M By Montcalm, Exclusive Hire

Overall great stay. Lovely concierge, reception staff (Sean). Spa receptionist was really nice too. The rooms were also good. Spa was relaxing (key tip is to go at opening times, so you can enjoy it to yourselves). Elite status appreciated which is always nice. Perfect location too. Would recommend

This review is for the spa only as we have not booked a hotel stay or had any food at the restaurant: Booking a spa package was pretty easy online, communication over the phone with one of the receptionist wasn't great as she came across as rude but over email she was helpful and professional. I found odd that you will book a time slot for the massage and then find out last minute the time is changed, we personally weren't informed in advance we just so happen to know the right time because I had booked the use of spa facilities before the massage but if I didn't do that I would have gotten late to the massage and they wouldn't have been able to accommodate me and my partner for the treatment, so that's something that can be improved. Upon arrival we've been greeted by a south asian spa receptionist (I believe her name is Anini) she was very professional, kind and welcoming - she really was the highlight of our spa day. The spa facilities were okay, everything kept clean enough. It is a small spa so if it isn't busy then you'll probably have a good enough time, but if it is busy then it won't be a relaxing moment. People don't have spa etiquette which is not the staff's fault, just letting potential new costumers know. Also, music choice could be more relaxing and spa fitting instead of pop. As for the massages, we booked a couple's room as that comes with the package but last minute they brought us into separate rooms at slightly different times without informing us in advance, which again I didn't appreciate - it's okay to be in separate rooms so long is at the same time but clients need to be informed in advance about these changes since for some clients it is important to be in the same room. My therapist had excellent costumer service skills, she was very kind and warm and nice in her words and ways. Unfortunately the massage wasn't good, I am a sports therapist with 5+ yrs of experience so I know what is supposed to be done during a massage and the therapist didn't seem to have enough experience or training. For a 50min massage all body areas except head should be worked on unless agreed differently with the guest beforehand, and my legs and arms were barely touched. Very light pressure strokes and no other manual techniques to release muscle tension. My lower back and feet were also neglected, my neck completely avoided, whilst my upper back received more time although the deep work in the upper back wasn't properly gradually performed as it went from super light to super deep, point pressure wasn't firm and controlled which can actually injure the client and do more harm than good. When requesting more pressure in general she suggested I upgraded to a deep tissue - a deep tissue massage is not necessarily higher pressure (by default yes you'll have to go deeper) but is the technique that's completely different from a Swedish massage so you can still do a Swedish massage and just apply higher pressure without doing all the deep tissue/sports massage techniques sush as trigger pointing, pressure pointing, CTM, cross fibre, joint mobilization and passive stretching. Included in the package is a de-stress massage which is usually how some places name a Swedish massage (basic relax massage medium pressure involving several different hand manipulation of the tissues) or even a hybrid between deep tissue technique and swedish which the therapist will figure out how to best adapt to the client's needs. That being said, she even checked her phone and typed twice - a bunch of times she checked a paper during the treatment which I'm not sure what it was but during a massage nothing else should be done apart from the massage. Lastly, I wouldn't recommend for the therapists to touch the guest's belongings in order to avoid potential accusations of stealing or touching someone's property. I understand the therapist might have been trained to do so in beauty/massage school but it really is not advisable. This is not meant as a negative critique, the spa has a lot of potential it just needs to improve a few things.