6-star spa treatment in Fullerton Hotel, Singapore
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Fullerton Hotel is one of the grandest hotels in downtown Singapore. It was formerly the General Post Office, a grand and imposing British colonial-era building, before it was retrofitted to become a hotel. It is now a swanky 6-star hotel right smack in the middle of CBD and by the Singapore River and hosts daily grand events and banquets to the rich and famous of Singapore.
Hence, it was an absolute delight when my credit card offered a special promotion to the spa located within the hotel. It has always been my desire to try out spas in swanky 6-star hotels but my wallet had never allowed me to entertain those desires.
I made an appointment on behalf of myself and my husband, the credit card promotion being a two-for-one offer. At S$138 for two for a complete massage and body scrub in a 6-star hotel spa, I consider it an absolute steal in expensive Singapore!
The spa is located in basement level of the hotel, next to the hotel gym. The fresh fragrance of lavender ‘greeted’ us as we walked towards the reception of the spa. The receptionist was a guy; which is a rare sight anywhere in the spa industry in Asia! Anyway, he introduced the spa menu available and I chose a lemon-flavoured sugar scrub and aromatherapy massage and my husband chose a sea-salt scrub and a Indonesian deep tissue massage.
We entered the spa area and were immediately reminded of the best spas of Bali or Thailand. The massage room was big and roomy and in one corner was a large jacuzzi tub and another corner was a large changing room with it’s own shower and clothes cabinet. There was even space to fit in two soft chairs in a corner of the room. You don’t normally get such space and opulence in a Singapore spa as most massage rooms tend to be small but this being a 6-star hotel spa obviously has to offer the very best!
However, unlike a good spa in Bali or Thailand, spas in Singapore just cannot reach the same high standard because of a lack in service standard and attention to close detail even in the very best spa.
We were not happy that the shower room was absolutely small! Add to the fact that the shower temperature knob tend not to follow instructions, you can get pretty burned because you can’t jump out of the way in the super-small shower room. And then, the tea served to us was more like hot water because there was hardly any tea leaves in the water. We were also surprised that a plastic sheet was used as an underlay during the scrub because it made a lot of ‘plasticky squicky sound’ throughout the entire scrub session!
Call me demanding but if you want to compete in the high value competitive Spa market of the Asian region, spa-operators need to be demanding of their spa’s quality and service and then some.
The massage was surprisingly good but the service attitude could be better. One of the masseurs was Lilian Teo and she was absolutely polite, attentive and soft-spoken, a rarity in Singapore but very normal in Bali or Thailand. Her other colleague, better not named, was typically curt and impatient, something quite common in Singapore.
Would I return? I doubt very much if I have to pay list price because it’s just too expensive in Singapore but the lure of promotions and special offers may just entice me back again.
Location of Spa: Fullerton Hotel, Singapore
Size of Spa: About 6 massage treatment rooms
Friendliness: Friendly receptionist and masseurs depending on who you get
Facilities: Private Jacuzzi and Shower in Room
Pricing: Special promotion of S$138 for scrub and massage for two. Normal spa prices for other packages.
Transport: Downtown CBD, Singapore. Subway, Taxis and buses easily available.
i do not agree with you. my partner and i found the staff friendly and kind, the rooms are not too BIG that it feels ‘cold’,
how could you compare a city spa with resort spas in bali? $138 is not that expansive but if you compare prices in singapore to thailand of cos thailand will be cheaper, why dont you compare their prices with the top hotels in paris or new york instead? singapore prices would be cheaper.
Different people will have different opinions from the same spa even if they had visited it at the same time. Reviews are always very personal and subjective.
You are welcomed to provide your own review of the same spa.
as a reviewer, you have to be objective which in this case you are not. when u are in BALI, you ust be in a holiday mood which i am sure you are more relaxed, the more relaxed you are, the more you will enjoy your spa treatment. therefore of cos i will be more relaxed and enjoy EVERYTHING more incl sex if i am in Hua Hin than i am in Ang Mo Kio.
And may we know which spa in Bali or Thatland did you compare this spa with in terms of price? as my massage in grand hyatt bangkok was one of the most expansive i ever had more expansive than a massage center in tokyo, KL, SGP and paris.
“At S$138 for two for a complete massage and body scrub in a 6-star hotel spa, I consider it an absolute steal in expensive Singapore!”
I think this statement clearly states that I believe the price offered was indeed very low for a spa located in a 6-star hotel. It also clearly state that prices are generally high in Singapore as a whole - and not to any spa in particular.
so generally are you saying this spa lacks service standards? most spas i go in thailand/bali do not provide that fantastic a service as you claim. unless if u step in a high class expansive spa/htl, service is without a doubt gd. hey but the price u pay at the BVLGARI Resort at bali will bost you an atomic bomb but service is very excellent.
“One of the masseurs was Lilian Teo and she was absolutely polite, attentive and soft-spoken, a rarity in Singapore but very normal in Bali or Thailand. Her other colleague, better not named, was typically curt and impatient, something quite common in Singapore.”
Again, if you read my article carefully, you’ll notice that I am not comparing with any spa anywhere but to point out the fact that service standards can be different even within the same room in the same spa simply because there are two human beings involved.
The Spa industry is a human-based industry and humans are emotion-based creatures - not robotics. It is not surprising to go to a masseur who may serve you well today but badly tomorrow!
Hence, an expensive spa may give you good service today but bad tomorrow. A cheap spa may give bad service today but good tomorrow. It all depends on the human who gets in touch with you at the particular moment!