I have been toying with the idea of writing a comparative article on massages in Kuwait. The only problem with this idea is that usually, most newspapers and magazines only pay an average of around 20 KD per article – and the average massage is around 20 KD. If I did a comparison, I would be plenty outa pocket.
An anonymous commenter asked where he/she should go for a good massage. I have a problem now because I don’t know if it is a male or female anonymous person. Massages (in Kuwait) must be done by the same gender (even if the person on the receiving end of the massage is gender-confused). For a member of the opposite gender to touch any part of the person’s body – it is considered prostitution in Kuwait. That includes having a man cut a woman’s hair and vice versa.
Since I’m female (still and to the best of my knowledge), I’ll give it to you from a female perspective.
The commenter said, “by a certified masseuse”. Certified by WHOM? Kuwait doesn’t certify to my knowledge: Housemaid one day, masseuse the next day. Western folk are generally certified in their home countries.
Okey dokey, having disclaimed all that….
The places I have tried:
The Palms: Cold room, cold oil, cold “hot” stones, cold hands, room facing the pool with people walking by and nothing but shuttered blinds covering the window. I walked out.
The Hilton: Great massage, poor atmosphere. The treatment rooms open towards the pool (that day – full of hairy men). If there is loud noise at the pool, you can’t relax.
Oriental Princess, Salmiya: Inexpensive/great massage, expensive surroundings. Believe it or not, Oriental Princess had one of the best massages I’ve had in Kuwait. The masseuses are all Thai. The décor in the room was Thai/Asian and very clean. It was tranquil and they provided lots of small details (like fresh flowers in a bowl of water under the table where your head is through the hole).
La Fem Salon, Salmiya: I am a sucker to advertising. They always run ads for their new treatments. The massage started off bad, but got much better. The environment is very bad, but the massage was good. I also had to copy my spa music CD’s because they played 50’s R&R which is a bad choice for a relaxing massage!
Places I want to go:
I visited the Spa at the Movenpick at Bidaaa. OMG gorgeous and clean! I really want to go there for a massage sometime.
Crowne Plaza, Farwaniya, has a new spa that I haven’t had the time to go to for a walk-through. It looks fantastic, although the sales girl for the new spa had no clue (deer-in-the-headlights look) what a hot stone massage is! (Training, people!) Unfortunately, as of this writing, nothing is even mentioned about it on their website. If you want info, write to them at aquatonic@crowneplaza.com.kw and they will send you info and pricing.
Spatime and Lavender in Mahalabiya Mall, Hawalli: I have heard really really good things about both of these places, but the whole idea of going to a mall for a massage is kind of a turn-off to me. I haven’t been able to get my head around it yet.
loool :)
ReplyDeleteWhat's this "hot stone" thing? Is it worth it?
Thinking of sending the wify to a SPA as an anniversary gift. Although she says no way anyone can live-up to my magic fingers :)
I guess because I started out massaging very young... my grandmother used to call on us when we visit "who wants good deeds come and give me a massage". So I guess that built up my finger muscles and my fingers simply sink in deep through and between the back bones and the shoulders loool.
Hot stones are the ONLY way to go as far as I'm concerned. The stones are heated and your body feels like it is melting butter.
ReplyDeleteCheck these out:
Description of hot stone massage: http://spas.about.com/od/hotstonemassage/a/Hotstone.htm
Hot stone kit: http://www.massagewarehouse.com/itemdetail~item~305+0012.asp
You will be amazed by the kind of massages available in this country all the way to a happy ending :)
ReplyDeleteI do not want a man touching me!
ReplyDeleteHellraiser: Where can I get one.
ReplyDeletePurgy: That's not what I heard. (snicker, giggle!)
Darling it's Mohallab not Mahalabiya shopping complex lol...you must be hungry for muhalbiya :P
ReplyDeleteI do Spa time and once you get past the shopping centre bit and get inside, the treatments are heavenly. The Thai girls are all soft spoken and gentle.
If you are into Indian massages, there is Ayurmana in the City which is good.
I've seen the facilities at Banyan Tree spa at Royale Hayat hospital and the spa is gorgeous. Of course hospital setting might put you off.
2 Questions:
Where is this Oriental Princess?
What's wrong with hairy men? lol
Jewaira -
ReplyDeleteOMG! That's so funny! I was starving when I wrote the post. Funny how my brain works! LOL
I fer sure want to try the Royale Hyatt also. I've heard good things.
Oriental Princess is on the corner of Amaan Street and Baghdad Street in one of the apartment buildings.
Hairy men - whatever floats your boat! LOL
not sure about the quality of these massages.. but one thing Kuwait does have going for it is the teeming number of fantabolous sports cars driven around by single kuwaiti women (i am assuming they are kuwaiti by the hairdo they sport and the big eye wear that matches the head gear)
ReplyDeletemy roving eye goes bonkers at every traffic junction watching these tint free cars roll by driven by rather well attired, groomed and must admit.. pretty women..
Hey DG ...That anonymous commenter was moi!:) sorry i forgot to mention i am a girl. believe it or not i was a lil shocked when i first heard about the whole idea of not having Male masseuse for women and vice versa...not getin into an argument about that now. anywho..i tried the massage at crowne plaza two years back and i thought it was decent for KD 12.but that was until i went to the palms which was much better in terms of the whole experience. the reason i mentioned certified was because when i went to Palms the last time i rmeber the Masseuse showing something to another customer when she was talkin abt some wierd situtations her freinds came across with creepy masseuse touching them aqkwardly ..so the masseuse turned around and said that they had the valid certification for massages/masseuse..not sure wh the certification pertains to but just wanted to enquire abt it since i personally never gave it a thought both the times i got a massage. Anyway having said that i did notice that strands offers massage services i usually go to them for my haircut but im not sure how good they r for a massage..i guess there's only one way to find out =) NBZ
ReplyDeleteHahaha I like to defend the underdog and hairy men are getting lots of slack these days from women who prefer slick and smooth skin (mmmmm) to caress...
