Last evening, after we put the kids to sleep, my husband & I went for our “escapade”. Well sort of. A week ago, I found a voucher we bought 2 years ago! I called them up & asked if it’s still valid & they said yes. So we quickly booked ourselves in & last night was THE NIGHT. Our schedules are tight so the best time we could have it was at 8:30 p.m.
The voucher came with a choice of 5 kinds of massage & 3 kinds of facial. I was looking at the prices. The facial got me curious since they were costing more than the massages. Why would a facial cost almost $600? Maybe I never tried the high end facial. I don’t know. Since it’s a voucher & we get to choose anything, I chose for one which is called Crystal Peel. Supposed to exfoliate & rejuvenate your skin. Interesting. Anyway, it has a flyer attached to it which said “Complimentary Jacuzzi Spa”
At 7:50 p.m., ADEVA spa called. “Ma’am are you going to use the spa? If you are, you may need to come in at 7:45p.m”
“Well, it’s 7:50 p.m. now”
“You have to come in 7:45 or 8 p.m.”
“Hmmm, wait…If I want to use the spa, I have to be there in 10 min. And you are telling me now?” I don’t really care about the Jacuzzi but since she was being ridiculous I thought I should too.
“My girls supposed to tell you but they didn’t but you are supposed to be here at 8 if you want to use the spa”
These people love to push people around like we owe them diamonds.
“You know what? Yes I would like to use the spa. I will be there at 8:30 p.m.”
That got her tongue tied before she muttered “Ok.”
I forgot to mention that they also called me at 3 p.m. telling me that one of their therapist is on medical leave & if I could come at 6:30 p.m. instead? “No, I can’t possibly do such thing. We are both working people & after that, we still need to deal with our kids before we can head there & yes, with kids we can’t just change our plans impromptu so we will still be there at 8:30 p.m.”
“Ok” she said. I wonder what was that call about? They were hoping to close early? It was too no brainer for me. I don’t think it’s my problem who is having medical leave. I’m sure they should have back up.
ANYWAY, my husband chose the massage instead of the facial. We arrived there at 8:20 p.m. As usual, there was a form we were supposed to fill up & declare we are not at any health risk. Then we were separated. I really thought it was a couple thing!!! The lobby was beautiful & it coughed out luxury & high end in one go. The front desk people were gentle & welcoming. One could even be the person I spoke to & probably hated my guts but she was all smile when I came in. Anyway, I was led to the Jacuzzi room .
Seeing the lobby, my expectation soared high. Then I was led to a room where there was a square box(the Jacuzzi) and next to it was a line of mirrors similar to those you see backstage of a fashion show-you know the kinds where models were getting ready. There were 2 ladies there in their handbags but in ADEVA uniform. She saw my therapist (do you call them that? ) & muttered “I’m going home”
My therapist said “You can’t there’s one more customer”
Hello??!! I’m just right there in front of you!
“No, I’m going to miss the bus, then who’s gonna pay for that? I’m not staying! I didn’t agree to an overtime! I already spoken to my supervisor and she said I can go!”
“But how are we going to do this?”
“Nobody informed me earlier, I made plans. Sorry. I am going home.”
Mind you while all these were happening I was right there. They were talking as if I wasn’t there. So of course I could see their disgruntled face & kindda felt like I wasn’t supposed to be there. With their handbags still on their shoulders, they grumpily stood there. Not once making eye contact with me. I ws led to change. I swear I was almost scared to leave the changing room. I came out and my therapist smiled (as if to make up for it) and ushered me to the Jacuzzi. I was still waiting for some magic to happen. But she just helped me take off my off & told me to relax. That’s was it?
The temperature of the water was hot. So I mentioned to my therapist that it was hot. The upset lady grumbled in their local language “That’s how Jacuzzi is supposed to be!!”
At this point, I could barked back, “Yes I have one at home & I know it’s not supposed to be this hot!!”
I thought I shouldn’t be bitchy at this initial stage. So I kept quiet. Still hoping for some magical soothing thing to happen. But the ladies left. The room was brightly lit. And I was like “Hmmm, now what??!!”
I just sat there for a while. Not very comfortable. Not long after that, one staff who apparently was going to go home, came by & used one of the mirror to groom herself. And there I was in my disposable bra & undies sitting uncomfortably in the Jacuzzi. She tried not to look at the Jacuzzi. Maybe because her working hours was over & therefore she didn’t need to be nice to patrons.
2 minutes after that, a lady who has 6 inch make up caked on her face smiled & asked how long I wanna be in there. I was like …”I don’t know…. You know what, I just got it but I’m not enjoying myself, I’ll just come out now”
I was led to the shower area, which is right in front of the Jacuzzi…. Honestly… I expected more of it. Maybe petals in that Jacuzzi or some hydrating bath salt…I don’t know. Something different. If it’s just a Jacuzzi, I’m not crazy about that. I don’t even use the Jacuzzi I have at home! The room was brightly lit up. There was no privacy whatsoever. And in the shower where you thought being in the spa they would provide nice shampoo & bath gel. No, they actually smell horrible! Thank god I testing them on my palm before splashing it all over my body.
