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Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa
Category: Beauty and Spas Massage Massage [Edit]
Hilton Whistler Resort & Spa4050 Whistler Way
Whistler, BC V0N 1B4
(604) 938-8836
- Price Range:
-
$$$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Accepts Insurance:
- No
- By Appointment Only:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
5 reviews for Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa
5 reviews in English
-
Review from Damien F.
3/1/2012
This is a small spa at the Hilton hotel and I'm writing this after our visit last year (i.e. not a recent visit). Love the hotel, this is a pricey spa for what it is. The positives are the people. It's staffed by the most wonderful staff and therapists. Polite and welcoming (if occasionally, a little befuddled). The massage is excellent - you wonder how they do it, but they do it.
And now for the funny bits...
- I had a young woman lead me to the treatment room. I got disrobed and under the blanket and her grandmother came in to give the massage - I'm not complaining, it was excellent (OK, I'm embellishing a bit, maybe not her grandmother, but it was someone other than the person who brought me to the treatment room).
- Second is the weird blue plastic underwear option. I prefer to get my massage in the buff. The underwear is optional...oh my. I mean if I wanted to have a massage with my underwear on, I would have left it on.
- I was all relaxed on the table when the therapist says 'do you mind if I touch your bottom'. It's not an unreasonable question mind you and they are so polite, but it's a bit odd and startled me. Therapists are usually very comfortable 'touching your bottom' - since you have a major muscle group residing there!!! I just thought it funny.
Overall, great massage. Unique spa environment and sweet people. This hotel in general is a standout in Whistler. -
Review from Sheryl D.
8/1/2011 3 photos
I was treated to a 60 minute Javanese signature massage + coconut cream hair treatment package as part of my birthday week celebrations. HB originally booked me for a 90 minute massage but the wonderful Indonesian front desk lady told me about their daily special (without me asking) which was the package above for $139, regularly around $200+) so it was a no brainer. They do have a lot of good specials/deals but as another reviewer remarked, I think it's to entice impulse purchases and definitely a nod to their "Whistler prices".
I left with two things of note. This place clearly invested a lot of money and effort into decorations. You are transported into the far east with the ambience (including staff authenticity; most of the therapists I met were Southeast Asian). Being from SE Asia myself, I've been to enough spas back home to say they got the ambience right on, so they get two stars to start.
The other notable is that the Javanese massage was also (*in BOLD font*) technically great. It is exactly as it should be and if you're coming from a hard day's work (a day on the slopes of Whistler, oh what a hard life!) OR you're a huge fan of deep tissue massage, you will be in seventh heaven. Except I am your aromatherapy, Swedish relaxation kind of gal....soooo, I hated it. I knew I should have read the fine print first or just the blasted description from the menu (Javanese massage, wow that sounds awesome!) My real issue stems from the inability of the masseuse to communicate in English, so "authentic" they were. I told her 4 times to go easy and even went through the trouble of explaining my love of Swedish-style massage and she kept going at it, which resulted in me feeling beaten black and blue by the end of it. At one point, she mentioned that all she heard me say was "pressure (me saying "less pressure please" *face scrunched up on the bed), so she actually kneaded deeper. I was so very unimpresed with that. I would think this is one of those vital occupations where you'd want your employees to communicate effectively in the official language with clients, the way foremen have to hire English-speaking workers ("hey the bulldozer's gonna run you over! ---"what?") The hair/scalp massage was great, though the coconut cream they used didn't smell anything like the coconut cream I'm used to; more like salon-grade hair mask.
Here's a tip, go for the Balinese massage if you're not a huge fan of deep tissue like me (of course, I found this out after the fact); it's their version of Swedish. -
Review from Ian B.
2/8/2010
I have mixed feelings about this spa -- not because of the treatments. No, the 90 minute signature massage was one of the best I've ever had, and did wonders for legs that had been beaten to hell in several days of skiing. No, it's the price. Yes, this is Whistler, but come on -- $230 list for a 90 minute massage? The fact that I was offered a 20% discount without even asking for it says a lot.
Overall, I would recommend this spa hands down -- great massage, and they obviously know how to take care of people who have been working out on the slopes. I just can't give 5 stars until the prices come down 30-40%. -
Review from Michael S.
Whistler, BC
1/30/2011
OH My! Super expensive with poor value.
I have experience many different types of massages in Whistler. There are excellent RMT's whom come to your home, the Four Seasons and Scandinave - which are all excellents and provide amazing value for what you pay.
This is where Taman Sari Royal Heritage Spa falls short, very, very expensive and little to no value. Their posted prices are artificially inflated as they quickly offer you a discount to very expensive upon browsing. Further hesitation will result in them offering to bring the price down to just expensive.
The treatment rooms are basically broom closets with rickety electrical heaters struggling to keep them warm. They also seem to be short on storage as my room had floor to ceiling stacks of linens.
My therapist arrived 5 minutes late, kept leaving during the session to go somewhere and finished 15 minutes early offering me use of the room, so I could shower. The shower stall was plastic and reminded me of an old gym.
I would suggest you keep walking on by this place. -
Review from Kathleen H.
1/22/2010
The Javanese signature massage is the best I've ever had. It's simply incredible and must be experienced if you put your body through hell after skiing for a few days.
