This is one of the most attractive and peaceful spas in the former French Concession. The entrance is small, but inside there’s a maze of candlelit corridors inside a dim, cool lanehouse. The little treatment rooms feel like they’re from Shanghai’s past. The specialty here is aroma massage. Your therapist presents you with half a dozen aromatic oils with flavors from jasmine and rose to concoctions of cedar, orange and sweet almond oil. The essential oil will repair damaged skin and cleanse pores, and they claim the Action essential oil will help you sleep and prevent aging. We enjoyed a 90-minute light aroma massage (RMB278), made up of a 60-minute full body oil massage and a 30-minute session on our head and shoulders; soon the scent of safflower seed, grapefruit, and grape seed oil was filling the treatment room as our masseuse worked out all of our aching knots.

DETAILS

What: 90-minute light aroma massage

Where: Zen Massage | Bldg. 1, 210 Wuyuan Lu 五原路210弄1号楼

How much: RMB278

Tel: 3368-1227