Spa time! A comparison of three spas in Penestanan

The prospect of cheap massages had me eager to set out and try as many as I could, fully intending to be mush by the end of my month in Ubud. We were staying about a half a kilometer outside of the main part of Ubud, in a village called Penestanan. You had to walk or use a scooter to get to our place; no cars could navigate the narrow rice paddy lanes. As a result, when I first struck out to find a massage place, I was limited to how far my feet would carry me in the heat and my jet lagged state. As it turns out, my feet found the most expensive place in Penestanan for a massage!

I needed at least a 90 minute massage to get the 30 hours of flying out of my bones, so I decided that will be my comparator factor at each place I tried (to compare apples to apples so to speak). One thing I also quickly learned is that the advertised price is often higher than what you are really charged, at least in low season anyway, and the spas will often have incentives for you to return, increasing the discount for repeat visits.

So, my feet found their way to Sri Ratih spa first, located within the Sri Ratih villa complex (http://www.sriratih.com/page/spa/). The posted price for a 90 minute Balinese massage was 559,000 IDR (or approx. $60 CDN). They explained that it would be 40% off for my first massage, and if I came back, that would increase to 50%. With tax and service charge (basically built in tip) the final total came to 387,387 IDR (or $40 CDN). This is what was included for that price:

• Initial health questionnaire, similar to what is required before service in a reputable Canadian massage studio or spa. This was the only place that provided that initial questionnaire as I later found out!

• Welcome drink of chilled Jamu – a turmeric antioxidant beverage.

• Chilled towel.

• Clean kimono robe and disposable underwear to change into.

• Once changed, the therapist reviewed the health questionnaire and clarified the intensity of massage and any trouble spots she should focus on. Then l was lead out to a scenic porch for an aromatic foot scrub. Clean sandals were provided after the foot scrub to lead me back to my massage cabana.

• The massage started with the masseuse guiding me through a few relaxing deep breaths. The massage proceeded, with multiple check-ins with me on how the pressure was. A full hour and a half of hands-on time was provided.

• Post massage, hot ginger tea and a Balinese cake were provided and enjoyed on the scenic little porch of the spa.

Total time in the spa was about 2.5 hours. I was impressed, and the masseuse’s skill level was pretty good, but of course, I needed something to compare to!

I started really looking at the spas that offered the cheap massages (ranging anywhere from 75,000 IDR to 120,000 IDR per hour). Hygiene standards varied widely, as did privacy, and since I started with a more classic “spa” experience, I felt I should keep the comparators close to the same level. Weather and proximity to our house also played a role in my selection, as rainy days were perfect to spend at the spa, but it also meant they had to be close by. The really cheap massage places were in Ubud proper, too far to walk in the torrential rain….

So, my next massage was at Bali Dream Spa (www.balidreamresort.com). Again, the spa was nestled in the heart of the villa complex, and on my walk from the check-in area to the spa, I got to check out the grounds and pool area. The spa physical location here was not a scenic as the Sri Ratih, and my massage area had three table in it, with only curtains separating the tables, similar to a hospital room. If it had been busy season, I assume these other tables would have also been in use and would have significantly reduced my overall opinion, however, I was the only one getting a massage at the time.

Here, there was no discount to the posted price of 230,000 IDR, however there also was no additional taxes or service charges applied at the end. For $23 CDN, what I received was:

• Approximately 80 minutes of hands-on time with the masseuse. There were frequent intervals where she would step away from the table presumably to mix up more essential oil into the massage oil. There was also a good five minutes at the end where I was left on the table with a cloth over my eyes, and no masseuse. I could hear her in the other area doing something – turns out she was preparing ginger tea.

• Freshly made ginger tea. And by freshly made, I mean, the ginger was peeled and cut and prepped and boiled moments before I drank it…

That’s it, that’s all. Admittedly, this masseuse’s overall skill level was better than the first, and she did two pressure checks with me as the massage progressed, so I felt better after this massage than I did after the first, but it definitely was not the same “spa” experience. The other thing I noticed, being a healthy North American sized woman, was that the massage tables were more narrow than what I’ve normally experienced. My arms kept slipping off the sides, which was a little annoying.

To test the theory that you do, in fact, get what you pay for, my next massage was least expensive of all three, at 200,000 IDR (posted at 250,000 with a 20% discount), no additional tax or service charge. I was hoping the “get what you pay for” adage wouldn’t be proven correct, but alas, it was. The Gajah Biru Spa (www.gajahbirubungalows.com) looked promising – advertising that all treatments start with a soothing footbath and finished with a refreshing drink. No footbath was provided, and the soothing drink was a lukewarm attempt at ginger tea, using brewed black tea and putting some ginger pieces in it. I’m also pretty sure this is where I picked up my Bali belly that lasted almost two days too…

Ironically, out of all three masseuses, I liked the one at the Gajah Biru the best. She valiantly worked on getting the neck and shoulder kinks out, with success. However, I clocked the actual massage time at around 70 minutes, so really not good value overall.

Breaking it down to a dollar per minute basis for spa time, the most expensive place (Sri Ratih) ended up actually being the least expensive, at $0.26/minute of spa time vs. $0.28/minute at both Dream and Gajah Biru.

At the end of the day, it all seems petty to be breaking the pricing down to a difference of literally pennies per minute, especially when, less than three weeks earlier, I happily dropped $250 CDN for an hour massage and 20 minutes of waxing in Canada. It’s going to be so hard to adjust to North American pricing again!