Kuala Lumpur, May '11: S Spa, Mont Kiara – Best Spa Deal For The Worse Spa Ever!

NOTE: The subject matter of this post actually took place on Day 2 of our stay in KL (I'm still not done with blogging about Day 1) but... I'm fast-forwarding this post for the sake of Duh Roads and her friends who will be trying out S Spa soon. *gulp* May the force be with them.

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Remember how I blogged about buying super discounted spa vouchers from MilkADeal two months ago? The ones that cost just RM48 for a million and one things done to pamper your body in a 2.5-hour spa session?

The said MilkADeal promo.

Well, let me first begin by saying that I'm so, so sorry if you guys bought the vouchers after reading my recommendation cos... two weekends ago, I hit that spa with Mee, and IT SUCKED! Like, big time. In fact, it was the WORST spa visit I've ever made. Unsanitary, unpleasant and unprofessional. -_-'''

The deceiving corridor leading into to the spa rooms.

I'm going to break it down into categories to make it easy for you to decide if you should carry on with your spa plan or burn your voucher altogether. :-/


CLEANLINESS: My biggest gripe with the place was its cleanliness. The place was filthy! And spas should NEVER EVER be filthy. I mean, hey, people take off their clothes here, okayyy. And if I feel jijik with the place, how to relax?? Seriously lah. I don't expect anything lavish or luxurious from a shop lot spa but, come onnnn.... cleanliness is NOT to be compromised! Here's a breakdown of every bone I had to pick with S Spa's cleanliness:

• TOWELS: The first thing they do when you arrive is to ask you to strip. Then you're told to lie on a towel while they rub you down with salt. (It is apparently the Rose Salt Body Scrub but I didn't smell no rose whatsoever; in fact, it was kinda smelly. Blergh.) But keep your eyes open and pay attention! Cos the towels that were on our massage beds were USED towels! I could actually see the body shape of the person who was there before me!! And the towel was oily!! Yuck! Anyway, after being rubbed down with salt, you're told to go shower. But they don't offer you new towels. Instead, you have to reuse your disgusting salted ones!! Double yuck! Then, you're invited back into the room for a much-too-oily massage with grape seed oil. (Kononnya your Aromatherapy Body Massage lah. But also damn smelly.) After your super oily massage, you're told to bathe again before your facial. And again, they don't offer you new towels! Mee and I had to ASK for them! Triple yuck! Then... after we were all clean (not very clean also lah, the massage was so oily that 3 rounds of body wash couldn't remove the oily feeling -_-''') and dressed, we went back into the spa room and, amazingly, they expected us to lie on the same towel we were lying on earlier while having the oily massage! SUPPERRRR YUUUCCCKKKK!!! These people are crazy! So we told them we wanted them to change it and I don't think they were very happy with that. Terrible, man.

Smelly, dirty, yellowish towels used at S Spa with residue from

goodness knows what nonsense facial they gave us.

• SLIPPERS: They used towel-cloth bedroom slippers. And all their slippers were disgustingly dirty. And oily. And wet. I mean, of course lah. It's only to be expected considering people bathe, have massages, enter steam baths and all that at a spa, right? So, yeah. It's super yucky. And not very bright of them, if you ask me. Should have just resorted to rubber or plastic slippers. I'd take clean simplicity over posh dirtiness any day.

The said slippers.

• FLOOR: Because I hardly wore my slippers in the rooms (too disgusting), I ended up having a lot of up close and personal time with the floors. And they were sandy. From the salt used during our session, I think. And I hope. Or else... yuck. Again. Sigh. Anyway, it just felt so jijik it made my toes curl. A very uncomfortable and unpleasant experience.

Salt just swept to a corner of the spa room we were in. -_-'''

• BATHROOMS & STEAM ROOM: It's weird but we were all told to bathe in different rooms although there was a shower right in ours. So... you've kinda got to walk around in your towel a lot. Very indecent considering they also take in male clients. -_-''' And the thing about the wooden bathtubs in their couple's room is that they're old and leaky. So... those cannot be used either. Which, I'm secretly glad we couldn't use cos... I can just imagine the amount of bacteria breeding in that hell hole. *shiver*

Steam room. No pictures of the bathroom I was using

cos... well, I'll tell you more in my next gripe...

