Try the New Cutting Edge Spa in Lima
I found Maeli Spa during an intense Googling session. I knew I wanted some kind of wellness treatment, and a budget massage easily found in Miraflores wasn’t going to cut it. I wasn’t traveling like a backpacker, and I wanted a proper experience! I was looking at hotel spas when I decided to check Instagram for some fresher options. That’s where I stumbled upon Maeli Spa.
I could see on their Instagram that they offered head spas, buccal massages, and treatments like Kobido, a Japanese facial lifting technique, and I was intrigued. I couldn’t find a spa menu on their website (which they have since remedied), but they sent over a PDF of their menu via WhatsApp. I made an appointment a week in advance, but she had a few time slots available.
Set up on the third floor in the quiet and residential neighborhood of San Borja, it would be hard to find Maeli if you weren’t looking for it. I could barely find it, even knowing it was there. I struggled to get in because there was no way to buzz myself in through the gate, but the owner, Liz Madel, helped me over WhatsApp.
A Lima native, Liz had lived in Fresno, California, for years before deciding to bring her daughter back to Lima and start her dream business: a spa offering the latest treatments.
While Maeli is known for its headspa, I thought my muscles needed more attention than my scalp, so I selected the deep hydration facial and a full-body massage after weeks spent walking the sunny, dusty streets. The treatments started off with the full-body massage. The massage was thorough and so relaxing that when we switched to the microneedling facial, I was in for a rude awakening.
Liz used microneedling to ensure that moisturizing creams and serums could penetrate deeper than the top layer of my skin. There was no numbing cream, so I jumped every time the needle, which looked like a medieval torture device, was run over my skin. I winced as it hit the parts where you could hear the bone rattling under it. I probably undid every good part of the massage in those few minutes.
Thankfully, the last part of various serums and creams massaged into my head, neck, and arms helped soothe me back into the spa-like trance. After I had come back to reality and changed back into my clothes, a surprise was waiting for me in the lobby.
A slice of carrot cake, made by Liz’s assistant. Give me a slice of cake over a green juice any day of the week! It was also delicious, moist, and with a lightly sweetened whipped cream frosting. It was unbelievably satisfying, maybe more so than the relaxing massage or the fact that my skin no longer resembled a snake about to shed its skin.
Even later in the week, this was the first time that microneedling had not caused scabs or an immense shedding reaction. My cheekbones looked sculpted, and whatever slight double chin was protruding had been massaged out of existence.
If you are looking for a great facial or skin treatment or a thorough massage after hiking in the Sacred Valley, I highly recommend booking an appointment at Maeli Spa! Be sure to come hungry.
Homemade cake!