Newly opened Urban Male Lounge in Abu Dhabi for that boss feeling

The Chairman of the Board leviathan, designed for corporate hotshots, is 240 minutes – a whole four hours – of head-to-toe attention. For men.

A hot stone massage at the Urban Male Lounge. Courtesy NStyle International

Male grooming has long gone past the taboo stage, not least in this part of the world. But while there is an increasing number of unisex five-star spas for gents in Dubai, they are harder to come by in Abu Dhabi.

Urban Male Lounge, at Abu Dhabi’s World Trade Centre Mall, is a newborn twin of the UML at The Galleria, and a masculine sibling to its sister NStyle International chain of nail bars. While many posh spas let self-importance get in the way of relaxation, the package part of UML’s menu is rife with a playful side. And right at the top of the tree, above options such as The Player and The CEO, is the Chairman of the Board leviathan: 240 minutes – a whole four hours of head-to-toe attention.

The marathon begins with a hot lather shave that left me looking about 10 years younger. Then it was out of the salon and into one of a mini-warren of treatment rooms for the dual-therapist attack of The Deal Maker manicure and the Hole-in-One pedicure. The television, remote control and headphones took second place to a gentle snooze and staring idly into space.

The next element was the Hoof It Off Callus Eliminator. I’d assumed that it would be a fairly superfluous, or painful, treatment. Neither preconception proved entirely accurate: though I’m quite conceivably an inch shorter now, the combination of skin-softening foot wraps and vigorous filing ensured soles to be proud of.

Next up was the main event: the Thai Blend Hot Stone Massage. Mixing techniques, as that title suggests, the male therapist went tough on the Thai influence via a series of semi-agonising contortions that revealed their full muscle-loosening effect days later. I was left to relax for a moment before the Revitalizer Facial, a multi-layered face fixer of masks and peels based around products from the top British skincare brand Heaven.

I wasn’t actually offered the final part of the Chairman package, although I will put the lack of a shoe shine down to a sensible glance at the lack of suitable footwear – the polish would probably have ruined a pair of Adidas.

After four hours of pampering, the Chairman of the Board will leave you feeling like a boss.

• A 240-minute Chairman of the Board package at Urban Male Lounge, World Trade Centre Mall, Abu Dhabi, costs Dh1,000, plus taxes. Call Urban Male Lounge at 800 865 for bookings