Lost in the beauty of my vacation to Rio de Janeiro and my enchanted stay at the Copacabana Palace, I figured there was hardly anything else that could enhance my experience. I was wrong. As I walked through the lobby one morning after an early walk on the beach, I overheard some women talking about their trip to the Copacabana Palace Spa. This stopped me in my tracks and I changed my path to talk to the front desk about the amenities.

The woman behind the desk wore a serious look, but the minute I mentioned the Copacabana Palace Spa, she was illuminated. From her genuine enthusiasm, I could tell it was worth it to cancel my originally scheduled afternoon activities (sunning myself on the beach and reading a romance novel). So, I immediately called the spa to make an appointment. The time was set. At 3:00, I would have two treatments I chose from an extensive list.

About an hour prior to my appointment, there was a knock on my door. To my surprise, the spa staff had sent a bathrobe, as is customary of all the Copacabana Palace Spa's clients. And as suggested, I arrived for my scheduled time just about 30 minutes prior.

These minutes weren't wasted, as I got to spend them I the Copacabana Palace Spa relaxation area. The beautiful yet elegant furniture matched with my delivered plush robe sent me right into relaxation mode. I was ready for the quality treatment to continue.

I only had an afternoon to subject myself to being totally pampered, so I chose to do two treatments back to back. Copacabana Palace Spa has four featured collections of treatment, so picking these was no easy feat. Finally, I chose the two from the Natura Collection. These were the most familiar to me so I thought it would be great to compare them to pampering in the past.

First, I had the Copacabana Facial. For sixty minutes, soft music cradled me into a state of complete relaxation as my face was tended to with products and scents I had never smelled before. I later found out that they are made from indigenous Brazilian ingredients.

The facial soothed me like none I had ever experienced before and yet only left me wanting more from the Copacabana Palace Spa. My next treatment was the Hot Stone Massage, and I had big expectations.

As the treatment begun, I was again cradled by the soft traditional Brazilian music in the background. I was then treated for seventy straight minutes with a combination of light to medium pressure from soft hands and even softer hot stones.

Afternoon became the evening as I headed up the elevator to my room in a daze. The experience at the Copacabana Palace Spa not only relaxed, but rejuvenated me. Once I reached my door, I realized that very few places can have such an incredible effect on a busy person like me. Again, I cleared my schedule and chose to sacrifice another day in the sun for a slice of heaven at the Copacabana Palace Spa.

My romance novel had to wait for the plane ride home.