Anyone booking a spa chiang mai treatment for the first time will find menus full of treatment names and prices, but very little about what actually happens once they walk through the door. Questions about clothing and tipping come up again and again among first time visitors. Treatment names change from one spa to the next, yet the routine of a visit stays fairly similar.
Booking and Arrival
Phone and online booking are both standard, and walk in guests are taken whenever a therapist happens to be free. Weekend afternoons fill first, along with the early evening slots that people like before dinner.
Spas generally ask guests to come about 15 minutes ahead of the booked time. Those minutes go on filling in a brief health form, drinking a welcome tea and changing into spa clothing. Arriving late doesn’t extend the session, it simply cuts into it, and the full price is still charged. Cancellation terms are worth checking at the time of booking, since a missed appointment can carry a fee.
Clothing and Personal Items
What a guest wears depends on the treatment booked.
- For Thai massage, the spa hands out a loose cotton shirt and wide trousers.
- Oil massage is done with disposable underwear under a towel or sarong.
- Body scrubs use the same disposable underwear, followed by a shower.
- Foot massage needs nothing special beyond trousers that roll up to the knee.
- Facials are given in a robe, or with a towel wrapped at chest height.
The watches and jewellery are taken off beforehand and kept in a locker. Some spas have a small safe box in the treatment room instead.
What Happens in the Treatment Room
At a typical spa chiang mai session, the therapist begins by looking over the health form, paying particular attention to injuries and recent operations.
Couples rooms place two beds side by side, and some spas charge extra for them while others don’t. Conversation is entirely optional. Most therapists work in silence unless the guest chooses to talk, and the music or room temperature can be changed on request.
After the Treatment
Guests are usually offered a cup of ginger or lemongrass tea once the session ends. Showers are available after oil and scrub treatments, although plenty of people prefer to leave the oil on for a few hours and let the skin absorb it. Those catching a flight later the same day often choose a dry treatment instead, simply to avoid travelling with oily skin.
Tipping and Etiquette
Tipping the therapist in cash is common practice at spas in Thailand, and around 100 baht for each hour of treatment is a typical amount at mid range places. Phones are expected to stay on silent, and guests who turn up after drinking may be politely turned away. Many spas also sell gift vouchers, which make a popular birthday or anniversary present, though most of them expire after a set period.