Isla De Vida

On New Year's Day, Topeng and I spent the last of our petiks days before the wedding getting a massage at this place named Isla De Vida located inside our village. Fortunately, it was open during the holiday unlike all the other nearby spa-parlor type shops nearby. What a relief since my back was killing me from all the holiday "partying" :)) It was our first time at this place since initially, we thought it was just a fish spa.

I tried the stone massage while Topeng tried the bamboo massage. It was a new experience and a breath of fresh air from our usual swedish/shiatsu/aromatherapy massage. (Naks, gumaganun!) The stone massage consisted of heated stones (duhr!) that the therapist presses/slides through the body with oil. Basta un, hirap describe.:)) I liked it and I bet Pop would have liked it too. I asked Pop how was his and I believe it is similar but using bamboo sticks. Para daw shang minamasang tinapay, kala nya babambuhin daw sha...albularyo much?! :)) The bamboo sticks take longer to heat up according to therapist. Both massages lasted for 75 mins and costs P600 each.

In terms of facilities, it is generally a small place. They have 3 aquariums for the fish and each aquarium can accommodate 1 person at a time I think. They also have chairs for other treatments (manicure,pedicure, etc)...d ko lam tawag dun e...ung parang inuupuan ng hari na sofa...venetian? Basta comfy sha ayon kay Topeng kasi nagpa-footspa and pedicure pa sha. They only have 2 massage beds. Buti na lang wala kami kasabay so we didn't wait that long. It looked liked a serious business. Medyo nasira lang nung nag CR ako kse amoy ilalim ng lababo at walang tissue pero malinis naman in general. Tsaka yung security lang siguro kse curtains lang ung nagtatakip sa bed so madaling mapasok at walang lockers so I just put my bag under my bed so I can see it while I'm face down. Since it was inside the village, I guess the assumption is you have already taken a bath before availing the massage so they have no bath and sauna facilities.

Service was good and the staff was friendly. The owner was also hands on. Nachika pa ni Topeng kung pano nila sinimulan ung business na yun. Meron pa silang frequency card wherein we can avail of a free service after how many visits. They also do home service but with the more traditional massages.  If you live in the Las Pinas, BF Resort Village area, then this is convenient.