ReplyDeleteOk, ok I'll stop.
What's the deal with happy endings? I've done several massage related posts on my blog and massage with happy endings is one of the top searches lol. Is it a trend?
I do recall a story by a masseuse (retold to me by someone else) about a client in Kuwait who insisted the masseuse give her a "happy ending". When the horrified (?!) masseuse refused, the client brought about her own "happy endings" lol
Btw Oirental princess is goodd! my mom and sis get their facials done from there and according to them those guys r super clean!
ReplyDeleteHey NBZ -
ReplyDeleteI get my hair done at Strands too. I have had Marylou do the tan in a can for me before and that was similar to a massage in that they do a full body exfoliation first and then rub on the self-tanning lotion. I have heard that she also does hot stone massages.
The only thing I would be concerned about at either location would be the location of the rooms to the outside salon. In Fanar, you can hear everything outside the door. I can't relax unless the room is very quiet and tranquil. That's why I prefer going to spas that only offer spa services and nothing else (the very best ever was Nemacolin's Woodland Spa - it is decorated like a cave and very well insulated).
I'm so glad so many people have commented on this because I am getting more ideas on where to go.
The name of the new spa at the Crowne Plaza is Aquatonic. They do hot stone massages for 36KD for 1 hour. They also have what appears to be a gorgeous relaxation pool there also. Sadly, none of this appears on their website.
You hear from your third ear ;p
ReplyDeleteInterview given by Hani Kafafi
ReplyDeleteGeneral Manager of the Crowne Plaza hotel, to the NYT:
… a new Spa which will open at the end of this year. It will be one of the greatest Spas in Kuwait and in the Middle East. a great deal of effort, thought, design and product creativity have been put into this project. It will be known for its "Aqua-Tonic" pool, which is a unique product in the marketplace. This pool is made by a company in France, called "Therme Marins De Saint Malo", and has 20 different treatment rooms. The Aqua -Tonic pool is unique because it covers 650 me-ters, with a double-deck, and 4 different water temperatures in the same pool. You go through this pool, and every muscle of your body will be massaged, and you can ex-pect to lose 500 calories in 2 hours.
... Oh, I am SO in!
Looking forward to it! :)
ReplyDeleteDesert Girl, its home delivery :)
ReplyDeleteI was in Kuwait City last month and had a nice massage at the Sheraton. It was about $64 USD. The jacuzzi was nice too; you can sit in it and watch videos all day.
ReplyDeleteSpa time is by far the best I have tried. I like the place in Surra also, its called Shiatsu. The massages in Royal Hayat aren't bad either but I LOVED the ambience at Spatime, much much better.
ReplyDeletehi,
ReplyDeletei couldn't stop reading
have you tried the one in Jabriya (recovery)
i heard it is good
as for the facial i would really recommend soshila
hello
ReplyDeletei like to give info ...
first i man & kuwaiti
there is only one hotel in kuwait which let a female massage men :)
cant say his name online coz i fraid some one pass this info to one of islamic ppl in pelimant and they stop this great service for us
im like a massage lover i do massage every where in world ...
first thing when i arrive any country i look for spa and massage
any way thanx to that 5 star hotel for let female massage men ( if he want )
if u like to know hotel name plz e-mail me at craz_cat_58@hotmail.com
i will tell u in private ...
hello to everyone. just wanted to let you know i went by Oriental Princess yesterday and their neon signs were all down, as was the fake flowers that decorated the outside balcony. looks like they are gone?? Images has a small salon in Sabah Al Salem, right off 207 before the first intersection, behind the new mens gym, and Divinia gives great massages!
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to trying Spatime now that i read all the good reviews.
hi i usually read your post i am a 30 y woman i adore massage the est country you can have it in is Tailand i did it once there and the memory was graved. yes i got the best massage to in oriental prences
ReplyDeletei am searcing for good home private massage i cant go out much now if you have any advice emailme
sara_s2004@hotmail.com
hey there! i wanted to know, what kind of massage do you recommend at Oriental Princess?
ReplyDeleteHello,
ReplyDeleteDoes anyone know Thai/Chinese massage for men in Kuwait? I am pretty much new here.
Dr. Adam
dr.adamdris@gmail.com
Hey there,
ReplyDeleteI did some good massage treatments in some gulf countries and it was pretty much interestin, but i cant get the idea why all the massage places in kuwait is of the same gender.
Actually, i dont like the idea, so if anybody knows any female to male massages, even if it was private for example, i would appreciate it so much if u mail me some information about it at:
seif-kassem@hotmail.com
Thnx everyone :))
Hi
ReplyDeleteWhy dont you try BeauBelle? I just happened to hear or rather read about it recently..and going to check them out today, shall update you when Im done on whether its worth trying out!
Cheers
Pats
Hi again!
ReplyDeleteOkay..I had posted a comment sometime back asking to check out BeauBelle..well, I did infact check the place out myself..TWICE in the last 3 weeks! Have to admit, I love the place..the ambience, the massuers and the massage itself! I tried the RELAXING massage both times though they have quite a few treatments and packages to offer, including 'hot stone' treatment. The ususal cost of an hour's relaxing massage is KD. 25 though they have some discount going on at the moment.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe Kuwait-Manila health institute has the best spa service ever for men.it's got theme based rooms,good masseus,good spa music,super clean&their products r far superior to other spas i've been to.check it out for ur self.
ReplyDeleteAl-khaleej st.at the side of viva tower.mahameen building.
Tel:25730455, 66267058, 65854515, 65863758