Nge-Spa in Bali

If you come to Bali, you cannot NOT go to at least one of their many Spa places for a pampering session. They're not only cheap compared to anywhere else in the world, they're also probably some of the best - offering excellent quality & service as well as using the finest & most natural ingredients.

Ideally, I would've loved to go to the Spa every week if not everyday, but I'm not that vain lah. Ok, maybe a little bit but we still have a mortgage & some bills to pay so I'm doing my bit by keeping the pampering session for special occasions or pick-me-ups and PMS'ing moments. So, once a month eh at least? :p

There's so many to choose from here depending on how much you're willing to pay. You can have a 1/2 hour, 1-hour or 2 hour of Balinese, Aromatherapy or Hot Stone massage for as low as RM15 or as much as RM200. The massage itself, particularly Balinese, I think is the same. It's the ambience, the service and the lil extras (towels, sarongs, choice of oil, free drinks etc) that you pay for. But if you don't really know the difference between sandalwood & frangipani oil or you don't care about old sarongs, I'd say just go with the RM15 one! The staff might not clean your feet before you start but they still serve you with a smile & more. ;)

If you're already having a massage, might as well opt for a body spa treatment. A body spa normally includes a 1-hr massage, a scrub or wrap or mask, and a floral bath at the end. Some even include a yoghurt application (which is heavenly) somewhere in between. Then there's a choice of which scrub/wrap/mask you wanted to go for. Chocolate, mud, seaweed? Or the good ol' Lulur - famous here & in Malaysia for brides-to-be and the very traditional Balinese Boreh - known to soothe aching muscles and/or relief cold & flu.

If massages is not your thing, then have a Creambath. When I first saw this treatment, I thought it's something to do with having your body washed & dipped in a bath tub full of cream. My sister thought that too. It's NOT. This is a traditional treatment strictly for you HAIR. It includes a hair wash, a beautiful cooling heavenly cream of avocado & aloe vera smothered on your hair while getting the ultimate head & hair massage, a shoulder & hand massage that ended with a final wash, hair tonic and semi-blow dry. That's a lot of TLC for your hair. It will be the best 1 hour of your hair's life. I also believe this treatment helps reduce my hair fall problems that I have since giving birth to Ha.

If you feel the need of pampering other parts of your body as well, then there's always the usual facial - again with different kinds to choose from, pedicure & manicure on offer. They also have fish spa here. Michael, Tom & I tried it for the first time while my in-laws were here and the boys were giggling like a bunch of schoolgirls! It was a pretty interesting experience and your feet definitely feel like a million bucks after.;)

We have one Spa that we've been to a few times called Mandurah Spa. It is recommended as one of the best spas in Sanur & closest to home. The body treatments & creambath are great. The price is probably mid-range, about RM90 for a 2 hour body treatment but because there's loads of other cheaper places, this one's reserved for PMS'ing moments and bringing guests (especially from OZ) who still thinks it's super cheap - AUD30! Another mid-range spa in Sanur is Cosmo Spa, also voted one of the best in Sanur, some say in Bali. I've never had a session there but Michael had a deep tissue massage once, recommended to help fix his back one time and he said that it did relieve his pain and it's one of THE best. My MIL and our friend Jess also had their pampering sessions there while they're here and they love it too.

I also have a favorite (read: good & cheap) reflexology place in Sanur. It's located on the 3rd floor of the Hardy's supermarket, one of the places that I go for my groceries and I strongly feel that they fixed my blocked ears one time, after I specifically asked them to work on my feet to fix them. They also have free Wi-fi (they have free Wi-fi everywhere here!) so you can still blog while getting your feet massaged ;)

Other places in Bali are also full of massage places & Spas. Kuta has loads of them in all shapes & sizes. Again, depending on how much you wanted to pay. Seminyak & Nusa Dua are more upmarket. They're still pretty cheap compared to say, Australia but I'd rather spend those extra money on  pancakes & ice creams and have my pampering in Sanur. I did go into one of the best and most famous Spa in Seminyak called Prana Spa, just to check what it's like with my MIL. It is exquisite! Lovely setting and just so expensive looking. We went in, took some brochures and left. My MIL was happy with the ones in Sanur too. :p

However, if you are staying in Ubud, you MUST have a pampering session there. Don't worry about Kuta, Sanur or anywhere else. Book one there and have a half day or full day session if you can. Ubud is probably THE best place for a Spa session. And while you're here, might as well opt one where you can be close to nature - having your massage in the middle of the paddy fields or enjoying your flower bath with the birds chirping and the river flowing behind you. They have loads around to choose from and they are very reasonably priced too. So much so that 7 out of 20 of Things-To-Do (as per Trip Advisor) in Ubud are for Spa places!!

