Alright, ladies. Thanks to Ziwei Leisure Club's Noble Women package, women all over the city can now indulge in a treatment designed to make you feel like the queen you are. For RMB680, the package includes a total body scrub and aroma massage, followed by a rose bath and a deep moisture body wrap, putting your skin on the offensive when it comes to the Beijing chill.

The body scrub, a bit rough and cold at first, definitely got the job done (out with the old, in with the new, we always say), and the aroma massage provided much-needed relief as the knots slipped away to the relaxing sounds of water filling the wooden tub in preparation for our rose bath.

Now, admittedly we're not spa veterans, but more than once have we been disappointed (and seriously scoured) after having lept out of a tub of piping hot water. So, while we were reluctant to enter the steaming tub, we were pleased to find the water at the perfect temperature and shocked to see our reflection looking right back at us, a fact easily remedied by closing our eyes.

Finally, the body wrap: a slight disappointment owing to the simple fact that it was, oddly enough, wrap-less and more of a mud mask for whichever side of the body happened to be facing up (modest women beware). Yet, we remained pleased with the outcome, looking and feeling shiny and new and well prepared for all the trial -- weather and otherwise -- that awaited us.

(City Weekend March 10, 2008)