Globe Trotting J's 2019 Trip Day 7: Saber the Spa
Yesterday we went to three incredible destinations in Abu Dhabi which made for quite the day. I still can’t get over how beautiful and memorable each of the destinations were. To follow all of that up we decided that we wanted a more relaxing final day in Abu Dhabi. We woke up at around 9 AM and Jake and I went for a quick workout downstairs. We came back up and got ready and the three of us went down for a lovely quick breakfast. I’m still blown away with how great of a breakfast spread The St. Regis puts on.
When we left breakfast we made our way to the Remede Spa in the hotel for the three of us to all get an hour long hot stone massage. Jenn went off to the women’s area while Jake and I went to the men’s locker room to put on our disposable under garment and our robes and were then led to the relaxation room. We only waited in there for a few minutes before both of our masseuses came to escort us to our treatment rooms for the hour massages. I’ve had stone massages before but this was far and away the best one I’ve had. It was the perfect pressure, great heat on the rocks, and a great pacing to the entire massage. When I came out I met Jake in the relaxation lounge where we enjoyed some tea, water, and snacks before heading into the men’s spa area. There we spent an hour going to the sauna, steam room, and jacuzzi and then cleaning up and getting ready for the day.
After we were all nice and relaxed from our amazing time at the spa we made our way to the St. Regis pool and private beach across the street. To get there you go underground in this beautiful tunnel that lets you out across the street right at the entrance to the pool. We got a spot right at the pool for the three of us and laid out. Within minutes we were all drenched in sweat (its very hot out) and had to jump in the pool. Jenn and I got Pina Colada’s (our poolside staple) and Jake got a Singapore Sling. We lasted at the pool for far longer than I thought we would. Before we left Jake and I had to take a quick dip in the Arabian Gulf so we went down to the beach and jumped in and did a quick swim in what had to be nearly 100 degree water. According to Google the average water temperature in Abu Dhabi during this time of year is 90, but given how shallow the water was, this had to be even warmer than that.
We left the pool and beach behind, dropped off our stuff at the room and went on a short excursion around the corner to a nearby Starbucks to grab Jenns first mug of the trip. I cannot believe this very small Starbucks in a corporate office had the mug but they did and we were all very grateful. I grabbed a cappuccino and we made our way back to our hotel and to our room.
For the next couple of hours we sort of all went to all of our own corners to relax. Jenn took a nap, I caught up on writing my posts, and Jake, well Jake decided that he didn’t want the relaxation to stop so he took a long bath in our giant bathroom. It was one of the funniest moments of the trip, I’ve never seen Jake so in his element and more relaxed then in that moment drinking his espresso and listening to Jack Johnson in a bathtub overlooking the ocean..
At 6:45 PM came the moment we were all so curious about all week, the invitation for champagne from our rooms butler. He came exactly at 6:45 PM and escorted us back to the Crystal Lounge to have a seat at the bar. We sat down and had these beautiful trays with chocolate, rose flavored water, vegetables, nuts and chips. Honestly we sat down and were so confused by what was happening. Where was the champagne? Our butler left, and there was a lady at the bar seeming to be waiting for something. Other butlers arrived to the bar with their guests and once the bar was full and had settled in the bartender introduced herself and said that we were some of their most valued guests and we were there to view their sabering of champagne experience. We all perked up and for the next 30-minutes we had an amazing time watching her slice open the champagne with a sword and pouring us all a glass and talking about the history of the hotel and the St. Regis brand. If you recall when we arrived I compared the entrance of the St. Regis Abu Dhabi to the Titanic, well that’s because that’s exactly what it was modeled after.
We left the amazing (to Jake life changing) experience to grab an Uber to go to the Emirates Palace to have dinner at Mezlai a very highly rated authentic middle eastern restaurant. When we arrived they whisked us a way to a small corner area that had its own walk up and a private little area to have dinner. We started with a light bread appetizer that was filled with cheese, almost like a quesadilla. For our entrees we split three different dishes, prawn biryani, a lamb dish that’s their house specialty, and camel (yes you read that correctly). This was one of our better meals of the trip, everything was exquisite and was perfect to share. If I had to rate them I’d go the prawn biryani, the camel, and then the lamb, but all three were amazing.
Our night ended with an Uber back to our hotel and listening to music and reminiscing until a little after midnight. We’ve had such an incredible time in Abu Dhabi that we’re all sad it’s coming to a close tomorrow. Luckily we’re only going on an hour drive to Dubai to spend two days in that incredible city, so its not all bad. Until then goodnight from our last night in Abu Dhabi.
