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Thailand
Travel Guide 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2012 editions.
Extracts below from the 50 page Thailand Travel Trade Guide
2008 written for Selling Long Haul
Bangkok
Thai Spa and Massage
Bangkok
Best time to visit: A year-round destination but the most comfortable
weather is November to March.
Bangkok is one of the world's great city destinations and a
stop in the capital should be included in any Thailand holiday.
First timers should take a day to see the stunning golden buildings
of the Grand Palace complex and adjoining Wat Pho, which houses
the famous reclining Buddha. A river cruise is a gentle introduction
to the city and passes other highlights including the Royal
Barges Museum.
Repeat visitors will know Thailand's capital for its great shopping
and ever more stylish nightlife. Make sure you suggest a stopover
for clients routing through Bangkok - they are bound to welcome
the opportunity to snap up a bargain, get a cheap, jet-lagging
easing Thai massage and spend a night or two exploring the latest
hip bars.
Families shouldn't dismiss the capital - there are several attraction
they can enjoy together such as waterparks and theme parks and
many hotels have pools for the kids to cool off.
Some of the world's top hotels are in Bangkok and though the
flashy high rises lining the river are ever popular, there are
now plenty of boutique properties for those who want smaller
scale city chic.
Bangkok is a huge traffic-heavy city so use your knowledge to
ensure clients have a positive experience. Chose a hotel near
the river or on a SkyTrain or underground route so they can
avoid the roads by day. And don't forget to recommend some shopping
hot spots and make sure they know there's more to Bangkok nightlife
than Patpong.
Excursions from Bangkok include:
Ayutthaya - a day trip into the ruins
of ancient Siam.
Damnoen Saduak Floating Market
- a more authentic experience than those in central Bangkok.
Rose Garden - sports facilities, a lake and
culture shows including Thai boxing.
Wine tasting
tours - at Siam Winery's 'floating vineyards' south
of Bangkok
Sightseeing by bicycle - orchards
and pottery making at Nonthaburi and Ko Kred, (offered by Bike
& Travel www.cyclingthailand.com
and Spice Roads www.spiceroads.com)
New development
Breeze, a new alfresco Asian seafood restaurant with impressive
views, has opened on the 51st and 52nd floors of Lebua at State
Tower. One of Bangkok's top nightlife attractions - the open
air Sky Bar - adjoins the Sirocco Mediterranean restaurant,
on the 63rd floor. www.lebua.com
TOP TEN
| 1 |
Explore the golden
Grand Palace complex including the temple of the revered
Emerald Buddha.
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| 2 |
See the huge
reclining Buddha and get a Thai massage in the grounds
of Wat Pho.
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| 3 |
Take a sightseeing
boat ride to the riverside Wat Arun, the porcelain inlaid
Temple of Dawn, and the Royal Barges National Museum.
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| 4 |
Visit Jim Thompson's
House. The American helped build Thailand's thriving silk
industry and his traditional Thai house, packed with antiquities,
is now a museum.
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| 5 |
Take a longtail
boat into the Klongs (canals) off Chao Phraya to see how
the riverside communities live.
|
| 6 |
See venom collected
to create snake bite antidotes at Bangkok's educational
Snake Farm
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| 7 |
Get up early and
visit a colourful floating market.
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| 8 |
Shop till you
drop in the city's vast Chattachuk weekend market or some
of the modern malls.
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| 9 |
Take the family
to Siam Park (for water slides and amusements) or Dream
World (for rides and famous buildings in miniature).
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| 10 |
Enjoy Bangkok's
amazing nightlife - from a sedate dinner cruise down the
river to some of the hottest new bars and clubs.
|
Where to stay
Accommodation in Bangkok includes:
NEW
FOR 2008
Crowne Plaza Sukhumvit Bangkok
www.ichotelsgroup.com
Intercontinental Hotels Group is due to open this 400 room hotel
in early 2008. It will include a spa, banqueting and conference
facilities and will be located near to the Queen Srikit Convention
Centre.
Le Meridien
www.lemeridien.com
Due to open on Surawongse Road in March 2008, this Bangkok property
will be the earliest in a string of new Le Meridiens for Thailand.
It will include 282 rooms and suites, a spa and meeting rooms.
Contemporary all-day dining will incorporate Japanese, Chinese
and Korean cuisines.
