True Spa

True Spa is a newly opened spa right in the heart of Orchard Road, making it convenient for shoppers, tourists or office workers who want a respite from the busy traffic (human or otherwise) and crowds. It is owned by the people behind True Yoga.

True Spa takes up the entire Level 16 of Ngee Ann City Tower A. Part of it is True 'Est, an aesthetics centre with 3 doctors on site, where one can get treatments like IPL or similar (permanent hair removal, weight-loss, cellulite-loss...).

The place is huge, with seemingly endless corridors and treatment rooms. The lounge area has plenty of chairs and tables scattered all over, with acloves dotting the one side. Fresh fruits and refreshments are served after the treatment, so one can just rest and relax and just absorb the serenity (the burning of essential oils helped too).

The men and women treatment rooms are segregated in different sections. The men treatment rooms are much bigger (not fair! :p) than the women as it contained a shower cubicle and day sofa too. Then again, it is because there is no men locker room, unlike the women section. There are 3 VIP rooms where couples can have their treatments together. The treatment package usually comprise of a body scrub, massage and facial and you will get to use the hydro bath for free. I like 1 VIP suite which has a window, so one can pull up the shades and be in their small little world for the 3 hours there. There is also a daybed to relax. Very nice.

The women section: There is a locker/changing room, as well as a small powder room. Behind it are the steambaths and hydrotherapy baths and showers. I am not too impressed with it as there is no privacy at all for the bath. 3 baths lined up next to each other, with a shower curtain for privacy. I think I will feel so claustrophobic in there.

The massage rooms and facial rooms are in different areas. The massage room is much bigger with a mirror across 1 wall and a ledge to place your stuff (i.e. jewelry, watch...). There are also a chair and a small coffee table in one corner, I do wonder if those are there just to create the ambience cos you will definitely not be sitting there at all. The facial room is slightly smaller. Just the bed and sink at one side, but still very nice with the teak wood fixtures. Each therapist has their own room, which is probably good as it creates a sense of ownership.

The nail station looks good. There are 6 massage chairs with an attached sink at the foot of the chairs for pedicures. Unfortunately there is no button to increase the intensity of the massage, only the vibration. They use mainly Essie and some OPIs for the nails (I wonder if they brought in OPIs after I feedback during the soft launch that OPIs are better than Essie. Hehe).

So far, I have tried 3 treatments at True Spa (massage, facial and foot treatment) and I still have yet to try the pedicure, body scrub, manicure and hand treatment.

Massage - therapist Doreen
As I went there when they just opened in early Jan, they only had Swedish and Aromatherapy massages. The others like Balinese (which I wanted to try), Hot Lava Stones, Ayurvedic Shiro Dhara, deep tissue and sports massages are not available then. In the end I had the aromatherapy with some pressure points massage as I desperately needed something stronger.
The massage was good, the therapist was able to read the body and apply pressure accordingly.

Facial - therapist Mandy
I love the massage bed as it is heated, giving a warm cocoon feel to it. Initially I thought it was a bit too warm in the room, but coupled that with a face massage, I actually fell asleep. And I rarely fall asleep during treatments. The spa only uses Peter Thomas Roth (PTR) products which are supposed to be really good, a cult brand.

I had the clear luminous facial which is supposed to hydrate and create a luminous skin. Every facial will consist of 2 masks and an ampoule. I like the therapist as she was always very concerned about what I was feeling, especially since I told her I have sensitive skin and tend to have very strong reactions to enzyme based products.

Something different is that they used a warm towel to open the pores instead of using a steamer, and extractions are done by fingers instead of the tool. Overall, I am very pleased with the facial and I am so not a facial person. Maybe I was wowed by the fact that I fell asleep. Also the therapist will not leave the room for the entire treatment, unlike other places. After the treatment, I actually have a pinkish glow to my face. I think that was the skin reaction to the enzyme peel...but at least only the cheeks were pink. Natural blush :)

Foot treatment - therapist Mandy
I am surprised to have the treatment done in the facial room (Mandy's room) as I would have thought it will be done at the nail station. Mandy told me it could be done out there too, but she is more used to doing things in her room instead of out there. It is not too bad having it done in the room. You get to lie on the heated bed while she prepped the feet for the paraffin wax. PTR products are used for this treatment.

A peel is applied on the feet to assist in exfoliating the dead cells I guess. That is followed by a quick feet massage before finally dipping the feet into the paraffin wax. Mandy is very gentle, so the whole process is not as painful as it sounds. After which, the feet are wrapped for maybe 5 minutes or so and you will be left with very soft and smooth feet.

Tip: Best to have your feet scrubbed or removed of callouses before doing this treatment.

I have been to True Spa several times and have brought some friends there and recommended others to try too, especially for the facials. So far those who went love the facials too, and most fell asleep. Hehe.

A weird thing about True Spa is that you need to have a consultant, who is supposed to guide you and of course try to sell you packages. I have met a few consultants as my consultant (Caslyn) was not around then. I like Caslyn as she does not try to hard sell at all, and she is very nice. Hazel is also good, but she is a bit young and thus not as experienced as Caslyn.

Please look for either Caslyn or Hazel if you are thinking of making an appointment :) You can say Carolyn recommended as they *should* remember me. Hehe. Also if you do sign up a package, I think I will get a Taka shopping voucher too :p

Contact:
True Spa
16th Floor
Ngee Ann City Tower A
Tel: +65 6732 9555
Open daily with last appointment at 7pm