Thai Massage with Hot Herbal Compress – 90 Minutes
Ninety minutes of traditional Thai massage combined with steamed herbal compresses — the northern Thai remedy for deep muscle ache, in a private garden-spa room.
- Duration
- 90 minutes
- Max group
- 2 pax
This is the treatment northern Thailand is genuinely famous for, and ninety minutes is the length it deserves. A cotton ball packed with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, ginger and kaffir lime is steamed until it is hot and fragrant, then pressed and rolled along the muscles between phases of traditional Thai massage. The heat opens the tissue, the herbs do their work, and the massage goes deeper than it otherwise could.
It is the best answer in the catalogue to a specific problem: legs wrecked by a trek, shoulders locked up after long-haul flights, or the general seizing-up that follows a week of scooters and hard hotel pillows. The heat is the part people are unsure about beforehand and rave about afterwards — the compress is hot but never uncomfortable, and your therapist tests it against your skin before every application.
The session alternates: dry Thai massage to work the pressure lines and stretch the joints, then the compress applied along the same lines while the muscles are already warm. Ninety minutes allows the whole body to be covered properly rather than rushed, with extra attention wherever you ask for it. You stay clothed in the loose spa cottons provided, in a private room on a warm bed at a small garden spa in the old town, minutes from Chiang Mai Gate.
Free hotel pick-up around the old town is included, along with herbal welcome tea and the spa's own natural Thai herbal products. It is one of the spa's best-selling treatments, so book ahead — especially between November and February.
- 90 minutes combining traditional Thai massage with hot herbal compresses
- Compress packed with lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, ginger and kaffir lime
- Best-seller — the classic northern Thai remedy for deep muscle ache
- Ideal after trekking, long flights or days on a scooter
- Private treatment room with a warm massage bed
- Performed fully clothed in the loose spa clothing provided
- Garden spa in the heart of the old town, minutes from Chiang Mai Gate
- Free hotel pick-up around the old town area, plus herbal welcome tea
What's included
- ✓ Free hotel pick-up within the old town area (confirm at booking)
- ✓ Private treatment room with a warm massage bed
- ✓ Herbal welcome tea
- ✓ Natural Thai herbal products
- ✓ Loose spa clothing and towels where required
- ✓ Shower facilities
- ✓ 90-minute traditional Thai massage with hot herbal compress
- ✓ Freshly steamed herbal compress
- Hotel pick-up from outside the old town area (ask us to check)
- Gratuities (voluntary; 50–100 THB is customary in Thai spas)
- Retail spa products
- Food and alcoholic drinks
- Travel insurance
- 0:00
Arrival and welcome tea
Arrive or be collected from your hotel. Herbal welcome tea and a consultation about pressure, problem areas and heat tolerance.
- 0:10
Change and settle
Change into loose cotton spa clothing and settle onto a warm massage bed in a private room while the compress steams.
- 0:15
Thai massage phase
Traditional pressure work from the feet upwards along the energy lines, plus assisted stretching, to warm and open the muscles.
- 0:50
Hot herbal compress phase
The steamed herbal compress is tested on your skin and then pressed and rolled along the legs, back, shoulders and neck, alternating with further massage.
- 1:45
Rest and tea
Rest with tea afterwards — the heat leaves you pleasantly heavy. Free drop-off around the old town if you were collected.
Hot enough to work but never uncomfortable. The therapist tests the compress against your own skin before each application and adjusts. If it feels too hot at any point, say so and they will let it cool for a moment.
A cotton bundle of northern Thai herbs — typically lemongrass, galangal, turmeric, ginger and kaffir lime leaf — steamed until fragrant. The heat carries the herbs into the tissue while the massage works the muscle.
For deep, specific muscle pain, yes. The extra half hour is what makes room for the compress work; a 60-minute session cannot cover both properly. If you simply want a general reset, the 60-minute Thai massage is enough.
Heat treatments are usually avoided in pregnancy, with acute inflammation or injury, with fever, or with conditions like high blood pressure or diabetes affecting skin sensation. Tell us at booking and mention it again to your therapist, who will recommend an alternative if needed.
Yes — free pick-up around the old town area is advertised on the brochure. Give us your hotel name when you book and we will confirm the arrangement and the collection time. If you are staying outside the old town, tell us and we will check.
Yes, we recommend booking at least 24 hours ahead, and more in high season (November to February) when the good spas in Chiang Mai fill up in the evenings.
Yes — private rooms are available, including couples' rooms. Say so when you book so the right room is held for you.
Bring almost nothing. Loose spa clothing, towels and everything else needed is provided, and there are showers on site. Comfortable clothes to change back into afterwards are the only real recommendation.
Never expected, but it is customary in Thai spa culture and always appreciated. Fifty to a hundred baht for a therapist you were happy with is normal.