Recovery Spa at the Upper Deck Lifestyle Center
I’ve been putting my fitness on the backseat for the past few months because it’s been such a rollercoaster for our start up.
But I’ve always believed that stress comes in seasons and that the only sustainable way to keep the ball rolling is knowing the right time to take a break and plug in self care. With this, I’ve recently gone back to working out more regularly and have been supplementing it with trips to the osteopath and massages from reputable therapists.
You can imagine how thrilled I was that the new fitness app ClassPass caters to more than just fitness studios but they also have other treatments to supplement exercise such as facials and massages. I tried one of their newest partners, Recovery Spa, located at the Upper Deck Sports Center in Pasig. While I’ve tried many massages before, it was my first time to do a Deep Tissue massage, wherein the therapists uses direct pressure and warm oils to reach the deeper muscle tissues while relaxing the top layer.
In the ClassPass app, it was written as “Relax”, a 90 minute massage on Tuesday, 2pm worth 6 credits. Arguably, I’m always hesitant to spend more than 5 credits on anything, considering some fitness activities only cost 2 credits. It was a bit of a gamble for me to go something that cost more than that. That being said, there aren’t many “Wellness” Partners yet on the app and I wanted to try for myself to see if they’re worth it.
Finding the Spa
Though I lived reasonably close, it was my first time at the Upper Deck Sports Center. I’ve always known that it was known for it’s sports amenities such as climbing, spinning, yoga, swimming, and courts. I had no idea they had a spa upstairs! The easiest way to find the entrance is to look for Starbucks and then see you can see the signage soon after. From there, you can take an elevator to the 6th floor where the lobby is located.
From the lobby, you have to go straight from the elevator and turn left. Once you see the spinning studio, you turn left again and go up a flight of stairs. From there, on the right side, you’ll see the entrance to the spa.
The spa itself is not huge with only a few rooms and a separator, but what it lacked in size it did make up for in service quality, ambience and cleanliness. The receptionist, Grace, was very courteous and was very quick in confirming my reservation and settling me down before the treatment.
Before the Treatment
It’s recommended that you come in 15 – 30 minutes before your schedule as to not rush and start your calming experience with no hassle. It started off with a choice of warm water, tea and towel in a comfortable waiting area. Then, they asked me to wear their house slippers and fill out a form where they asked about medical history and it showed details on where I would like them to focus during our session.
Being that my back was recovering from all the backpack weight and I just had an intense cardio workout with a lot of squats at F45 the day before, I decided to ask them to focus on my thighs and upper back. They even put an illustration of the person to make it easier to circle your priority areas.
Because I just had a shower before arriving, I didn’t ask to use their shower room and went straight to the massage room. I have to tell you though; I was a bit surprised with the set up! The massage bed was large, soft and remote-operated. The room had a pleasant smell, a nice touch and a Himalayan pink salt lamp that made the whole room feel warm.
The Treatment
Before starting the treatment, they asked me the intensity that I wanted for my massage. With a 7/10, it was just right for me. The therapist would move the massage table to lift into certain positions to adjust the position of my body.
Though I felt the pressure wasn’t as consistent as I would hope, the therapist would easily adjust when I ask them to go back. I tried my best to not fall asleep as I felt like I would enjoy it more, but I couldn’t help it as it was a great massage. The therapist was very professional, spoke softly and knew her way around the knots in my body!
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get the name of my therapist, but she was very pleasant and made the experience quite enjoyable. I’m taking a mental note to ask for a name in my next trip so I can request for the same person the next time I come back.
Here’s the actual costs for their treatments should you want to want try them out for yourself as a walk in:
The Verdict
I have to say that overall, it was a very relaxing experience that was a nice supplement to my other fitness activities. I’m actually looking forward to trying out their services, especially the Float Therapy (Sensory Deprivation), outside ClassPass on a different day. It really helped my back and relieve my muscles from the solid HIIT workout I did the day before. Definitely worth the 6 points!
