy to report that our masseuse at the Argyle was competitive with the EU. A good massage is rigorous without being painful, relaxing while still effective. Working each knot one by one, our masseuse eased our muscles back into place, leaving us refreshed and numb with relaxation.