I Went to The Westin Manila's Spa and Now I'm Questioning My Loyalty to My Masseuse

(SPOT.ph) With the intense stress and workload most Filipinos experience daily, we all deserve to treat ourselves to a relaxing spa treatment now and then. We bet you already have your go-to spas and masseuse, but if you're in the market for a new spot where you can decompress, don't sleep on The Westin Manila's The Heavenly Spa. The Ortigas hotel's in-property spa just opened to the public— meaning non-hotel guests can now book treatments and enjoy their facilities. We got to try The Heavenly Spa, its signature massage, and its facilities. Here's a lowdown of the experience.

Also read:
10 Things That Can Replace Your Regular Masseuse for Now
SPOT.ph Roundup: Spas in Metro Manila for a #TreatYourself Session
This Korean Spa in Malate Comes with an Arcade, Billiards + More

Here's what you can expect from The Westin Manila's Heavenly Spa:

Any treatment at The Heavenly Spa by Westin starts with a welcome drink—a complimentary iced tea made from brewed sweet potato mixed with ginger, honey, and Calamansi. It's a great way to start relaxing as they prepare everything for your experience.

The public spaces evoke a calming and relaxing atmosphere that you won't even notice time pass as you comfortably relax and decompress in the waiting area. Think your usual standard spa experience with a little extra oomph that comes from a hotel spa. Now for the fun part. Once you've signaled that you're done with your drink, your spa attendant will bring you to the next part of your experience.

The changing and locker rooms at The Heavenly Spa are impeccable. We took an embarrassingly long time in the locker area simply because it was already a peaceful refuge from the bustling outside world. They have lockers for your things and clothes, toilets, showers, and a long vanity where you can freshen up.

If you're a tad sweaty or are feeling the need to clean up, we recommend taking a shower and lathering your body with Westin's White Tea shower gel, shampoo, and conditioner. The scent alone will leave you feeling fresh and relaxed.

Inside your locker, they provide a towel, some hygiene supplies, and Westin's ultra-luxe and comfy robes. Trust us when we say that you wouldn't want to remove this soft cotton frock as it feels amazingly comfy against your skin—like a warm hug if we were to be specific.

You'll also notice a door at the far corner of the locker room. This leads to the Steam Room. Here, you can sit for about three to 10 minutes, breathe in the white tea-scented vapor, and relax your tired muscles. It's sort of a warm-up for the treatment to come. Alternatively, you can also do this post-massage to further relax your muscles to avoid the heavy, tense feeling the day after.

While it may seem hard to pull yourself away from the steam room and the comforts of the locker area, you're going to want to move forward with your treatment because it only gets better from here.

The Heavenly Spa currently has a total of four individual rooms and a couple’s suite, each with individual shower rooms.

Keeping with the R&R vibe, natural tones and textures, plush interiors, the Westin White Tea scent, and soothing music will welcome guests as soon as they enter.

But the real star of the massage comes when you take your place on the massage bed. No need to worry about feeling cold as you shed your clothes and lay down—the bed is heated to a soothing temperature.

Gone are the days when you end up feeling more tense before your massage cause of the cold room temperature. The Heavenly Spa Signature Massage (P4,500/ 60 minutes, P5,500/ 90 minutes) begins with muscle relaxation using the heated massage bed. Don't worry. It's not scalding but just enough to keep the chills away. Once you're properly relaxed, this is followed by a Swedish massage done to your pressure liking. The swift pulling motions and pressure make for a truly relaxing experience combined with the ambiance and other fine details.

After your massage, you can go to the steam room for more muscle relaxation and to get your sweat on or take a shower to wash the oils off. Regardless of what you choose, you're going to end your Heavenly Spa experience with a cup of warm Mango Ginger tea which is supposed to help improve overall circulation.

Other services available at The Westin Manila's Heavenly Spa

Aside from the Heavenly Spa Signature Massage, there are also other massages like the Traditional Hilot Massage (P3,000/ 60 minutes, P4,000/90 minutes), which makes use of different Filipino massage techniques to loosen up tight muscles, and the Aspire Massage (P4,000/ 60 minutes, P5,000/ 90 minutes) which combines Western and Eastern techniques and aromatherapy to bring about relaxation that you can avail from The Heavenly Spa. Dry massages for the head, hands, and shoulders and foot reflexology sessions are also available in 30 to 60-minute durations (price starts at P1,000).

For couples looking to decompress together, couples massage packages (starting at P9,000 for two/ 105 minutes) can be booked and experienced as one in the spa's couple rooms, which also features its own shower and toilet.

Other treatments like facials, wraps, body scrubs, and even hair treatments are also available for booking.

Is The Heavenly Spa by Westin worth the price tag?

Now, let's address the elephant in the room: the price tag. Sure, P4,500 may seem like a lot for a massage, but what you're paying for here is the full-service treatment. From the moment you enter your session has already begun. The seamless reservation and confirmation, the welcome drinks, the ambiance, and all that jazz. There was not one moment that I felt stressed or rushed. Everything was going at the pace I wanted it to be. I didn't feel the need to hurry, nor did I feel that the spa was too busy. It was just right.

The massage itself was also a treat. I remember trying out a spa where the massage room was too cold and I ended up having a fever the night after. Here at Westin's Heavenly Spa, the temperature of the rooms—even sans the heated bed—is just right. The steam room is heavenly (no pun intended) too. The perfect temp, and boy was it a treat for the senses. It was like everything just melted away. I really felt all my worries and stresses leave my body with every minute in the steam room and with every stroke of the attendant's arm on my back.

Of course, all that's going to come at a cost. Nothing is free in this world after all. While it may be hard to regularly shell out P4,500 for a monthly massage session, this experience is still worth it, even if just to treat yourself or your loved one. So the next time you have a particularly challenging day, go ahead, book that appointment and treat yourself to a massage here. You might even question why you ever went elsewhere.

The Westin Manila's Heavenly Spa is at The Westin Manila, San Miguel Avenue corner Lourdes Drive, Ortigas Center, Mandaluyong City. It is open daily from 12 p.m. to 12 a.m. Book a spa appointment through heavenlyspa.manila@westin.com or by calling +632 82562020. For more information, visit The Westin Manila's website.

Hey, Spotters! Check us out on Viber to join our Community and subscribe to our Chatbot.