You cannot leave Thailand without indulging in a massage. Whether you choose traditional Thai or a signature treatment, a standalone parlour or one inside a swanky hotel, the choices are endless! Here's a pick of the six best spas in Phuket.
Text | SATARUPA PAUL
With influences from India, China and Southeast Asia, Thai massage, an ancient healing system, combines acupressure, Ayurvedic principles and assisted yoga postures for complete relaxation. While you can request a Thai massage anywhere in the world today, the best place to experience it in its most traditional form is of course, Thailand. Choosing which spa to go to is thus, quite a task. We've done the homework for you and curated a list of the best spas in Phuket that offer a beautiful, soothing ambience, professional service and authentic practices as well as a range of other treatments — for complete rejuvenation of your body and soul.
OASIS SPA
With 12 outlets in four destinations, Oasis Spa is one of Thailand’s most prestigious day spas. In Phuket, you can choose from four different settings — high up a mountain and overlooking the island’s breathtaking scenery; by a serene lagoon with individual treatment villas and private outdoor showers close to the beach; or one that transports you to the
Mediterranean; with Sino-Portuguese archways and Moroccan furnishings. Whichever spa you choose, Oasis’ range of traditional and signature massages are available in all. What’s more, they also provide free round-trip transportation from key areas in Phuket.
MUST-TRY: Oasis Spa boasts a selection of six signature massages, but The Voyage of Golden Lanna is the most unique. In this, music therapy is combined with a four-hand massage to guide your body to new levels of relaxation. The amazing musical piece played here was developed exclusively to enhance each phase of the massage experience.
ADDRESS: Oasis Spa – Sky Breeze, 26 Soi Plukjae, Tambon Karon, Amphoe Mueang, Chang Wat, Phuket – 83100, Thailand
PRICE: INR 6,300 – 40,000
MANDARA SPA, JW MARRIOTT PHUKET RESORT & SPA
Since opening its doors 16 years ago, Mandara Spa has been a stunning haven of rest and rejuvenation in Phuket. It’s located in the premises of the beachfront JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, which is a short distance away from Mai Khao Beach, Phuket Yacht Haven and Royal Phuket Marina. The resort offers guests 5-star accommodation and serene outdoor spaces with views of lush gardens, pools or the sea. The family suites and Royal Villa feature private pools and ocean views; three sparkling pools, a modern gym
and 11 restaurants are housed within the premises.
Also nestled in the resort’s landscaped gardens and spread across 17,000-plus square feet of space is the Mandara Spa. It has 16 couples’ treatment rooms — five luxurious spa suites
with terrazzo plunge pools, six deluxe garden rooms with outdoor plunge pools and five others with outdoor showers. Plus, there are five outdoor Thai massage salas (open pavilion) and a beauty treatment room. The spa employs 18 therapists, who use high-grade
essential oils and superfoods from the UK for an extensive range of treatments — from traditional Thai and ubiquitous Swedish and Balinese massages, to facial elixirs, aromatic baths and more.
MUST-TRY: A four-hand massage in which two therapists work in rhythmic harmony, using techniques from Japanese Shiatsu, Thai, Hawaiian LomiLomi, Swedish and Balinese massage styles. Performed using specially-blended oils of sandalwood, patchouli and ylang-ylang, the massage helps calm the nervous system, warms and relaxes muscle tissue and promotes healthy, supple skin.
ADDRESS: JW Marriott Phuket Resort & Spa, 231 Moo 3 Mai Khao Talang, Phuket 83110, Thailand
PRICE: INR 6,300 – 40,000
LE SPA, LE MÉRIDIEN PHUKET BEACH RESOR
Le Spa represents the perfect blend of traditional oriental spa hospitality and forward-thinking pampering of Le Méridien, which owns and manages this 12-year-old spa. The resort itself is a joy for discerning travellers — located on a secluded cove against a canvas of sand and sea, with 416 rooms and 54 luxury suites, which look out to the lush garden, the lagoon-shaped swimming pools or the serene Andaman Sea. The resort blends authentic Thai accents against a soothing tropical setting; it houses 10 restaurants and bars serving the best of world cuisines and offers top-rated facilities for land and water adventures.
At the world-class Le Spa, relaxation awaits you in one of the 10 luxurious treatment rooms. Soothing instrumental Thai music plays in the background, while one of the 16 massage therapists work their magic on you. Beside traditional Thai, a range of innovative treatments are offered here, including a relaxing Hydradermie treatment for unifying your complexion, a Siamese herbal scrub, a mangosteen scrub and a delightful lavender milk bath, among others. The treatments here use a combination of organic oils made from indigenous ingredients, such as lemon grass and mangosteen, as well as imported spa products.
