DONT GO to Rangnam Spa & Massage, Bangkok

This is the first time I'll blog about a place NOT to go. So please DONT go to this place!!

I was in Bangkok twice last month..first was with my family and the second was with just my husband. Both trip, the taxi driver sort of dragged us to this spa. The first taxi driver said this is the best spa in Bangkok. Whatever!

When we got there the first time, the spa from the outside didnt look very impressive at all. It's just huge.
And there were about 2 busses (tourist bus) outside. So many taxis came and dropped off the tourists there. We didnt see any locals.

When we got in, we were greeted by the lady at the front and pestering us to hurry up and decide what we want to do. Sort of forcing us to pick a package and the most expensive one there. I got really irritated to say the least!
Everything on the spa menu was almost triple the price of any other places we've been to. Either this place must be really good or a rip off for tourist.
In the end, because we were too irritated, we walked out and didnt even try anything. Mostly because my brother (the accountant aka Mr. Budget) kept saying no way he wants to pay more than 500baht when he can get it for half the price somewhere else. I wasnt impressed with the decor so I didnt wanna try it anyway.

Then we found out that all the taxi drivers get a commission for taking tourist there. Oh..no wonder la.

During my second trip, I wanted a thai massage right before checking out and going to the airport. I only had slightly over an hour to spare so I just wanted something quick and fast. We walked outside our hotel and saw this tuk tuk driver and asked him to take us to Hapa Spa since I know it's good and price is ok. After 10 minutes of talking, the driver still doesnt want to take us to Hapa and insisted on taking us to this place where supposedly it's the best and most famous spa in Bangkok. After arguing, he said it's nearby bla bla bla, we argeed to go cuz we didnt know it was the same place that we went the last time.

When we got there...we saw the place..alamak..it was the same place the other driver took us rupanya.
Wanted to pay the tuk tuk driver but didnt have small change so hubby ran inside the spa to get small change and guess what they said...they didnt have small change and if we want to change, go to the 7 eleven!!!
I mean, come on......dont tell me u dont have small change!!!! They can see our tuk tuk driver waiting outside and still didnt wanna change money for us. They could have just ask us to pay for our spa and balance tu can pay the driver right? but no...they told us to walk all the way to 7 eleven. So bloody rude!!!

While hubby was running to 7 eleven, I looked at the menu and my god, the receptionist just ignored me completely. Like I wasnt there. They didnt even greet me. I was so freaking pissed cuz I said "Excuse me" at least 3 times and she completely ignored me!!!!!!!!! Arghhhhhh... until I slammed down the menu on the table.

Same thing happened....literally forced us to take the expensive scrub, massage etc package. Hubby had to shout at the girl and said "how many times do I have to tell you that I dont have the time. I only have 1 hour!"
Finally, I told hubby to get out of that stinky place. Never will I go back again.

Apparently this place gives really good commission to drivers. Obviously cuz they charge tourist a lot more.
Also the locals dont go there....says a lot doesnt it? Even their own people dont like it there maybe!
They make money from tourist cuz people like us, obviously wont know where is good and where is not.
So people...dont go to this place. I cant stand it. Dont be fooled by the size of the place.

If you wanna try somewhere good..Hapa is the best. People are super friendly and treatment is good and price is very reasonable. It's a family spa...they've been in the spa business for years and even have spas in Dubai and Italy.

Or you can try Health Land. This place is VERY popular with the locals. In fact, everyone there is local. Price is a bit high but I guess it's worth it.

Foot Joy, Bangkok

Foot Joy is located on Sukhumvit Soi 8 near the Nana Station and only few doors away from The Baan Dalah spa that I went to.

The foot massage here is cheap. Priced at only approximately RM25 for 1 hour. I guess for that price, everything is ok!

Nothing to shout about tho. The massage was ok.. The pressure was soft but still, it's quite relaxing to say the least. Definitely worth going.

Health Land, Bangkok

Someone recommended for me to check out this place so I decided to give it a go. As soon as I arrived, I was impressed because A: The carpark outsite the building is packed and full. B: Because the place is pretty huge and C: Because the building looks very nice, reminded me of Carcosa. I knew this was going to be an experience to remember.

As soon as I walked in, I saw so many locals (guests) waiting and sitting at the reception. I didnt know whether they were waiting for their turn or what but all the seats were taken. I walked to the reception and was greeted by this lady, who wore business like outfit in black. She was not friendly at all.

I didnt know what they had there and when I asked the lady, she just pointed to the counter with the spa menu on it. She didnt bother to explain what each were or what..unlike the other spas I've been to where they normally explain what is good and what is not bla bla bla. I was quite pissed off but then I looked at the menu anyway and decided to go for the Aromatherapy Body Massage & Thai Herbal Compress for 2 hours at approximately RM150. The price is ok if you compare it with the price we pay in KL for a massage but for Bangkok standard, I think the price is a bit on the high side.

The place is pretty huge and quite nice overall. The massage was really good actually. The pressure and technique was just nice. I also enjoyed the Thai Herbal Compress which was my first time experience. I really did feel good after the whole 2 hours. I'm glad I found this place. I definitely will come back despite my not so great experience at the reception. Maybe she was just busy!

Baan Dalah Spa, Bangkok

This spa is located on Sukhumvit Soi 8 and not too far away from the Nana Station. There are a number of foot massages around that area and I decided to try this one cuz it looks the nicest. The price is also double compared to the others around the area.

