Milk Baths and Gold Masks: How Sofitel's So SPA is Looking to Ancient Egypt for Innovation

There was once a time when a trip to the spa was reserved as a rare treat – an indulgence, if you will. These days, however, wellness has become a necessary element of any health routine – because, well, life in Cairo is no walk in the park. One of the few places that has pushed this into Egypt’s collective conscious is Sofitel’s globally-acclaimed wellness brand, So SPA, via Sofitel Cairo Nile El Gezirah.

Foodies know the hotel as one of the best in the city for dining and romantics know it for its stunning Nile-side views; So SPA’s unique approach to wellness and fitness, however, is just as much a huge part of the hotel’s luxury offerings – and it’s just about to get better, with the recent announcement of the appointment of Laura Celoria as the new Director of Fitness and Wellness.

Bringing bags of experience in this most delicate and intricate of fields, Celoria has wasted no time in taking the spa in a new, innovative and just plain fab direction.

“We are undertaking a lot of new training for our signature treatments,” Celoria revealed at a special event to announce her arrival. “Facial treatments, toning and slimming treatments and anti-ageing treatments – which is the trend right now, “she elaborated, deliberately keeping some of the details under wraps.

With something of a mischievous glint in her eye, Celoria has hit the ground running – something she partially owes to her excitement at settling down in Egypt.

“I decided to move to Cairo because Egypt is a magical country,” she says with the sincerity of someone relishes a challenge; someone who relishes immersing themselves in new cultures, which is something that SO Spa will allow here to do in the most unusual of ways.

“We’re bringing five therapists from Bali and four from Thailand,” she explains. “We’re going to take exotic treatments and mix them with traditional Ancient Egyptian beauty and wellness techniques.”

Though once again holding her cards close to her chest, willing us to be patient and wait for the surprises to come, she did reveal that Cleopatra’s notorious beauty routines – think milk baths and gold masks.

Having honed her skill and experience in a range of positions across her native Italy, as well is Morocco, Mauritius and even the Seychelles, Celoria is no stranger to the SO Spa philosophy – to fuse the Sofitel’s trademark French-inspired elegance, with internationally-known treatments and luxury services – with a little dash of local flavour, of course. What this will all amount to at the Sofitel Cairo El Gezirah is, in no uncertain terms, a mystery – but the good kind, of course.

With a complete renovation of the spa also on the books starting as soon as November, what we do know is that it’s shaping up to be something quite special.

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