MUST-TRY: Let the proven magic of hot lava stones and the combined essences of pure coconut, lavender and sesame oils dissolve your tensions and improve your blood circulation in the 90-minute ‘Le Stone’ therapy.
ADDRESS: Le Méridien Phuket Beach Resort, 29 Soi Karon Nui, Tambon Karon, Amphur Muang, Chang Wat, Phuket 83100, Thailand
PRICE: Starting from INR 3,600
KATA ROCKS BY INFINITE LUXURY
Winner of the World Luxury Spa Awards for the best spa in Phuket for three years in a row, the Infinite Luxury Spa boasts a serene design and over 30 unique treatments blending contemporary and traditional techniques. Innovative treatments here include chromotherapy — using light as a source of wellness and Iso-Benessere, a water massage bed for aiding spinal integration. Beside a state-of-the-art fitness centre, the spa also offers a Metronap rest pod room, to reduce jet lag and aid recovery. Guests are welcomed with a soothing
tea, followed by the signature Infinite Luxury foot cleansing ritual and a consultation to tailor the treatment to individual needs.
MUST-TRY: The Kata Rocks Blessing Ritual is a combination of the healing stone blessing and the purifying ritual of the sacred singing bowl, followed by a chakra-balancing massage.
ADDRESS: Kata Rocks Resort & Residences, 186/22, Kok Tanode Road, Kata Beach, Phuket 83100, Thailand
PRICE: INR 4,000 – 21,500
HEAVENLY SPA, THE WESTIN SIRAY BAY RESORT & SPA
Nestled on Siray Island off Phuket’s east coast, with mesmerising ocean views and its own
secluded beach, is the peaceful retreat of The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa. The resort boasts stunning panoramic sea views from all 257 rooms, suites and villas, which also come equipped with rainforest showers, outdoor balconies and private plunge pools in select categories. Three outdoor pools, six restaurants and bars and its own secluded beach for calm contemplation, make the resort an ideal and complete getaway.
Adding to its features is the in-house Heavenly Spa, whose soothing ambience is accentuated by wooden features. The spa engages six therapists who pick you up from the Relax Lounge, where you first take a quick shower before any treatment, to wash away the salt, minerals or chemicals on your skin that could clog pores when mixed with oils or
other treatment products. Heavenly Spa believes in engaging your seven senses throughout the spa experience — the five physical senses as well as the psychological senses of emotions and meaning. Besides massages and pleasant steam baths using lemon grass or peppermint, a range of alternative therapies and body scrubs are also offered here, such as Pregnancy Massage, Shirodhara and a refreshing Bamboo Body Scrub.
MUST-TRY: A heated compress invites back muscles to relax before a Swedish massage, leaving you feeling physically rested and mentally uplifted.
ADDRESS: The Westin Siray Bay Resort & Spa, 21/4 Moo 1 T. Rasada A. Muang, Rasada, Phuket 83000, Thailand
PRICE: Starting from INR 3,800
COOL SPA, SRI PANWA PHUKET
Overlooking Phuket’s archipelago and secluded within the rainforests high above the Andaman Sea lies the tranquil Cool Spa, within the premises of the award-winning Sri
Panwa resort. The resort, occupying the Cape Panwa peninsula in its entirety, is an ultimate luxury address in Phuket — one which has played host to the likes of Snoop Dogg, Skrillex, Avicii, Flo Rida and other famous international DJs. At Cool Spa, the spacious treatment rooms each come with a Jacuzzi, private waterfall, iPod playlist, salon, a floating yoga deck and panoramic ocean views. Services offered here range from traditional Thai to refreshing herbal exfoliation and soothing full-body wraps. Ingredients used are local, fresh and natural, and include coconut, mango, yogurt, tamarind, honey, teas and oils.
MUST-TRY: The Natural Sweet Mango Delight combines the goodness of sweet ripe mango, natural yogurt and local mint into a rejuvenating freshly-made scrub that nourishes, softens and brightens the skin.
ADDRESS: Sri Panwa Phuket, 88 Sakdidej Rd, Vichit Muang Chang Wat Phuket – 83000, Thailand
PRICE: Starting from INR 3,400
First published in November 2018 issue of Go Getter magazine (GoAir.in)
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