After three days of the exhausting madness that was Toycon 2012, I spent two afternoons last week trying to de-stress. My very generous mother gave me her coupon for a free Swedish aromatherapy massage at Chocolate Mint Spa, as well as the use of the other coupons in the booklet.
The first thing you need to know about the Chocolate Mint Spa is that they take their business hours seriously. They disconnect their phone outside of business hours (1pm-1am). While this is an admirable trait, I definitely would have appreciated it if, instead, they left the phone connected and used an answering machine to tell me that they’re not open yet and to leave a message to set an appointment. How was I supposed to know that the phone was just temporarily disconnected and not broken like I’d originally thought?
Chocolate Mint Spa (CMS) is located on the second floor of the building that also houses Banco de Oro along President’s Ave. in BF Homes, Paranaque. The building is across the street from Pancake House and Starbucks. The stairs to the second floor are on the left side. The sign is just above the stairs and is kind of small, so just look out for it.
Once you enter the spa, you’re greeted by a cozy atmosphere. The plush chairs are comfortable and they offer you a choice of hot or iced tea while you wait. They only turned on the ambiance music when I entered so hooray for energy conservation techniques.
They have several treatment rooms available: one single room, three couples rooms, and two group rooms (maximum of 5 in the room) to handle up to 17 customers at a time. Since it was just me, I got the only single room. It was on the small side but maybe that’s just me and my claustrophobic tendencies. Ms. Lyn (the therapist) was still able to move around me. The room has a cabinet with a lock that you can use to keep your stuff. Since I just came from a shower at home, I chose not to use the shower facilities. The massage therapist steps out of the room while you strip down then lie down on the bed.
I availed of the free massage on the first afternoon just to try them out. It was so relaxing. Sigh. I asked for a hard massage and Ms. Lyn delivered, working out the kinks in my neck, shoulders, and legs. She used a small heated beanbag (she said it was filled with corn kernels) to evenly spread the force of her hands and to warm my muscles. Perhaps the only negative (?) comment is that Ms. Lyn constantly asked if the pressure was okay. It was fine at first but got slightly irritating as the massage went on. I know that she did that because she wanted me to have the best experience possible but I’m the type to speak up and tell you if something’s not okay or missing. The fact that I’m not saying anything means that there’s nothing wrong and you’re doing a great job. I fell asleep after 20 minutes and only woke up when it was time to turn over. I didn’t want to leave after the massage ended. Haha.
I came back after a day to try their hair spa and foot spa. The coupon I used entitled me to a free foot spa if I purchased a higher value service. Yay! I tried their Cool Water Mint hair spa (they said it was the best for dry hair) and the peppermint foot spa (good for tired feet). To do the treatments simultaneously (each treatment takes an hour and I didn’t want to stay in CMS that long), they had me lie on a bed with my knees bent. One therapist slathered on the treatment for my hair while my feet were soaking in a small basin. That was a very weird situation to be in. What salons usually do is have the customer sit upright. Since I was lying down, my feet-soaking time in the tub was cut short. Because the soaking time was cut short, my skin was still pretty rough and dry by the time the therapist started the treatment so the exfoliation stung. Lesson learned: spend the whole two hours instead. Everything after the exfoliation felt great. My feet felt so soft afterwards š The Cool Water Mint hair spa was really good too. My hair isn’t usually something I brag about but damn, my hair after the treatment felt silky and smelled so good š
Overall verdict: 4.5 out of 5 stars. I will definitely come back for their hair and foot spa treatments š Most probably won’t be going here for the (paid) massages as I currently have a favorite therapist (Ms. Ruby) who works with a company that offers home service.
