Sometimes you know that it's going to be a great weekend when the stars align and things just go right. And that was certainly the case this past Friday, when, in need of a pick-me-up before heading to the Creamfields festival on Yas Island, I decided that the only course of action was an ostentatious trip for a massage. It's the 21st century man's recovery option of choice, don't you know?
Don't ask me why I decided that the Ritz-Carlton Abu Dhabi would be the best choice. But, one impulsive mobile internet search and a phone booking from the comfort of my bed later, that was where I was heading. It was the finest decision that I made all week.
I knew that there was an ESPA-based facility at the hotel, which has been open for a few months now. What I didn't know was that it was the first day that the 2,000-square-metre, Bedouin-inspired complex was open, until I was informed as much by the cheery young Moroccan man who arrived to ferry me from the reception to the spa on a golf buggy.
I was, I soon learnt, the spa's seventh-ever customer. The upside of this happy accident was nigh-on the royal treatment – even the hotel manager turned up to greet me, while a grandly turned-out spa-hand (think a leader of the city of Qarth from Game of Thrones) served me sweet saffron tea. Take note: this wasn't a press junket or a review freebie, merely how the Ritz-Carlton spoils its regular customers.
I opted to keep things simple with a 60-minute Swedish massage, preceded – at the suggestion of the endearingly keen staff – with half an hour of sauna and steam room, separated by an interval of skin-cooling courtesy of an ice dispenser between the two. After a shower, plus a spell boning up on National Geographic's top worldwide weekend break recommendations in the relaxation area, I'm led downstairs into the maze-like treatment areas by my therapist Sofia. Of the 50-or-so massages that I've experienced in my life, the next hour had to be up there – as the famously egotistic English football manager Brian Clough might have put it – in the top one.
For more information and to view the spa's menu, visit http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/properties/abudhabi/spa.
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
THE APPRENTICE
Director: Ali Abbasi
Starring: Sebastian Stan, Maria Bakalova, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 3/5
57%20Seconds
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Everton%20Fixtures
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What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
Company%20profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Drishyam 2
Directed by: Jeethu Joseph
Starring: Mohanlal, Meena, Ansiba, Murali Gopy
Rating: 4 stars
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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SPECS
Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)