PRIVACY: Their room doors don't come with locks so it's pretty much free entry for all who are in the vicinity. Trust me, I know. I accidentally walked into another woman's room and saw her lying face down with her bum in the air. @_@ She didn't see me though. Must have thought I was one of the service staff there. Too bad for her. Haha. So yes... that's why I didn't snap a picture of the bathroom I was told to use. Oh, and the other thing I didn't like was this: All the bathroom stalls are made of FULL GLASS and are in FULL VIEW of the door. So, whoever opens the door (no lock, remember?), gets to sees you butt naked and bathing. Wth. -_-'''


PROFESSIONALISM: I don't think the people at the spa really knew what they were doing or were trained well enough for this place to be considered a professional spa outlet. Again, I'll break it down into the 5 full-body services we were offered so you know exactly what's good (barely anything) and what's not (too many to mention).

• Rose Salt Body Scrub: This was actually quite painful as the woman was pretty rough with the salt. She was scrubbing me like I was a dirty toilet bowl! And like I mentioned earlier, the salt didn't smell rosy at all. In fact, it was kinda smelly. -_-

• Aromatherapy Body Massage: The massage was relatively ok while it took place but... it caused our bodies to start aching after. Especially around the shoulders and back area. @_@ They must have tekan-ed the wrong place too hard or something. No kanghu. -_- And they used waaay too much oil so it didn't wash off easily after either.

• Steam Bath: This was the most normal experience for me at S Spa although, unlike some other spas that actually include some aromatherapy scents to make the steam experience better, this was just... well, steam. In a tiny cubicle. That doesn't feel very clean. -_-' I presume that the room also wasn't really made for steaming so... the steam started collecting on the ceiling and it started "raining" hot water on me and Mee. Not very pleasant.

• Signature Purifying Facial: The facial was t-e-r-r-i-b-l-e. I'd consider it the WORST facial I have ever been for. Seriously! It's even worse that the one time I bought Body Shop products and was given a quick 30min facial right at the Gurney Plaza concourse. At least that was a real facial minus the extraction. This one... my skin ended up feeling tighter than before. And she was pretty rough with the face, too. Again, treating my face like a toilet bowl. -_-

• Foot Spa: It's pathetic that they even so much as call this a foot spa. It's more like a... 3-minute soak in warm water before you leave. I do better foot spas at home.

Foot spa with no bubbles, no aromatherapy oils,

no crystals, no massage... and basically, no nothing.

So... yes. That's what I have to say about my experience at S Spa. I definitely wouldn't visit it again. Even if I was given a free voucher. :-/ But I know some of you have already bought your vouchers from MilkADeal and have made your appointments so... here's my advice to you:

1. Pee BEFORE you go! Mee and I needed to use the washroom before we started our spa session and... it was just. plain. dirty. You can't even sit on the toilet bowl! Definitely not the right way to begin a relaxing spa session.

2. Bring your own slippers. I'd suggest bringing your own pair of rubber slippers and insisting on wearing them instead of the towel-cloth slippers they provide. You'll feel a lot less jijik.

3. Bring your own towel. You can just tutup sebelah mata and use the towels they provide for all the earlier showers but do try using your own AFTER the oil massage. At least when you come out of the shower, you'll feel a little cleaner rather than resort to having to reuse your oily towel or use their smelly, yellowed towels. 

5. Bring an extra pair of panties and don't take yours off! This is the only spa place I've ever visited that didn't provide me a disposable panty. So... be sure to bring an extra one along with you and, considering the security/privacy issue I've raised, do NOT be caught not wearing a pair of panties.

5. Use your own toiletries. They use really cheapo shampoos and body washes that don't work. Take my word for it, you'll be better off bringing your own. They don't even provide facial wash or conditioner so... those, you definitely need to kautim on your own.

6. Skip the facial. If you care for the delicate skin on your face. Skip this step. I didn't cos I didn't know better and now, I regret like hell. My skin is flaky, dry, and I've got a massive pimple on my cheek to show for it. -_-'''

7. Don't complain to each other in Chinese! Mee and I made the mistake of complaining about the place and its service in Hokkien while the spa session was going on, thinking the Malay staff wouldn't understand. But just before we left, the masseur gave us a weird smile and told us she and the other lady were sisters and that their dad was Chinese. -_-''' Beware! One of them could end up becoming your masseur cos S Spa only has 4 masseurs in total!

Again, I sincerely apologise if I've led you down the wrong rabbit hole with this spa deal cos... in this case, you really get for what you pay for. -_-''' But I hope this post helps manage your expectations of your session at S Spa and that you'll find my suggestions helpful in preparing for your experience there. :-/

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