The Sawasdee Thai Spa is located in Ambience mall on the second floor (just below Rockman’s Beer Island). You can walk in to a nice snug reception and the folks behind the reception desk are very friendly and helpful. There is a menu of treatments and massages that you can choose from, and I chose to have something called the Lotus Signature Massage (it wasn’t really called this, but something similar) – this massage was a combination of Swedish style and hot compresses – it sounded good.

You have a choice of a male or a female therapist, with your choice not necessarily always available (a busy place this is). I waited for about 10-15 minutes while they prepared the room. In the meantime, they brought me a glass of water – this is important. Before any massage, you should drink water because a massage releases toxins into the blood stream, and if there is not enough water in your body to dilute and ‘wash-out’ the toxins, then you will end up with a headache after the massage (as the toxins hit your brain). It is very important to have water before and after your massage. And since I didn’t ask for the water, it shows that they know their business (not every spa I have been to does this).

Before you are led to your room, they get you to change into soft slippers (you leave your shoes at the reception where they are placed securely in a shoe rack behind the counter). The room was very nice – clean, softly lit, with a built-in shower area. The masseuse that was assigned to me was really strong. She gave my body a very nice workout and squeezed weeks worth of stress out of my body. I have to mention the quality of the place a little more in terms of cleanliness – I have visited other spas in Gurgaon (such as Body Spa) and sometimes felt very dissatisfied with the cleanliness of towels and sheets for the massage table. But this place I had no concerns (by the way, its new, so let’s see if they keep their quality up).

I felt very good after the massage, and I got the impression that the masseuse was a qualified professional who knew what she was doing. There was hot tea offered post massage, which is a great alternative to water for hydrating your body. I felt so relaxed that I started walking out without my shoes and would have if the receptionist hadn’t called out after me to remind me. Another point I noticed is that there was no external noise in the massage room. This is something that is good. I think its very important for the mind to relax as the body is being worked upon, and there should be no intrusion on your mind during this period. I often fall asleep during a good massage, and the same thing happened here.

Obviously, I recommend this place highly.

Now for the cost – this 90 minute massage cost me almost Rs. 3500 (they have an introductory discount going on). Needless to say, it is not cheap. However, if you compare this to places such as Body Spa (which cost almost as much and doesn’t provide a fraction of the quality that this place offers) and also the fact that it is situated in one of the best malls in Gurgaon, the price is reasonable.

Another thing to notice is that you might want to call up in advance to book an appointment. While I was waiting for my room to be prepared I saw a number of people who came and left disappointed because there was no open slot available. Their website is still under construction, but it tells you the number to call: +91 124 466 5454.

Have you visited Sawasdee? If yes, please leave your impression in the comments.

Almost all malls in Gurgaon have a salon – a lot have more than one. The mall that I most visit is Ambience Mall on NH8, and the salon present in this mall is called Hair n Shanti. I am a regular at this place, as is my wife, and this blog post is a quick review of our experience with Hair n Shanti.

If you are in a hurry, here’s the quick review: generally, you will be pleased with the outcome of your visit. There are no red flags in terms of services provided and the quality of service. So, I recommend this salon.

However, if you need a little more detail, read on.

The place is usually crowded, so either take an appointment, or be prepared to wait a little while you are adjusted in between appointments. I normally just walk in there the moment I enter the mall to see when the next slot is, and then adjust my other activities in the mall accordingly.

The services offered to the ladies are fairly good (as witnessed by my wife – she has never complained once, so it must be good).

For myself, I can vouch for the haircut and head massage which are always excellent. I have been nicked a couple of times while getting a shave, so I generally avoid that (but I think that is pretty much the norm anywhere). My wife forced me into getting a manicure once, but I didn’t like what they did and nor did she. However, there are always plenty of men getting a variety of face and hair treatments, so overall it should be good.

Most people seem to be regulars (as evidenced by the familiarity between the service providers and the customers). What this says is that they are happy with what they get and that is why they return.

The guy who I normally get catered by is named Sahil, and he is fairly good. You can ask for him by name.

Now the main negative – the place is expensive. A men’s haircut costs Rs. 400. So you can scale the other things accordingly. I guess that is the price you pay for the location and the convenience. But if that doesn’t bother you, this place is certainly recommended.

Have you had experiences at Hair n Shanti? Please leave comments.

Personally I feel that Ambience Mall is the best one around in Gurgaon. It’s big, spacious, has a large variety of stores, has enough entertainment and food outlets, and is classy (which other mall has a BMW showroom in it?). But, then something would happen that reminds you that you are in India. Here’s what happened:

After the movie got over, we roamed around the mall just a little bit and then went to the elevator to go down to the parking (so that we could go home). We were on the 2nd floor.

We pressed the down call button on the elevator. The elevator came, and didn’t stop, and simply went on down. Well, I thought, it must have been full. Again I pressed the button, again I waited, and again it didn’t stop and simply went down. Hmm. Another couple was waiting with us and decided to take a quick peak from the side and saw that the elevator was completely empty.

This actually happened a third time (and by this time I had lost my cool). Normally, if this happens, I would simply walk, take the stairs or the escalator. That day, my wife wasn’t well and didn’t feel like walking a lot.

When the elevator finally came, I questioned the guard who was operating it for his behavior. He of course made excuses first about how it was full and all (which we knew he was lying about). When confronted, he said that his superiors had ordered him not to stop the elevator at any floor.

I asked my wife to wait in the car and asked him to call his superior. To make a long story short, this guy was acting on his own because someone from PVR had asked him to make sure that the elevator is on the 4th floor at a particular time. The reason? Some ‘VIP’ was going to get through watching a movie, and had asked to ensure that he doesn’t have to wait for the elevator.

The problem?

Well, aside from the fact that this shouldn’t happen in the first place, there is one thing mainly wrong with this: Customer Service. If the elevator was not going to be available for some time, the least that they should have done was let us know. All they had to do is put a ‘not-available’ sign on each floor for the duration of this.

That incident completely ruined our evening.