After a week of daily twelve hour stints in the office, sandwiched between crack of dawn workouts and late night cocktails, all propped up on a cumulative total of twenty hours' sleep, when the weekend finally rolls round how do you wind down?
A hike's too energetic. A boozy brunch is too toxic. But a bit of reflexology is just right...
Hong Kong is full of reflexology joints ranging from the basic (shabby, mismatched furniture and reflexologists who chat on their iPhones whilst rubbing your feet) to the luxe (sleek, dark, lots of leather and a distinct spa air). I have my trusty favourites but last weekend I decided to try a new place that I'd heard lots about but hadn't quite got around to visiting, Teen Feet Tall.
Perched up on the 20th & 21st floor of the sparkly, new(ish) L Place, Ten Foot Tall opened at the start of the year and became an immediate hit. One visit and I guarantee you'll understand why. Zoom up in the lifts to the sleek white reception area on the 21st floor and you're greeted by a cool neon Ten Foot Tall sign. As the Mice are more than a little partial to neon wall art, this was a very good sign...
The friendly girls on reception didn't make a fuss about the fact that we didn't have a reservation and proceeded to enthusiastically show us around. Seating up to 46 customers, the spa is divided into a series of cosy little rooms. Take your pick from private rooms seating two to eight people, communal rooms seating up to eight and party rooms which accommodate four to eight people and come complete with an 80" projector screens and Now TV. Most rooms have huge white armchairs to snuggle into while your feet are rubbed but the ultimate rooms have beds...! Despite more than a little begging we were informed that the rooms with beds were all booked up so settled on a communal room with armchairs (despite being dubbed a communal room no one else joined us during our treatment so it was effectively private).
A Communal Room
Tour over and room selected we nestled into our respective oversized armchairs as our neat white uniformed reflexologists bustled about filling our foot bowls with warm soapy water. Before we got too comfortable though the receptionist was back and asking if we'd like to follow her to choose magazines to read during our treatments. You don't need to say magazine to me twice. The selection of magazines at most places in town could probably best be described as vintage... Not at Ten Feet Tall, I nabbed the latest issue of Grazia and this month's Vogue - score! (for non-HKers that's about ten pounds worth of magazines... Grazia's four pounds a week here, magazines are a more expensive habit than nicotine...).
Magazine Heaven!
Suitably magged-up I settled back into my armchair noticing that each chair comes with a little side table complete with a drawer that opens up to reveal a set of plug sockets. So it would seem that a drained Blackberry or iPad is now a legitimate excuse for getting a foot massage and even more excitingly, working from the spa is now a viable and far more appealing option that working from your desk...Oh and did I mention the free wifi throughout the spa?! Ten Feet Tall has seriously thought of everything.
And I mean everything. Just as I was scanning Grazia's Chart of Lust, the receptionist returned proffering a menu. No measly mug of hot water here, instead you can have a Fuji Fusion smoothie (banana, strawberries, apples & orange), fresh young coconut or even a frozen yoghurt (including a choice of yummy toppings)... I opted for a Flirty Refresh (organic mint and cucumber topped with soda) the perfect cool, summer pick me up.
The foot massage itself was amazing - 50 blissed out minutes, perfect pressure and just enough pain to make you feel that it's doing you good! And the therapists weren't just magical foot masseuses, mine dashed to grab me a towel when I said I was cold and insisted in wrapping me up in it himself while my boyfriend's therapist tiptoed to switch off his reading light and cover him with a blanket when he fell asleep mid-massage.
So, tootsie transforming treatments, M&M topped frozen yoghurt, Vogue, Grazia, 80" TVs, beds, incredible service. What's the catch? Well not the price. Treatments start at just HK$188 for a 50 minute foot massage - the same price as many of the more basic places in Hong Kong. You pay separately for drinks and snacks but these range from a very reasonable HK$25 - 28. On this basis, I think I have no choice but to go back repeatedly and search a bit further for that catch...
Ten Feet Tall
www.tenfeettall.com.hk
20/F & 21/F,
L Place, 139 Queen's Road
Central, Hong Kong
+852 2971 1010
Monday – Sunday 11:00am – 1:00am
(Last Appointment at 12am)
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