Passage New York

I received a credit card voucher for Passage New York that I finally put to use. It was a good deal as far as spa treatments go – a diamond peel facial and body scrub plus massage – S$88 for three hours. I simply CANNOT resist such offers.

Passage is at Keck Seng Tower on Cecil Street, on the ground level and obvious from the bus-stop. I was slightly confused upon walking in, because all I saw was a tiny, posh room with clothes racks and mannequins. Huh? This is a spa? 

Turns out the spa section is concealed in the vast area behind the shopfront. I was led there by a friendly consultant, Faye, where she impressed me by saying that I looked like I would benefit from massage concentrated in the neck and shoulder regions, and even guessed correctly that I prefer strong massage.

Off I went in the company of a stocky masseuse named Cherry. The massage room contained a shower and tub in addition to the couch. After the scrub, Cherry proceeded to administer a very serious-minded massage to my problem areas. Good heavens. Paaaaaaain. But strangely good pain. After that hour, I didn’t want to move anymore. At any rate, I had mostly lost the ability to do so.

Nonetheless, I made a very slow trek to the facial room, where the diamond peel treatment was performed by Evelyn. This treatment requires a special machine, and provides exfoliation and deep cleansing, and feels like a rough cotton pad applied with suction. You are shown the dead cells later (ewwwwwww).

After the peel came the scary-lovely procedure of blackhead extraction. I have gone to other spas and undergone various ways of having this done – from air suction to squeezing to the metal loop thing (yes I know guys probably have no idea what I’m talking about) – but never have I had the experience of having the damn things plucked out with a contraption that looks like needle-tipped tweezers. It hurt, like having hair tweezed, but not as much as with the metal loop.

The last part was easy – various masks for face, eyes and neck that were icy cold, but felt good after the blackhead-plucking. I fell asleep for a bit at this point, lulled by the familiar Christian instrumentals playing in the background. I have never heard Christian music at any other spa. I wasn’t surprised when I later learnt that the spa was run by a devout boss.

All in all, I found this a superior spa experience. The staff called me by name, were efficient and pleasant, communicated well, and did not skimp on time and materials. To top it off, there was a freebie in the form of a dress - a sleeveless, knee-length black number in a super-big posh box, in a humongous black bag that made me feel like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman on her high-class shopping spree. Price tag: S$450, I kid you not. Here’s a pic:

My recommendation: if you have that voucher, don’t mind extraction and Christian music, GO. I’m glad I did.