Spas and Resorts in Bangkok
Bangkok Spas and Resorts Offer Wide Range of Options
Known as the spa capital of Asia, Bangkok boasts a wealth of facilities, from the simplest spa with sauna and massage services to opulent day-retreats offering everything from acupressure to reflexology. One or two even have an on-site practitioner licensed in traditional Chinese medicine, which includes herbal healing, qigong (therapeutic managed breathing), tuina (Oriental chiropractic medicine), acupuncture, and dietetics. A typical spa menu offers traditional Thai massage (in addition to Swedish, Javanese, or sports massage), therapies for healing and jet lag, aromatherapy, foot massage, skin care, mud and aromatic body wraps, herbal steam rooms, floral baths, hot-stone massages, or entire treatment rooms where hot stones waft floral-scented vapors.
Spa and Resort Costs in Bangkok
Costs range from $25 per day for a single room in a small hotel (from which you can visit one of myriad spas in Bangkok) to about $1500 for a luxury suite in a four-star hotel which has its own spa. A 10% surcharge and 7% VAT are applicable at most accommodations. Depending on your preference and your budget, you can choose either a luxurious facility or a smaller, more service-oriented one. As anywhere, service is better in the smaller, more intimate resorts and spas. Individual spa services (separate from accommodations) run about $25 and up for a three-phase treatment.
Customer-Oriented Spa Services in Bangkok
For those who demand pampering, spas offer menus like sea-salt body scrubs to open pores, caramel-flavored (and scented) mud wraps, and a wide variety of therapeutic massages. For more adventurous sorts, many spas offer Shiatsu massages, Royal Jelly facials (made from honey bee propolis), hydrotherapy (water-healing), and floral-scented saunas. Romantics will welcome the hot stone massages and therapies in rooms fragrant with rose-petal steam. The image-conscious can choose slimming massages and body-shapers. Bangkok even caters to golfers, with an opportunity to improve their swing on a nearby par 3 course and get a 50-minute oil-therapy massage and sauna afterward.
Regulation of Spa Services
In an effort to move Thailand’s health services industry to the forefront of the burgeoning health tourism field, which has shown a 64% increase in the last few years alone, both the Ministry of Public Health and the Ministry of Commerce recently embarked on a five-year agenda to certify health spas, health facilities, and the herbal remedy industry in Thailand, to insure that Thailand is seen as a “quality destination” for health tourism travelers. When visiting a spa or resort in Bangkok, you might want to check their certification. Because the Ministry project is so new, lack of certification may not indicate poor or negligent service. Use your best judgment.| Previous, Hotels | Next, Dining |
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