The New York Times-20080124-Domestic Pampering for the 21st Century

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Domestic Pampering for the 21st Century

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Those with lots of stress and even more cash might be interested in the Spa Capsule, which starts at about $27,000 and is being touted as a sumptuous, destressing, rejuvenating spa by Simulated Environment Concepts of Miami, the company that manufactures it. It's a sci-fi chamber with aromatherapy, music and video, although the big selling point is the dry water massage. Your body is covered with a thin, silky sheet, explained Ella Frenkel, a chiropractor who runs the company and had traveled to the home of a Manhattan customer to demonstrate the Spa Capsule. There is an arm full of water jets inside the lid, she said, so that the water is not exposed, but you can actually feel the jets.Sara Herbert-Galloway, a socialite and former model who is the owner of this particular Spa Capsule, a jelly-red number with yellow leather upholstery purchased for $29,000, whispered, My friends call it the Orgasmatron. It had been set up in her lushly appointed living room, where it blended in as smoothly as a Ferrari. One lies in the Spa Capsule face down, head supported on a doughnut-shaped headrest, top right, but your head is completely outside the capsule, so it is nonclaustrophobic, Ms. Frenkel said. A video can be viewed, aromas can be sniffed and a touch screen allows the user to operate the lid. Ms. Herbert-Galloway said she uses a relaxation video supplied by the company, with abstract '70s-style images and a soothing soundtrack, delivered through Bose headphones. Her aroma of choice is lavender. For this reporter's trial run, eucalyptus was suggested -- good for the sinuses, it was said -- although inside the Spa Capsule, no scent was detectable. The massage was very nice, but the sound system could not eradicate the steady sloshing of the water jets. It was like being in the tender embrace of a washing machine set on the gentle cycle. Had the reporter paid $29,000 she might have been a little stressed. Ms. Herbert-Galloway said the sound did not trouble her.

[Illustration]PHOTOS (PHOTOGRAPHS BY FRED R. CONRAD/THE NEW YORK TIMES)