Spa Review – Touch Spa, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Xiamen, China
Like many countries, spas in 5-star hotels in China has gone upmarket as well. Gone are the days when mainland China spas are dodgy, performed only Chinese TuiNas or has poor service attitude.
Many of the 5-star and resort hotels in the big cities are competing to bring in the best spas and many are marketing their in-house hotel spa as a key attraction. I stayed 2 nights in Crowne Plaza Hotel in Xiamen, China and was able to use the fitness centre, swimming pool and spa to great satisfaction.
Crowne Plaza, Xiamen at night
The Crowne Plaza is an international hotel chain that tends to cater to business traveler than the leisure traveler. Even then, 5-star business hotel tends to provide a good swimming pool, fitness centre and a spa because even business travellers would want these facilities as a minumum in a good business hotel. The Crowne Plaza is less than 6 months old as of this date and is centrally located in Jiahe Rd in Xiamen, China. Because it is so new, the fitness centre, swimming pool and spa are relatively devoid of people and I enjoyed great individual attention when I was there.
The swimming pool was a relative small one and one can only do 20meters laps. However, ample sunshades and deck chairs were provided for one to enjoy a tan and a swim. I also used the gym which was a little small and lack the full range of fitness machines although it had the necessary running, cycling, sit-up machines and a full range of loose weights.
The Gym
The changing room also had a full complement of sauna, steam and hot pool and the facility attendant was very attentive and was always around with a fresh towel. Once I had finished using the facilities and changed up, I went over to the Touch Spa located on the same level. The Touch Spa is a local Chinese spa chain that models itself after the top luxurious spa chain in various parts of the world. Due to it’s upmarket image and service, it is now the residential spa facility in Sofitel, Sheraton and Crowne Plaza chain of hotels in China.
The Touch Spa in Xiamen is nicely decorated in traditional Balinese concept and has 11 single and 1 couple rooms done up nicely. All rooms come with toilet, shower and rest areas. Some rooms even come with a hot pool.
The service attitude in the spa is top-rate and service staff would give a slight bow and greet you whenever they pass by you. The spa offers all traditional forms of massage including aromatherapy, Thai, Chinese Tui Na, foot reflexology as well as a host of facial and body treatments.
There is also a rest area that has comfortable sofas and soft music for you to relax after a massage session. One good extra mark for this spa is that you can choose to relax in this room as long as you want. Because the spa is still relatively new, there are not many customers and I had the entire rest lounge to myself.
Prices tend to be a bit high by China’s standards. As an example, a aromatherapy massage for 60 minutes would easily cost US$80 not including a 15% service tax added to the price. As a guest of the hotel, you are entitled to a 25% discount which is effectively only 10% given the 15% tax.
Will I return? Well, if I am busy with work and cannot hunt for a good spa, then I’m prepared to pay for the upmarket price. As much as it is expensive by China’s standard, the prices offered are still competitive when you compared with major cities such as Hong Kong, Beijing or Singapore.
Pix credit: http://www.ichotelsgroup.com
Location of The Touch Spa @ Crowne Plaza Hotel Paragon, Xiamen, China No.199 Jiahe Road, Xiamen 361012, China
Size: Upmarket, luxurious Mid size spa with all private rooms. Hydro-massage bath and jacuzzi available in some of the rooms.
Facilities: 11 single and 1 couple luxurious massage rooms. One area dedicated for foot massage and the other for rest.
Friendliness: Polite staff and good massage therapists.
Pricing: Starts from US$40 for a facial, wrap or bath. US$60 for Body massage. Various spa and beauty packages available and starts from US$120.
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Nice review. Never been to China, so I enjoy reading about spas in other cultures. Did you have a treatment and if so, how was it?
Hi:
I had a Thai massage and a foot reflexology. I must say it was a mistake to try out Thai massage in China as it can never be as good as in Thailand!
Katherine Xie