Tucked away from busy central London is Casa Spa in Edgeware Road, which is almost like another world away from the world. I visited Casa Spa for a Moroccan hammam experience and left recharged after weeks of running around London with barely any time to rest and the regular late nights and early mornings.
When I first entered Casa Spa, I was welcomed by the owner who introduced herself to me with a warm smile but as she’s a Muslim she warned me that there were a few males in the sauna so she told me to have a bite to eat and something to drink whilst I wait around. I was happy that she understood me not wanting to be around men in the sauna as I’d have to take off my hijab, so it’s definitely a hijabi friendly spa but you’ll have to let them know before booking your appointment.
Moving on to the actual treatment, I was taken away to Casa’s steam room where I was given some water to drink and left to soak up the steam for a good 20 minutes until the therapist came into the room with a bucket of ice cold water to get the circulation going. I’ll tell you now that getting freezing cold water splashed all over your body is a weirdly enjoyable experience; first you get that ‘ohhh no gurl she didn’t just splash that water all over my back did she?’ feeling but seconds later you get over it and feel incredibly chilled, calm and relaxed to then sit in the steam room for a further 20-30 minutes after a massage with black soap, a paste made from olives.
After waiting around in the steam room for what seemed like a few minutes (when in reality it was a lot longer), the therapist came into the steam room with the conditioning honey treatment for the hair and gave me one of the best head massages I’ve experienced in my young life. No one competes with my mums Indian head massage but if you’re reading this mum, you’re the best but this head massage was really good. Please don’t be angry with me! If you’re going to a steam room, always take a hair mask with you as the hair will take in the mask a lot better so that was the whole point when the therapist left me in the steam room for a bit longer.
When you’re done in the steam room, you just get into the shower and wash everything off. You’re so immersed in the shower that you don’t even realise that the therapist is getting mint tea, sweets and exotic fruit salad ready for you to devour when you’re done. All you do now is just spread yourself out on the sofa and relax, but don’t relax too much; I relaxed so much that I actually fell asleep!
The big question is, will I be returning to Casa Spa? Most definitely! That treatment cost just £25 which is a huge bargain considering how expensive hammams are in London. Also, the staff are wonderful and the facilities and treatments are the best so I’ll definitely be going there a lot more often!