I had the opportunity of trying 2 out of the 7 mentioned while we were there with my in-laws. At the time, I haven't had any me-time for ages and was busy busy busy with guests, sick child and a birthday party so Michael promised me all-you-can-take spa time while he looked after Ayisha & spent some quality time with his parents. So few days prior, I went crazy on Trip Advisor to look for the best Spa experience in Ubud. I love Trip Advisor. We use it a LOT in our travels especially for hotels and the reviews are extremely reliable.

Anyways, so I wanted to have the close-to-nature Spa experience that Botanica Spa & Cantika Spa offer but I also wanted to try the much raved about #4 Jaens Spa, which doesn't have the nature bit but comes with lots of excellent reviews.

After much deliberation and a 'do both lah' green light nudge from Michael, I opted for Botanica Spa and Jaens Spa. Unfortunately, Botanica was fully booked but I did have a look around and it's very  peaceful, private and surrounded by nature, just lovely. I also managed to ask a lady that just had a session there and she said it was her BEST ever.

A bit disappointed but quite relieved that it's full actually because Cantika is much cheaper with better reviews. My only reason for choosing Botanica first was because of the Ayurvedic treatment - something I'm curious to find out about.

Cantika is excellent! It's set out in the open in the middle of paddy fields but still very private. It's actually on the way to the fabulous Sari Organic restaurant I talked about before. The products are all ORGANIC. I went for a facial and a traditional massage and I can really feel the difference with the products that they use. A tiny unique detail that I notice here is some sort of a plant that they burn underneath the massage table - where the hole for your face is. So while you're lying there, you're inhaling this very subtle but relaxing scent released by the plant. It was just beautiful.

The next day, I went for a half day package at Jaens Spa that involved a four-hands massage, something that I've always wanted to try in Ubud because I don't see it a lot anywhere else. It's 4 hours of total relaxation and pampering that includes the 4 hands massage, a body scrub, yoghurt application, a floral bath, a creambath and a pedicure, as well as a choice of light healthy lunch (which was YUMM) all for RM150. And of course there's free drinks all around. ;)

The 4-hands massage is out of this world! I don't know how I'd go back to 2-hands after (cheh eksen, last week dah massage 2-hands jek :p). It's unbelievable how in-sync the two masseuses are and it made the 1-hour felt so satisfyingly long! If you're not in Ubud and you really want to try it, they do pick-up  from wherever you are in Bali at a very reasonable price. They also offer to look after your kids if you need to.

The pictures of this place on their website may look a bit old and not too attractive, but they're really NOT bad at all. It's very tastefully decorated, super clean and nice, including the toilet. Oh, but be careful with the soap dispenser because I broke theirs while I was there. Ooooooopsy! :p 

Jaens Spa is probably the best but it's a bit too far for me to have a regular or even 'special occasions' pampering session there. So now I have a new favorite Spa place called To Day Spa. It's only 5 minutes from my house and it's super cheap. I've only tried the Creambath here but it's by far, the BEST one I've ever had.  This is the newly opened Spa that I took my mum & sister to for free treatments almost every day this past few days. They said it was pretty good too.

Besides being cheap & conveniently close by, they also have more options to the treatments ie. 6 types of facials and 3 types of creambaths with an option of 6 types of cream  - chocolate, green tea, strawberry yogurt or even mint sorbet. How much do you want to give that a try? Oh, by the by, they also offer more options on the body parts that you want to pamper.

So the one for Miss Vjayjay, sounds VERY interesting actually. It's supposedly done by a midwife and offers all these amazing benefits, the main thing being to prevent cervical cancer. They also offer Pap Smears! I don't know about you but as much as I'm curious to find out about the treatment and reap the benefits that comes with it, I still think I'd be too embarrassed. (MALUUUUUUUUUUUU sih!)

The Payudara (boobies) treatment - I don't know, I might be a little bit open to it. But again, a lil bit maluuuuuuuu too!

I've only actually seen one place that offers a treatment for your Vjayjay and the place looks a teeny bit dodgy and one other different upmarket place that offers treatment for your boobies, both in Sanur.

But To Day Spa has it all!! With the creambath being only RM9 and the 2 hour Body Spa for RM25, don't you feel like going to To Day every day? :p

The only thing better than To Day Spa is the home delivered massage that we've been getting for RM15 per hour. Mbak Ketut & Yuni have been wonderful with all my guests that have been staying with us. Our guests normally wanted to have a quiet night especially on their last night in Bali for packing and chilling with us so the least we could do is offer them a choice of having a massage in the comfort of their own room. :)

By the way, Happy Independence Day to Indonesia, To Day!