I love pampering myself. After a long week’s worth of lectures, patients and papers galore, I always look forward to the weekend and what pampering treatment I’d get for myself. I am a self-confessed spa fanatic. I love getting a nice, long massage to relax my tired muscles. For me, the very first sign that I am under stress is when my upper back (the Trapezius to be more precise) starts to get really sore and hard. And when it does, I go straight to one of the spas that litter the metro.

Last night, I was supposed to be at the Cinemalaya with my blog friends but Bee decided it was a night that the two of us should be spending together. He bribed me with a dinner date and a free spa. It was actually the third time he brought me in to get a nice massage. We were supposed to go to Spa 168 where I’m a regular client (I brought him to the place a few weeks ago) but there were no parking spaces available so off we went to Excelsior Spa just across the street. I’ve tried that place once and the massage that I got there on that first time still tops my list (but that was last year and I forgot to note who gave me the best massage of my life). The price for their Swedish massage had increased from 380 to 400 but I don’t really mind because the staff were very accommodating anyway unlike in some spas that I’ve been to that literally would leave you clueless and alone (I’ll blog about them some time soon). The massage was relaxing but I thought there was nothing much special about it. I wonder though if it was because I wasn’t as super stressed out unlike my usual trips to the spa or the masseuse wasn’t as good as the others.

The place is a lot smaller than the other spas I’ve been to and I feel it was rather cramped. The ladies’ area consists of two showers, one toilet and a small sauna. The common massage room is located upstairs. I don’t really recommend the place for first-timers or for the more conservative types because you share one big room with three other clients and there’s really no privacy at all. No divisions to hide you from the other clients. Not even a curtain! When the place is fully booked, it gets a little cramped - what with 8 people inside the room. The toiletries, towels and robes were clean and fairly new and the locker room lady is really accommodating and would assist you with your needs. Having someone to assist you is a MUST in every spa. Especially since not every client knows what to do and how things go about inside the spa.

The verdict for this trip?

I’m giving an extra because it’s free.