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Review: Spa central batam at Batam

JH, Carmen, PL and I went for a short batam trip in July 2016.

While surfing the net, I came across this spa and massage place, Spa Central Batam, on tripadvisor that is supposed to be good. Since we are suckers for massages, we decided to give it a try.

I sent a whatsapp message to the number given on the website in the middle of the night as it was a very last minute decision and they replied really fast in the late morning. Thumbs up for their service.

Similarly, when we reached the batam centre terminal, even though we had choppy wifi, we managed to make contact with the contact person for them to bring us to the massage place. Again, we felt that the service was good. They use a taxi service to bring us to the massage place.

When we reached Spa Central Batam, we realised that it is located on the 2nd floor. Stepping in, we were greeted by warm receptionists and they led us to a sitting area with water. Also, they passed us the spa and massage menu.

All of us chose a massage and facial each. Initially, the other couple chose Vitamin C facial while PL and I went for the Naturale facial but maybe due to some miscommunication, they also used the Vitamin C on me.

First, they brought us to the massage area where there is a proper massage area; not the mattress kind. I was impressed. Then, they have proper clothing for us to change into; a robe together with shorts and also a shower cap for the ladies.

They gave us all a foot bath and a light scrub on the feet before starting the massage. I thought that they could use a bit more effort there and apparently the rest of the group thought so too.

Then, the massage started. It was really more of a spa experience rather than a massage session as I fell asleep halfway through the massage. I thought that the pressure used could be harder but there was no compaints from me. JH mentioned that they "cheated" on the time for him as the masseur walked off somewhere and only did 1.5hr of massage for him instead of the 2 hours that he paid for.

After the massage, we went to another room for the facial. The experience was meh. I would not take their facial again. The reason is, they do not do a good job. I explicitly asked if they do extraction since nothing was mentioned in the menu. Their reply was yes, but the extraction was a half hearted effort. Most of the 1 hr facial was spent on the application of the mask and waiting it out. I was super disappointed. The rest have the same sentiments too. I have no idea what kind of treatment the rest of the bloggers had but I will not go back there again for the facial. And it was not cheap too! It costs around the same price as 2 hours of massage! I will gladly take another 2 hours of massage than the facial again.

Their after service was awesome though. They gave us cinnamon sticks and ginger tea, while PL had green tea as he doesn't like ginger tea.

Because of the experience, PL and I decided not to go for the membership which offered a 20% discount for the services they offer. We inquired about it though, and they informed us that to apply for the membership, you need to inform them in advance and the free pickup will not apply to members.

Pros:
Ambiance is good; like an authentic spa
Service is awesome. Very convenient.
Relaxing massage

Cons:
Slightly expensive; Not value for money
No free pick up for members
Lousy facials (for Vitamin C)

Verdict:
All of us agreed that we would like to try other places as we are more concerned about getting more value for our money instead of having an atas environment. However, for people who prefer to have a relaxing holiday without any need to plan for their trip, you may want to give this place a try.


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