A menu from facials to desserts
Whose idea of relaxation was lemon water anyway? There’s a new pamper palace in town, and this one has creme brulee on the menu. Christine Splichal, partners with her chef husband, Joachim, in the landmark L.A. restaurant Patina, opened a spa this week on Robertson Boulevard in West Hollywood with her friend Olga Lorencin, a facialist who worked at Ole Henriksen for 13 years.
Kinara is an intimate spot, in stark contrast to the sterile, windowless environments that make some large spas seem more like facial and massage factories than relaxing retreats.
Splichal and Lorencin brainstormed the idea for Kinara last year after Lorencin’s wedding in Maui. “We were sitting on the beach,” Splichal said. “She said that her dream was to have her own place and asked for my help. ... I thought about it and decided that the spa business was not so different from the restaurant business. Both are about people and good service.”
Soon after, Splichal, who is from Biarritz, France, and Lorencin, who is from Belgrade, Yugoslavia, toured spas in the U.S. and abroad. They went to Canyon Ranch and the Sedona Spa in Arizona and to the Sources de Caudalie, a spa in the Bordeaux region of France that specializes in grape-seed treatments.
Ultimately, they decided to create a day spa with the luxurious elements of a destination spa, a place where everything -- from the food to the tabletops, the treatments to the bath towels -- is indulgent. Splichal says, “A spa should be an all-encompassing experience. And people are longing for something small, private and boutique-y.”
Designed by architect Hagy Belzberg, who did the Patina, Nick & Stef’s Steakhouse and Moomba restaurants, the 4,500-square-foot wood-and-glass building decorated in warm earth tones is as inviting as a private bungalow. Frosted and clear glass windows allow natural light to pour in. Spa-goers have a view of the leafy street as they sit on couches with Etro cushions, and dip their toes into rose petal-filled pedicure basins.
Naturally, Splichal has incorporated a restaurant into the mix, although the food is neither low-fat nor low-cal. For spa visitors only, it has a seasonal organic menu designed by her husband that might include homemade granola with a fruit compote, chilled cucumber and tomato soup, and mascarpone cheese served with berry coulis.
“The whole idea is to treat yourself with the best of everything,” Splichal said.
A boutique offers artisanal objects from around the world. There are hand-embroidered cotton pajamas from Vietnam ($80); semiprecious stone bracelets from France (about $300); “crinkled” ceramic cups from Holland ($6); and pointy-toed silk “babouche” slippers from Morocco ($48). “They are all the rage in Paris right now,” Splichal said of the open-back slippers. “Men are wearing them with suits.”
Upstairs, there are five private rooms, where treatments include a “thirsty skin quencher facial” ($110) that uses a three-layer mask; an “ache breaker” hydrotherapy bath ($50) with peppermint, juniper and eucalyptus to sooth sore muscles; a chamomile-honey body scrub ($100); and two-hour Thai massages ($150).
A day before the spa opened on Tuesday, Lorencin showed off her utility room, where she concocts scrubs and massage oils from honey, aloe, green tea and other ingredients. She also demonstrated how to incorporate aromatherapy.
Kinara has a small skin-care line, including a green-apple cleansing gel and a lemon eucalyptus hydrator, but it also stocks selected items from Dermed, Ayer-medic and Hormeta. “I never buy an entire line of products,” Lorencin explained. “I like to pick and choose.” Products are arranged for sale according to skin type. “It doesn’t matter if it’s French, Italian or local,” she says. “I bring it here and make it easy.”
