Goddess Experience in the Hood!

There’s a little piece of heaven in Los Angeles, just east of Crenshaw on Olympic Blvd. The Olympic Spa is a traditional Korean style spa and a place of respite and bliss.

I used to come here a lot when I was primary caregiver for my mother, now deceased. For $15 I would enter, turn off my phone, sink into the mugwort tea hot tub and let all my cares float away. The $15 is now up to $25 which is still a great value. Called the “simple soak” it includes use of all the spa facilities including jade laden steam sauna, the hot “mugwort” tea pool, The Himalayan salt therapy room and the healing heat of the mineral sauna.

You can stay all day (the spa is open 9 to 9) and even enjoy a delicious Korean meal in the cafe. I always take a little nap on the heated jade floor too.

Thailand has spoiled me with regular massages. For this visit I decided to treat myself to the Goddess spa treatment.

According to the website it is
“the ultimate moisturizing experience. We start with a full body Korean Scrub to exfoliate the skin, followed by an aromatic seaweed body shampoo. Now relax and enjoy a wonderful Aromatherapy Massage to melt all those knots away. A rejuvenating essential oil scalp massage will instantly lift your spirits. It doesn’t end here, your face is then massaged with toxin releasing strokes and a purifying facial mask is applied to refresh and tighten the pores. After an aromatherapy hair shampoo and rinse, a luxurious body emulsion is soothingly applied to hydrate and moisturize. This treatment is exclusive to us and not available anywhere else.”

They do not lie or exaggerate! Expensive by my Thai standards it was 1 hr 45 min of pure bliss for $155.

The Goddess includes use of all the spa facilities. In addition to the mugwort bath, I especially love the Himalayan salt therapy room. It is a super heated cave like room filled with Himalayan salt crystals. It is a great idea for detoxing and relaxing.

For obvious reasons, I couldn’t walk around the spa (naked women everywhere) taking pictures. So I grabbed the above images from the web. While doing so, I came upon this sister’s blog post. It’s a beautiful blog about her dance with cancer. Turns out the Olympic Spa was one of her favorite places. Rest in paradise, Caridad, thank you for sharing.