I opted to go for the foot massage. A special kind called the Icy Spicy Foot Massage. Good after a whole day of shopping and walking about.

The massage started with a short foot scrub and rinse.

Then it was the foot wrap where they use this pepermint type of gel for about 5 minutes or so. And then the massage starts. The whole experience was for about another 45 minutes or so. I asked for strong pressure but I'm not too sure if the lady understood what I wanted.

After the foot massage, I was given a hand and shoulder massage for another 10 minutes. The whole experience was interesting and quite nice. All for approximately RM50 per hour. Not too bad.

I'd go again but next time I want to make sure I get that strong pressure that I want! The pressure was too soft for my liking but some might enjoy it..cuz it was very relaxing.

Neglect?

I admit I've been neglecting this blog - I've not been to any new spas lately, which is pissing me off cuz I never have the time to go anymore.

This is bad. I must go and do some pampering soon.

Although it's been rather quiet on this blog, I must say that I still do some maintenance work.
What's that?

Maintenance work involves:

- weekly (at least once a week) reflexology at either Sifu in Bangsar, Sri Petaling place or the place in Sg.Wang
- 2wice a month facial at Dermalogica, BSC
- Back massage at Sam Reflexology

the above is compulsory. It's not me if I dont do the above. So, there you go, it's not that I've been neglecting this or havent been pampering myself - I have..but it's at my usual place so there's not much to blog about.
Obviously they're all good that's why I go there on a regular basis.

I need to find out more spas to go to in KL....

I'll be in Bangkok again this weekend (for fun) and I will make sure I try few new places..

Hapa Spa, Bangkok

During my recent trip to Bangkok, I got the opportunity to check out this cool spa. It is located in Sukumvit area of Bangkok and pretty easy to find.

When I arrived at the spa, I was greeted by this really friendly girl and she took time to explain to us the different packages that they have including their current promotions. She was really cute and bubbly and was patient with us when we couldnt make up our minds on what treatment to do. There were 5 of us..so imagine la melayan kerenah 5 people yang cant make up their minds cuz everything on the spa menu looks good. For me, I wanted to try them all but because we have limited time and also if one of us opt for a 2 hour treatment then obviously I cant go for a 3 hours treatment cuz then everyone will be pissed for waiting for me to finish. Finally we all decided to go for 2 hour treatment.




The treatment

Hubby: 2 hour aromatheraphy oil massage

Brother 1: 2 hour thai massage

Brother 2: 2 hour 4 hands aromatheraphy oil massage. (2 therapists massaging at the same time)

Mum: 1 hour aromatheraphy oil massage & manicure & pedicure

Me: 2 hour 4 hands aromatheraphy oil massage



Verdict

Everyone loved the massage whether it was thai massage, aromatheraphy massage or even the 4 hands massage. Everyone said the massage was superb and fantastic.

The manicure and pedicure was ok mummy said. She just wanted them to buff it but it wasnt really that shiny..but overall it was ok.



My 4 hands massage was something I've never tried before. I've always wanted to give it a try but they're normally too pricey. In Maldives it was something like almost USD200 for an hour or something like that. Even in KL it was priced at about RM500 plus.

At Hapa, it was only approximately RM170 for 2 whole hours. It was bloody worth it. But mind you, it was on a discount because they had some promotion going on that time.



It was so cool. While one therapist is massaging your leg, another one is massaging your shoulder or upper body. And then when the one massaging your leg moves up to massage your upper body, the other one will massage your legs. So basically, that whole 2 hours your whole body is getting massaged. Best gila!!!

Price

Bloody worth it!!!

If you're in Bangkok, please go and visit this spa, I tell you, you wont regret it. They have a branch even in Italy ok..dont play play.

Khareyana Spa, PJ

It's been a while since I last visited this spa. I actually like it a lot but been trying other spas that I havent had the chance to come back here.

My best friend took a day off to spend time with me on my birthday so we decided to pamper ourselves rotten. I skipped work too for this. Since my best friend is pregnant, we had to find a place that has treatment safe for her. The only one I could think of is Khareyana. Plus, I've always wanted to take her to this spa.

We got there and picked the treatment we want to go for. They told us about all the different types of smell/treatments that they have and finally,we decided to go for this treatment called Dara Putih Aroma because that's the best for pregnant women. I decided to go for the same one. It's a 3 hour body treatment for RM275.00 each.

We shared a room cuz we planned to chit chat and gossip during the treatment but not long after the scrub we were both on cloud 9. My friend fell asleep and I was in lalaland too.

The treatment
1. Scrub
2. Shower
3. Steam / Sauna
4. Massage
5. Milk bath

3 hours of bliss.

The massage was alright. I normally like strong pressure but the pressure was very soft and very relaxing. I wanted to ask the lady to increase the pressure but then I thought why not go for something relaxing and something soft for a change. I quite like it actually. But of course, it didnt help to ease my muscle ache and all.

After the spa, fresh watermelon and hot ginger tea was waiting for us. I didnt puasa yesterday. I had a good time at the spa. I love it. Cant wait to come back.

Do visit their website because they do have special offer and promotion for ramadhan. It's a nice spa and treatment is good too. You'll forget that you're in PJ once you step in the spa. Makes you feel like you're far away in Bali or something. Check it out.

Here are their details:

Khareyana Spa

36 Jalan Selangor46050 Petaling JayaSelangor,

MALAYSIA

T : +603 7958 6219

F : +603 7958 6284

E : thespa@khareyana.com