A Taste of Luxury in Algiers

At first glance (heck, even at second, third, and umpteenth glance), Algiers does not look like a city that holds much luxury. However, after a year and a half of living here, I’ve discovered that Algiers has nearly everything you want; you just have to search for it or know someone who knows. In my case, I knew someone.

My girlfriend introduced me to a little piece of heaven found in two tucked away locations - Pavana Nail Salon and Spa J’Nane Makley. In order to respect the privacy of both venues I did not take pictures. The place I frequented the most was Pavana. Every time I saw my girlfriend both her fingernails and toenails always looked superb. I always assumed she did it herself until she happily informed me that she had a lady who took care of her. Now, even while living in the States I never frequented nail salons. I was quite fine with doing it myself and I was very hesitant to trust the cleanliness of most places. But one day I said to myself, “Why not?”

I have to be honest; when I went the first time I didn’t expect much. When you see the rest of Algiers it’s hard to expect anything similar to what is in America. But from the moment I laid my eyes on the outside of the building I was sold! The salon was gorgeous! They have a hair salon downstairs and upstairs is the nail salon and private room for massages and waxing on every possible area of the body. The venue looked better than many nail salons I’ve been to in America. They are pricey, but well worth the blue moon treat of about $70 for a manicure and pedicure. 

Setting aside time to be pampered is a must. My pedicure lasted nearly 90 minutes and my pedicure a little over 30 minutes, but that was not the best part. Not only is the ambiance superb, not only is the place super clean and ladies extremely sweet, not only do they take their time to give you an excellent experience, but they also give you a pedicure that lasts at least a month without any chipping. I sure will miss my visits to Pavana. Check out the website to view more information or visit if you’re ever in Algiers. Below are a few pictures from Pavana’s Facebook page. http://www.pavana.info/

I learned about Spa J’Nane Makley a little later. My first visit there was two weeks ago during July 4^th weekend. This is not the normal spa I’m accustomed to in America. This one includes a hammam. The hammam (a Turkish bath) is a magical spa experience offered throughout the Middle East and North Africa. It’s an age-old ritual of cleansing and purifying the body.  It includes the combination of a full body scrub, full body massage, and facial. There are separate hours for men and women. The place is usually open for women in the day and men in the evening. I heard nothing but good things about the experience, but I was hesitant to go due to the lack of privacy and public nudity. I finally decided that I should try it at least once just to say I experienced it. I’m so happy I decided to go. I can only describe my experience as refreshing. 

My friend went with me since I don’t speak French and the ladies there don’t speak English. Our appointment was for 9:30 am. Being an early bird pays in order to maximize this experience. When we first entered the building, we sat down and were served a small glass of mint tea. Then we were taken to the locker room upstairs to change into our swimsuit if going in the pool or bottoms only if skipping the pool.  I talked my friend into taking a dip in the pool since I absolutely love the water. I thought I was only going to stay in the pool for bit and relax, but I couldn’t help myself from swimming a few laps back and forth. After 30 to 40 minutes we were escorted into the hammam. This is a hot sauna room with a mini tub, shower, and bench connected to the wall. There are either one or two ladies with you in there who work as your personal scrubbers. In larger hammams there are multiple women with you inside. I am glad this one was small as it would have been a little awkward to be almost naked surrounded by a bunch of other women. When you enter the hammam you remove your swim top and keep your bikini bottom or panties on only. Our scrub lady placed an exfoliating glove on her hand and lied us down on the bench one at a time and scrubbed our bodies as if we hadn’t washed since winter! Then she stood us up, rubbed us down until we were covered in soap and washed us like a baby. Your body is not only dripping with water, but also with sweat from the hot steam. The scrub lady will also wash your hair unless you say otherwise. I opted out of that one. I think we were in the hammam for almost an hour. It felt so good I completely lost track of time. When she finished all I wanted to do was lie on that bench and go to sleep. After we exited the hammam my body never felt cleaner or smoother. I was glowing!

Then we went to the locker room and changed into a dry bottom before getting our full body massage. While waiting to be called in for the massage we reclined on the sofas in the quiet room where they served us freshly squeezed orange juice. It was the best fresh juice I’ve had yet! After a few minutes passed we entered the massage room. There were three tables in the room but I was so relaxed I felt like I was the only one in there getting a massage. The massage is comparable to that of a deep-tissue. Once we were done there and I managed to lift my limp body off the table, we went into another room to get a facial. The creams and pastes they use are all natural and made inside the spa. I couldn’t tell you what they were but it felt good. Over 3 ½ hours later our spa experience was complete. My body felt fabulous. The very best part of this excursion was that we had full access to their pool, the hammam experience, full body massage, and facial...all for $57. No, that is not a typo. I wrote fifty-seven dollars! Shoot, I may need to visit Algiers again just for Spa J’Nane Makley. It is definitely something to put on the to-do list while in Algiers. Check out their Facebook page for more information. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Spa-JNane-Makley/172286232807862