I was led out & after putting the robe & the tube, I was led to the facial room. And guess what? I had to walk pass the lobby in my robe & tube , to go into the facial room. Nice! I sheepishly avoided all eyes of everyone at the lobby & entered the room.
Apart from the room being freezing cold (mind you, it could be because I just got out of a 50 degrees Celsius hot tub!), the room looked decent. The music was nice and soothing. The therapist came & started her process. She asked if I have ever done Crystal Peel. When I told her I did Diamond Peel instead, she said that Crystal Peel is not as dehydrating as Diamond Peel. She said she will do half my face so that I can see the difference.
She started with the usual cleansing of the face followed my the Crystal Peel. Did half & showed me the difference. I stared at it long and hard & was pondering if I should just say yes since she is such a nice girl or be honest about it. Then I was like “Heck this is supposed to be a $600 treatment. Of course I’m going to tell her the truth.”
She tried to point out to me some differences but I REALLY didn’t see it. I apologised to her for not seeing it but REALLY I don’t! “Maybe my skin is just bad” I tried to console her. What the hell am I doing consoling her?!
She did the other half & afterwards showed me my dead skin in the bottle that collected it…It was nothing spectacular. It wasn’t much at all. I kept my opinion to myself. But smiled nodded politely. Following that, she did a little bit of extraction around my nose area. She said usually it doesn’t include nose extraction but since she can see some, she thought she might as well. What bothers me was that, she didn’t steam my face before doing the extraction. My pores were not open for her extraction.
She then said she will shape my eyebrows. Oh ok …. Guess she needed to kill time. After that … yes, that was probably the time I started to appreciate this whole process…. She did the shoulder face, neck & shoulder massage…. Oh goodness me! I’ve never had massage that good for the longest time. She said I have lots of knots which signifies that I was stressed out. She cleared all the knots & I felt so light after that…. It was REALLY sooooooooooo relaxing!! I love it!!!
Then the massage was over(Sob! Sob! Sob!) She put on a strawberry mask for 15 min. Washed it up afterwards & my treatment was done. She placed a mirror in front of me & pointed out that now my skin has rejuvenated & the skin seems firmer. I wanted to break down & cry because she was such a nice person but no, I don’t see any difference at all …. I just politely muttered “Wow.” Well, that could mean anything right?
What bothered me a little bit – the clinking & clanking of the pots or plates that she was cleaning after applying something on me…. Couldn’t all that wait till she was done with me & do all the washing AFTER my treatment? The relaxing music was drowned by the gushing of the tap & the sound of the washing up.
The other thing which was a bit of a bother is that, the room is such that when the door is ajar, you can me laying there with a mask on my face. Maybe it’s a little anal but I don’t like to be seen in my most vulnerable state. And I guess she was trying to reduce the noise of the door (Yes they creaked), so when she left the room, (to do more washing or to fetch an item or two) she left the door ajar so I can hear whatever was going on at the corridor & the hard selling at the lobby! What happened to serenity?
Once I was done. I sat at the lobby waiting for my husband whose session was 90 min (while mine was 75 min). The whole process didn’t really need 75 min even. The mask could have been put on while she did the shoulder massaged, the eyebrow shaping wasn’t necessary, the extraction was just filling up time…. But anyway …
The air con duct was right above me so I was freezing. I quickly drank the hot ginger tea (which was yummy) & burnt my tongue in the process.
Soon enough, my husband came out & muttered the lady who massaged him was rather old but she was strong as an ox. He probably preferred a younger lady;) Cheeky bastard! Then he said, “My masseuse told me that I am fat, pat me on my tummy & told me to exercise! Nice!”
Ghees, if she said that to my husband who recently has a little extra around the waist, what would she say to really fat people?
The front desk lady approached us. She sat down, smiled & asked how it was. There! I blurted out everything … I told her my whole experience. I told her that had there not been any complimentary Jacuzzi Spa I would have thought that it wasn’t such a bad place after all. But the episode at the Jacuzzi was my first impression & I was completely turned off after that. The arguing of the staff shouldn’t be done in front of any patron. And it shouldn’t be called a Jacuzzi spa as if it was a wonderful thing since there wasn’t any spa experience in there. It was just a square box with no relaxing ambience whatsoever. I don’t call the Jacuzzi at home, Jacuzzi spa! Ok, I’m being a bit bitchy here! Sorry ….
And my husband was telling her how chatty the masseuse was when it was supposed to be a relaxing massage for him. The lady got that I didn’t enjoy my experience. She closed her book of glory (The one they use to hard sell) & apologised politely. It was clear that no hard sell would convince this bitch about how good they are. So there…. She politely said she hopes to see us there again & gave us a flyer with the rest of the treatments they have in there.
On the way back, my husband & I was talking about the whole ordeal again… hilarious that we thought it was gonna be magical & serene & that we could relax being away from our kids…. He hugged me in the cab & said “See, it’s still magical & serene. Guess u need me, not the treatment” And we both blurted out laughing!
