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Carlo IV massages the story

By Julie O'Shea
Staff Writer, The Prague Post
January 31st, 2007 issue

Boscolo Hotel Carlo IV has discovered a few things more effective than press releases: free massages and lobster spaghetti.

Such an offer will usually net a handful of eager journalists. At the Jan. 29 presentation of treatments for Carlo IV’s luxurious Roman spa, the hotel’s resourceful public relations team was able to rope in close to a dozen or so scribes from various publications around the city.
Some may call this unethical. I prefer to call it a little bit of harmless research.
Large, imposing hotels always make me feel slightly out of place. And, as I dash across Senovážné náměstí, I suddenly have a sinking feeling that I’m grossly underdressed for Journalists’ Day at the five-star abode. My nerves vanish, however, when I enter the spa center and find that at least half of the people in the large conference room are wearing jeans.
While it’s obvious that the whole event has been immaculately planned, right down to the delicate-looking powdered pastries lining the long buffet table, the hotel staff is still eyeing us with slight trepidation. It always amuses me that a roomful of journalists can elicit such fear.
After a couple of minutes of forced small talk, we are finally herded into an adjoining room, where the publicity spiel begins. Carlo IV managers have made one crucial mistake, though: They have given us press kits ahead of time.  
As the spa manager drones on about the lavish treatments now available to the public, I find myself temporarily mesmerized by the contents of the small green folder in front of me.
Blueberry facial: 144 euros ($190/4,040 Kč). Aromatherapy massage: 84 euros. Back wax: 24 euros.
I am way out of my league. When I look up, I notice that the rest of the room seems lost in thought. I wonder if we are all having the same epiphany — that a day at the Carlo IV spa could otherwise pay an entire month’s rent.
My attention snaps back to the spa manager when she mentions the word “free.” As its guests, the hotel is going to let us pick a treatment — any treatment — off the price list, she announces. She repeats herself, letting the news sink in. I am beaming.
Heading to the reception desk to book an afternoon massage, I catch a brief glimpse of the steaming Roman baths as I walk down the white fluorescent hallway. It looks like something out of Greek mythology. Is this how the other side lives?
The man sitting poolside notices I’m gawking, and I quickly avert my eyes.
The royal treatment continues with an elegant three-course lunch in the hotel’s Black Box Restaurant. Halfway through my salad, Carlo IV’s new general manager, Alessandro Cresta, asks if he can join my table. We talk about the weather and the difficulties of learning Czech. When the lobster spaghetti arrives, we have moved on to the beauty of Dubai, where Cresta spent two years before moving his family to Prague nine months ago.
Three hours later, I am lying face down in a back room. My masseuse is drenching my back with sticky oils. Her fingers feel like raindrops. I am having one of those out-of-body experiences. I fall asleep, thinking this is the best press briefing I’ve ever been to.
The friendly blonde girl with the magic hands is apologetically shaking me awake. The massage is over. I can’t move.
At the front door, my smiling masseuse asks if I’ve had a good time. Feeling slightly drunk with pleasure, I nod and hand her a tip. She seems surprised and then utterly grateful. She deserves it; after all, she is one of the few people brave enough to touch my feet without disinfectant.

Julie O'Shea can be reached at joshea@praguepost.com


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