Serenity in the Heart of London: A Tranquil Oasis at Thai Square Spa - A Review

I do love a traditional Thai massage, so when I had the chance to go and review the Thai Square Spa, just off London’s Trafalgar Square, I jumped at the chance. Although Thai Square Spa has been operating since 2010 (formerly in Covent Garden) it moved to this new site in Northumberland Street in 2016. There’s a large entrance off the street with a welcome desk, seating and a retail store; with all the treatments and therapies on the level below. I understand it used to be a Turkish bath, and the wet area below has been refurbished to the now Sen Space add-on for treatments.

Why choose Thai Square Spa for your treatment?

I was lucky enough to have been invited here, but it’s definitely somewhere that I would return to, to try out different and probably longer treatments. As you will read before, there is such an array of treatment options and packages, and you really could make a full day of it here.

Thai Square Spa, London: The Important Details

• Location - 25 Northumberland Avenue, London, WC2N 5AP

• Contact -  info@thaisquarespa.com

• Opening Hours - Monday through Saturday 11am - 9pm; Sunday 11am through 7pm

• Spa website - https://www.thaisquarespa.com

• Instagram - @thaisquarespa

• My treatment - Traditional Thai Massage

• Cost - £110 (£150 1.5hrs or £195 2hrs)

• Time - 60 minutes

• Treatments available - Body, facial, ritual therapies, scalp & feet, specialist maternity, royal treatments, and wet treatments

• Wellbeing Facilities - Mens and womens changing rooms, two relaxation spaces, various individual and couples treatment rooms, salt room, & Sen Space (sauna/steam/ice fountain/jacuzzi)

• Visited - January 2024

Spa treatment selection at Thai Square Spa

Their website details all treatments and therapies in full, split into various categories and ranging in time lengths. There is a whole array of treatment options from body treatments (wraps, massage, traditional Thai massage - [clothed] etc.) as as well facial treatments, ritual therapies (Siamese Serenity, Definite Detox, or Body Revival), scalp and foot treatments, specialist maternity therapies, royal treatments (like the Golden Maharani facial), wet treatments (private herbal steam, soaks or a Vichy shower). There is then also a whole selection of packages, with everything from a 1hr 45min sampling selection, right through to a full-day spa package of 6 hours. 

Thai Square Spa Review

Such a great treatment overall, with an excellent therapist. I used to have a lot more traditional Thai massage (clothed) and then transitioned into having a mix of say 1 hour of traditional followed by an hour of hot oil massage. I then tended to find that I migrated more to just having the hot oil or deep tissue massage only. It was a great reminder here that the traditional Thai massage can be very therapeutic too.

Location

Thai Square Spa is only a few minutes walk away from Trafalgar Square, and easily serviced either the Tube to Embankment or Charing Cross. I took it to Embankment and walked up Northumberland Street, only to initially miss the entrance as I was engrossed in my phone. I then started following Google Maps on my phone, but that was wrongly directing me to Thai Square restaurant, on the opposite side of Trafalgar Square. Once I paid proper attention and got back to where I should have been, I then actually realised that I had looked to book treatments here before when staying at the luxurious Corinthia (Hotel) just opposite. As it turned out though, I ended up not having time, so I’m glad I finally got to experience a treatment at Thai Square Spa.

Changing facilities

On the entrance level there are separate changing rooms for both men and women. In bright red tiles and literally sparkling clean, there were two large walk-in showers, a sink, and a wall of lockers. After completing a brief form at reception of any medical indications, I was taken through to the changing rooms and given a set of lightweight clothing to wear during the massage. There was a cotton top and drawstring cotton trousers, as well as there being a basket of flip flops for you to help yourself. There were decent sized lockers to store clothing and personal belongings, all easy to operate with a four-digit code. Toilets were separate in the corridor leading to the changing rooms.

What was the spa treatment room like?

After changing, I made my way downstairs and was just about to get myself seated in one of two relaxation spaces, when my therapist came out to meet me. I was offered some tea or water, which we took into one of the treatment rooms. I sat on the bed and drank tea, while the therapist performed a foot wash. She checked in with me about the temperature of the rooms, which I thought was fine to begin with, then on starting the treatment I realised I was getting a bit hot. I just mentioned if the room could be a bit cooler, and right away she adjusted the air conditioning and it was much more pleasant.

I can often find lying face down on a massage bed quite uncomfortable, depending on the positioning and set up of a face hole, but actually on these beds there was no hole but the therapist had set up a folded towel on which to rest my chin, and another for me to rest my forehead, so that my nose was clear in the middle. It was actually extremely comfortable this way.

What was my treatment like at Thai Square Spa?

Really excellent. The therapist asked how strong I would like the massage to be, I normally like strong pressure. It does, of course, all depend on how strong the therapist is, so I opted for a medium/firm pressure, which was really good. I lay on my front while my back was massaged with pressure-point techniques too, and it also included a lot of stretching which I found really beneficial. The hour passed quickly, but she was able to cover full body and afterwards I felt really relaxed, but also like I had had a good stretching session too.

Thai Square Spa: The Highlights

There were so many highlights of my spa experience at Thai Square Spa, including:

• Location - very easy to get, centrally located

• Warm welcome at reception, easy form to complete

• Good changing facilities, exceptionally clean

• Great introduction from therapist explaining the treatment, and so professionally and expertly carried out

• Good relaxation areas afterwards

Areas for improvement

I always like to go for a balanced review, and if there is anything I spot when having a spa experience that I think would have improved the visit, I’ll flag it here to be helpful.

• I really don’t think there is anything I could add here. From the warm welcome, the treatment and excellent therapist, to the sparkling clean facilities; all was excellent.

Final thoughts on Thai Square Spa

With so many other treatments available, and having the option to add on the private Sen Space, or have a treatment in the rare Salt House therapy room, means I definitely want to go back again.

Have you visited Thai Square Spa before? I’d love to hear your own thoughts and opinions on it as well as whether you like Thai treatments elsewhere?

Comment below to share your thoughts and opinions. 

Normally all of my travel is fully funded personally, but if there is anything of a complimentary nature I will always flag this in the review. On this occasion I was a guest of Thai Square Spa, facilitated by their PR team. However, all views shared here are completely unbiased, and I would only post an overtly complementary review had that indeed been my genuine view of the experience.

Let me know which spa I should review next!