Flying Dodo Beer Spa, Mauritius by Obelix

Bonjour! It was Oktoberfest while I was on holiday. Since I'm not a avid beer drinker, I thought I'll get into the spirit by partaking in a beer spa. The Flying Dodo is a microbrewery in Mauritius and downstairs in their dungeon area, they also run a beer spa. A beer spa as I am lead to believe from their brochure and from googling other establishments that also provide beer spa services, involves a soak in beer with a massage at the end. The Flying Dodo's own brochure depicts a bathtub filled with beer and massage chairs alongside. So I was expecting a soak and a bit of a rub down. I was disappointed however to realise that the beer spa at The Flying Dodo despite their advertisement, only involve the soaking part.

Flying dodo beer spa, mauritius, beer, brewery, microbrewery

So for $5500 Mauritian rupees (approx $220 Australian dollars), one gets a 20 minute soak in the beer; a beer to imbibe during, some yeast to rub onto self and a cake of soap. One does get to use their shower to rinse off the beer afterwards. This is rather an exorbitant price for you get. Ok, in hindsight, it was a rip off. To put into context: I had a Clarins facial at my hotel spa which was comparable in price and was over an hour long however I was in luxurious paradise surroundings, using top notch beauty products and I also had use of sauna, spa and other facilities at my disposal. The Flying Dodo's spa in comparison, could not accurately be called a spa.

I have been advised that 30L of beer is pre measured and pumped into the bathtub. It is mixed with water to bring it to a temperature level that one could soak in. It was tepid at best and really the water level came up to my waist. Even my toes were not submerged (see pic). I shivered for 20 minutes whilst I tried to scoop gloops of yeast onto self. It would have been nice to be have been provided a brush or a spoon to apply the yeast with but since I was not provided with either, I used my hands, spilling much of the stuff around me.

I should add that bathtub is located downstairs from the main dining area of the Flying Dodo pub. Your naked self is separated from the outside dining public by a sheer curtain, see through glass door and a rope tied across the stairwell. The room itself had another entrance curtained off with no solid door. I could hear people around on the other side of the curtain. I wasn't very relaxed because a) I was shivering in the waist deep tepid water and b) I felt very exposed. To add to my nerves being on edge, the management thoughtfully decided I needed music being played to me. Since the dungeon didn't have any speakers, they played music off their laptop placed at the top of the stairs. To ensure I heard it, the volume was turned up so loud that the music distorted.

In all fairness, the manager did sit me down and asked for my feedback. However I was still processing what I have been through to articulate how I felt. I hope they do read this post and take on board the points I had mentioned as they are charging top dollar for the experience and it really really really falls short.

I shall leave you with a few pictures of the dining area and the see-through brewery in action.

Verdict

In summary - if you are after an actual spa experience, don't bother. It's not a spa by any definition. Despite The Flying Dodo's brochure depicting massage chairs next to the bath tub, you don't get anything other than a 20 minute tepid soak and a cake of soap. Save your pennies and for a comparable price go to a hotel spa for luxury and pampering. However, if you like to drink beer, theoretically 30L of the stuff is pumped into your bathtub so one could drink it off tap, this might be the spa for you. Particularly if don't mind paying luxury spa fees for spartan surrounds and the possibility of being exposed.