We started our research to find a suitable spa to visit from the CaseTrust Accreditation website and furthered our research by visiting each of the spa’s website. After shortlisting a few spas, we came to a conclusion to visit Knead @ Holland Village because of the variety of massages, affordable prices and convenient location.
 |
| Accreditation and Awards that they have received |
While researching on Knead’s website before making the visit, we realised that Knead promotes their Spa through word-of-mouth. For example, reviews on their website, sharing through Facebook and Twitter. It was interesting to see customers enjoy their treatment through the reviews. Through those websites, we were able to get some of the basic information and details about the spa. However, we felt Knead’s website was so...plain and boring._. Their website did not state the spa concept or the theme of the spa which might be the reason why it was less exciting to research about Knead.
 |
| Website of Knead@Holland Village |
We decided to give them a call to book an appointment. The lady who picked up the phone was extremely friendly and professional. We asked her for the company's signature massage and she was able to tell us that their specialty is the deep tissue massage. Considering that it is a small establishment, we did not expect them to be able to service us all at the same time but the lady on the phone made some adjustments in space for us and all of us managed to get the same time slot. 2 of us were in the couple room and 3 were in the standard rooms. We were also concerned about privacy, the lady told us over the phone that each room will have a partition including the couple room. Therefore, we decided to book an appointment for 5 people on 17 November.
There were so many spa treatments to choose from. The website had sufficient information on the different spa treatments therefore, it was easy to choose a treatment. There was a sales promotion that was applicable to us, which was the Weekday Massage Specials and it saved us some money! Regular Price for massages are $68, but with the Weekday promotion at $58, we could purchase a Macspicy Meal upsize, because we saved $10 each!!!
 |
| Special Rates for Massages found in Knead@ Holland Village |
D-day for our spa visit!!
Journey to Knead@Holland Village
 |
| Entrance of Knead@Holland Village |
After an hour of bus ride from school to Holland Village, we finally reached the bus stop! With the help of the trusty Google Map, we managed to locate the spa. The entrance to the spa was a small white framed door, which felt like we were entering someone’s home.
 |
| Reception Area |
When we entered the main area, we were welcomed by the friendly receptionist, Rose. First thing Rose did was to offer us water as a form of welcome gesture. We were hoping for some snacks to be offered as we did not have lunch and were starving! Rose familiarised herself with our names and faces, and who was doing which massage treatment. Francesca, Janice and Jaselyn chose Stress Relief Massage while Sarah and Baoyu did Therapeutic Back Massage. Rose tried to recommend us their Deep Tissue Massage as it was Knead’s signature massage, but we kindly refused.
Rose asked us about our preferred language so that she can appoint therapists that we would feel comfortable communicating with. She made sure we felt comfortable by asking us if we had any special request for the massage treatment.
Rose then proceeded to give us the registration form to fill in. However, she only gave us one form to fill in for 5 persons. Not all of us managed to see the form as Sarah was the person filling it in and gathering information from us. There was no privacy as we had to verbally address our health conditions.
While waiting for the therapists to prepare for our massage treatment, Rose made small talks with us,which makes us feel assured as we did not know what to expect for the service and were quite nervous.
 |
| Waiting Area for the Customer |
Time to proceed to the rooms (*~*) Nervous!!!
After having a nice chat with Rose, we were lead to our respective treatment rooms where two of us used the couple room and the rest went to the individual room.
There were some similarities we experienced during the massage. None of the therapists asked us to remove our accessories. Jaselyn’s therapist helped remove her necklace after she started the treatment, which made Jaselyn feel uncomfortable as she could not see what was going on. Although we did full body massage, none of us received head massages. This was disappointing as the website stated that head massages were included in full body massages. Midway through the treatment, we felt cold as the towel was too thin and Baoyu started sneezing! At the end of the treatment, the therapist did not thoroughly remove the essential oil from our body. Having oil on our body was rather uncomfortable.
Differences In Experience
Baoyu and Sarah’s Experience
(Therapeutic Back Massage)
|
Jaselyn, Janice & Francesca’s Experience (Stress Relief Massage)
|
Therapists did not introduce themselves .
|
Therapists introduced themselves.
|
Did not give proper instructions on undressing for massage. Unsure if we needed to undress entirely or keep undergarments on.
|
Gave clear instructions to undress and leave only bottom undergarments on.
|
Did not ask for preferred strength.
|
Asked for preferred strength.
|
Consistent strength level throughout treatment.
|
Inconsistent strength level: weaker strength applied towards end of treatment
|
Other than the inconsistencies in experiences, the therapists were generally friendly and it was a plus point that the therapists were bilingual.
Relaxation moment is over~ Time to face the reality! Time for payment :(
When the treatment was over, we gathered back at the reception area with our messy hair and sleepy faces. We were offered water by our therapists and we expected it to be warm but it was room temperature, which felt like the water had been prepared beforehand. We were so relaxed and sleepy that we almost forgot to pay! Rose kindly reminded us by asking about the payment terms and we were like OH YA HOR PAISEH. The therapists reminded us to drink lots of water to improve circulation in our body to flush the toxins out. The therapists also thanked us for patronising the spa and went back to their staff area. Before leaving the spa, we asked for Rose’s help to take a group photo for us and she gladly agreed.
Spa Design, Ambience & Maintenance
 |
| Stairway Entrance of Knead@Holland Village |
When we reached the entrance of Knead, there were stairs leading to the main area of the spa. We had to climb up when we were already drained from traveling all the way from TP to Holland Village. The stairs were steep, imagine having older customers or injured sportsmen visiting the spa, it would be tough for them.
Stairway to Knead@Holland Village
When we entered the spa, the interior of the spa gave us a very soothing feeling with dimly lit lights and there was a relaxing aroma in the spa. The wallpapers of the spa were consistent and it is being well maintained. There was also a sofa at the reception area for us to wait for our treatments. To further improve the ambience of the spa, we felt that soothing classical music can be played at the reception area.
 |
| Toilet and Staff Area |
Before we started our treatments, we went to the toilet and found that it was just next to the staff’s resting area. The pathway to the toilet was narrow and the area was also very small and squeezy. They could probably expand the toilet area to make it more spacious for bigger-sized customers so that they can comfortably use it. As for the staff area, they should locate it away from areas where customers frequent. It would be unpleasant to see staff gossiping. (you know girls…) To prevent curious customers like us from entering their staff area, they should put a ‘ NO ENTRY!!!’ sign.
Both the treatment rooms had dimly lit lighting and it was more calming than the reception area. The music system had a glitch midway through the massage as it was screechy and it stopped playing music for awhile. It was also quite noisy as we could hear cars zooming past and drilling noises from the renovations next door. It was very distracting and we could not fall asleep even if we wanted to.
Spa Treatment Room Look and Feel
Door leading to individual spa treatment rooms
Door leading to couple spa treatment room
Interior of couple spa treatment room
Interior of individual spa treatment room
Interior of individual spa treatment room
Website: https://knead-hv.com/
Operation hours: 10am to 10pm
Contact No.: 6467 0323
Location: 36A Lorong Mambong, 277693