NEW
FOR 2007
Siam @ Siam Design
Hotel & Spa
www.siamatsiam.com
This is located opposite the National Stadium in the Central
Business District, and near the shopping centres. The style
is contemporary and unconventional with the 203 rooms split
into Leisure Class, Biz Class, Youth Class and Grand Leisure.
There's an 11th floor bar with city views and a street level
restaurant called Party House. Spa cuisine is available.
OTHER
Dream Hotel, Bangkok
www.dreambkk.com
This 2006 opening in Sukhumvit has added to Bangkok's nightlife
scene with its funky Flava Lounge incorporating a Paul Smith
inspired striped carpet and a pink model leopard. The 100 rooms
include 11 suites designed in different styles.
In room features include 32 inch plasma screens, and pre loaded
digital ipod players on request.
Millennium
Hilton Bangkok
www.hilton.co.uk
This Hilton opened in 2006, with a 50 metre wide river frontage
and a revolving 360 cocktail bar on its 32nd floor. It has 543
rooms with river views and facilities include a spa, executive
lounge, two ball rooms, 10 meeting rooms and seven dining outlets.
Rainbow Arokaya
www.rainbowarokaya.com
Notable features at this 34 room spa resort on New Phetchburi
Road include a diagnostic centre offering blood tests and aura
scans, a hydrotherapy pool and health education workshops. Specialities
include Far-infrared heat treatments and mineral rich sand baths.
Off site, speed boat sightseeing and sunset meditation cruises
are offered.
The Eugenia
www.theeugenia.com
Situated in a late 19th century colonial style house, the 12
suites of this Relais & Chateaux hotel near New Phetchburi
Road are decorated with antique furniture and fittings. The
restaurant serves 'cross-cultural gourmet' cuisine. There's
also a swimming pool and sala.
Peninsula
www.peninsula.com
This top hotel on Bangkok's riverside opened a new 18 treatment
room ESPA spa in a three storey building in its gardens at the
end of 2006 . Special features include relaxation beds with
individual ipods and VIP suites with river view floor to ceiling
windows. The 37 storey hotel has and 370 guest rooms and 65
suites, all overlooking the river.
Shanghai
Inn, Bangkok
www.shanghai-inn.com
A member of Special Hotels of the World, this boutique property
is situated in Bangkok's Chinatown. Reflecting its location,
The 55 rooms, four of them junior suites, have Chinese style
decor. Facilities include a spa with Chinese medicine and a
complementary tuk tuk shuttle service to various Bangkok shopping
centres and tourist attractions.
Thai Spa and Massage
Thailand can truly call itself a spa destination, having its
own form of massage and a wealth of centres to experience this
and other treatments.
In cities and busy resorts you can find several massage centres
per block, usually recognisable by the reflexology charts on
display outside, or the uniformed staff offering price lists
to passers-by.
Standards are high. Even the smaller outfits in Thailand are
usually clean, comfortable and well equipped, with attention
to detail such as fluffy towels, flowers floating in the foot
baths and free lemongrass tea.
If your clients want the full spa experience with specially
created rooms and a relaxing ambience then Thai hotels will
not disappoint. Few five star hotels today are built without
a spa and, being so much a part of Thai culture, even cheaper
accommodation is likely to offer treatments.
The Thai spa experience
Top of the range spas, whether stand-alone or part of a hotel,
compete to offer the most stunning settings. Lily ponds, fountains,
ornate courtyards and gardens are popular. Some spas make use
of traditional architecture, their treatment rooms covered with
beautiful carved wooden eaves. You will also find salas - canopy
covered day beds - out by the sea at some resorts.
With more than 90 per cent of Thais being Buddhist, they value
calmness and meditation, which means they take the spa experience
seriously.
In fact Thai massage has its routes in religion. The technique
is believed to have spread from India along with Buddhism and
was traditionally practised by monks in Thailand as a form of
healing. Today it is still found in several temples, perhaps
most famously, Wat Pho in Bangkok, home to the reclining Buddha,
which has a massage school in its grounds.
Thai
massage
Thai massage is a mixture of reflexology, yoga and acupressure.
Practitioners stimulate pressure points, particularly on the
feet, which correspond to other parts of the body, by using
their fingers or sometimes sticks. They also stretch limbs,
leading the experience to sometimes be described as 'passive
yoga'.
