My name’s Jenny and I love to travel (Bet you’ve heard that before!). I’m currently enjoying the expat life, living and working in Singapore and loving life in the tropics. Living here has afforded me the luxury of being able to travel to some of the amazing places that Asia Pac has to offer. These I want to share with you here at Expat Choice.
Now believe me I’ve had some interesting experiences with ‘spas’ during my time in Asia. The majority of the time I have no idea what’s coming next or where my left foot might end up (it’s normally over my right shoulder!). I am not a contortionist, nor am I that flexible, but the spa at Tempat Senang is nothing like any other Asian spa I have been too.
The staff are caring, well trained and professional. They communicate with you throughout your treatments, not in an annoying or constant way, but to check that they are doing everything right for you to maximise your experience. This is my second visit; the first time was just for a day spa but this time I stayed overnight with a group of girlfriends.
The journey to the spa could not be any easier, taking the Batam Fast Ferry from Harbourfront in Singapore on either an air conditioned enclosed boat or a covered open air one. The journey is approximately 50 minutes but could take longer if the weather is not kind! Once at the Batam ferry terminal, a car or mini bus is waiting for you and in less than 15 minutes you’re in a totally secluded area and filled with a sense of calm.
Warmly greeted by your beauticians, you are taken to a reception area where the spas products are on display (they make their own products), to either buy or to try before you select them for your treatments. The environment is in the local style with wood, Buddha statues and plenty of running water complete with coy carp!
There is a good range of treatments available so there should be something for everyone and during the introduction to the spa and the hotel, the host is able to recommend treatments based on your preferences. For the spa day a massage is a compulsory option and then there is a choice of two other treatments. This time round I opted for a gel pedicure, a Balinese massage and a de-stressing facial. My friends all opted for the hot compress massage which is a speciality of the spa, but be warned it is very hot and is not for everyone, it was far too hot for me!
After organising our treatments it was time for lunch, which you can pre-order and we all had the beef rendang which was delicious followed by some cheesecake and a cocktail. Check in is 1pm so once we had finished lunch, it was off to our ‘harem’! The room is great for groups with two large king size beds and a single bed with cushions on the floor by the table and Arabic décor. An afternoon by the pool followed before our treatments at 4.30.
Postcard Tip* wear bug spray as many of us got bitten!*
My pedicure took place outside with the sounds of running water and being cooled by a fan. This was very relaxing and the pedicure was good with plenty of choice of nail polish. This treatment was followed by my Balinese massage, where my legs did go into strange positions but in a more gentle way than I’ve had before! The treatment session was finished with a facial which was great, very cleansing and didn’t leave my face feeling greasy as they don’t overuse products on your face. As we were a group we were all in the same treatment room which was good fun but be warned you may see more of your friends than you’re used too!
A very quick change for dinner and a small dash of makeup we headed to the terrace for our dinner which we had pre-ordered at lunchtime. Local fish, pad thai and mixed satays were all consumed and we had brought our own alcohol as the alcohol menu is limited and reasonably expensive so we only paid S$10 for corkage.
Postcard Tip *the kitchen closes at 7.30pm so it is best to pre-order your food*
There is not much to do nearby so it was an early night for all. The hotel has plenty of DVDs on offer with TVs in the room, some of interesting quality, but we chose to watch Calendar Girls with a glass of champagne. The perfect way to end a nice girly spa day!
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