Thai massage does not use oils, though sometimes warm herbal
poultices are incorporated. It's great for the more prudish
as you are massaged fully clothed, either wearing your own loose
garments or the pyjamas provided. If the technique sounds daunting
then a Thai foot massage - usually including lower legs and
concluding with a short back and head massage, is a good introduction.
Of course Thai massage, while a speciality, is far from the
only technique on offer in Thai spas. Hotels in particular will
offer a wide range of popular treatments from Swedish massage
to aromatherapy, facials to algae wraps to pedicures.
Great Value
The best news is that spa treatments in Thailand are cheap.
Get a massage in the UK and it can be hard to relax knowing
you are paying, on average, a pound a minute. In Thailand, spas
are such great value your clients can fit in several treatments
during their holiday or indulge in an afternoon, or full day
of pampering.
In hotels spas prices are likely to be half to two thirds of
those in the UK while a treatment in a small massage centre
off a shopping street or beach can be £5-£10 or
less an hour.
There's also the opportunity to add another dimension to a Thai
holiday and learn traditional massage techniques at one of the
schools around the country.
Selling tips
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A great spa can
help sell a hotel - show pictures to clients and stress
the value.
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Spas are a great
pre-wedding preparation or romantic indulgence - couples
can even get his and hers treatments or learn to massage
each other.
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Women travelling
together may be attracted to Thailand as a good value
spa destination.
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Beauty salon staff
in your area may be interested in learning Thai massage
while on holiday
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Sell a spa package
in advance and you can get the commission.
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Spas in Thailand
Some good spas include:
NEW FOR 2008
Shangri La Phuket Resort &
Spa
Due to open at the end of 2008, this 223 room and suite development
will feature the group's first residential spa, with guests
choosing this option able to enjoy in-villa treatments and direct
spa access. A lagoon, river and gardens will feature in the
'Spa Village'.
www.shangri-la.com
Evason Hideaway & Spa at Yao Noi (Koh Yao)/ Soneva Kiri,
Koh Kood (in the Koh Chang archipelago)
The latest resorts from popular spa brand Six Senses are the
Evason Hideaway & Spa at Yao Noi on Koh Yao (opens late
2007) where each villa boasts an infinity pool, sun deck and
butler service and the Soneva Kiri on Koh Kood which is due
to open mid 2008 with 46 pool villas built to an ecologically
sustainable design.
www.six-senses.com
OTHER
Kamalaya, Koh Samui
At this Wellness Sanctuary and Holistic Spa you can receive
holistic treatment like homeopathy or Chinese medicine, have
a check up from a conventional doctor and join fitness classes
including Tai Chi, pilates and spirit dance. Meditate in the
resorts' Monk's Cave (once used by Buddhist monks as a spiritual
retreat) perhaps during a seven day detox or yoga retreat.
www.kamalaya.com
Baan Thai Wellness Retreat, Bangkok
This member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World offers accommodation
in traditional Thai teak homes. Seven of the 21 rooms have their
own private spa area. Daily classes range from aerobics to yoga
and there's a spa cuisine restaurant and juice bar.
Chiva-Som International Health Resort, Hua Hin
Each guest is assigned a Health and Wellness Advisor who plans
a personal programme of classes, lectures and treatments and
gives advice on diet. There are physiotherapy based treatments
and non invasive cosmetic surgery, like botox and laser treatments.
Organic fruit and veg is grown on site.
www.chivasom.com
Mandara Spa
This independent operator's spas feature in six hotels in Thailand
including Marriotts and Sheratons. There's a mixture of treatments
from the East and West with particular emphasis on Balinese
and Thai.
www.mandaraspa.com
Banyan Tree
Banyan Tree, a group reputed for its spas, has the Banyan tree
Bangkok and the Banyan Tree resort Phuket in Thailand. The latter,
which is a member of leading Hotels of the World, offers three,
five and seven day Destination Spa programmes.
www.banyantree.com
Angsana Spas
This contemporary brand, developed by Banyan Tree, is available
at Dusit Laguna Phuket; Green View, Chiang Mai and Laguna Beach
Resort, Phuket with treatments available inside or in outdoors
pavilions. An Angsana Phuket is scheduled to open in 2009.
www.angsana.com
Information on massage training is available from www.thaispaassociation.com
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