Pattaya's Best Hidden Spa Offers A Luxurious Head-To-Toe Experience With Traditional Thai Treatments

​​Thailand is world-renowned for its tropical beaches, exquisite food, and relaxing massages, making the country the ideal escape for both budget-conscious and luxury travelers. In fact, UNESCO formally recognized traditional Thai massage as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2019. Pattaya, a thriving but underrated coastal Thai city an hour's drive south of Bangkok, is a hidden gem in its own right, popular for its luxury hotels, party life, and beaches close to the capital and its airports. Like other parts of Thailand, Pattaya has a thriving spa scene — seemingly one on every block — and some are known to cater to people looking for "soapy" massages and happy endings. Such a plethora of options can make it hard to decide where to go for the right massage, and not all spas are created equal. That's why a hidden gem in Pattaya called La Miad Salon and Spa is gaining traction for its luxe vibe, aesthetic interiors, and healing treatments.

Tucked away above the Coconut House & Cafe restaurant on Thepprasit Road, La Miad Salon and Spa is beautifully decorated with velvet-upholstered furniture, marble walls, and soothing waterfalls, as well as cozy waiting areas and VIP rooms. The establishment offers a range of traditional Thai massage treatments and unique spa amenities, from hair onsen and lash extensions to manicures and even ear cleanings. While the business doesn't have its own website (at the time of this writing), La Miad has been using social media and WhatsApp to its advantage, attracting clients who love gorgeous spa designs and relaxing vibes.

Because Thailand is an aspirational, once-in-a-lifetime vacation destination, many Thai businesses cater to visitors hoping to relax, have exceptional experiences, and make the most of their trip. La Miad Salon and Spa does just this, offering an array of complete treatment packages to indulge your entire body. It even has a VIP program with special perks that set this spa apart from the many other massage parlors in Pattaya.

Clients love La Miad's Deep Sleep and Relax Program and for good reason. For 3,990 THB (about $119), you can indulge in a 150-minute full-body regimen that begins with a foot scrub and includes aromatherapy, a facial, a head massage, a shampoo and hair treatment, an eyelid massage, a neck and shoulders massage, a warm compress massage, a blow dry, and an ear spa involving a burning candle. Afterward, you'll be treated to a drink and dessert. One La Miad guest, Alex Loktionov, posted a video on Instagram about his experience at La Miad, calling La Miad a "unique destination" and describing the Deep Sleep and Relax Program as "the highlight."

Some guests refer to La Miad's head massage package as a "head onsen," referring to the Japanese hot springs used for bathing. A "head onsen" at La Miad includes an oils-based scalp treatment, a head and neck massage, a facial scrub, a hair wash with organic shampoo, and a rinse using a sprinkler-type device known as a "waterfall," followed by a blow dry and straightening. For 990 THB ($30), La Miad offers a 60-minute head massage with shampoo, or you can select a longer program that includes the hair treatment plus additional massage amenities.

Traditional Thai massage has a long history and significant cultural role in Thailand, famously using deep-tissue techniques to find pressure points, stretch the body, and release tension by stimulating blood flow and increasing flexibility. Typically, in a Thai massage, the person receiving the massage wears loose clothing rather than undressing. La Miad describes their traditional Thai massage as "using the fingers, palms and elbows to press, knead, compress, bend, pull, and apply compresses to the recipient." A one-hour traditional Thai massage would come to 500 THB ($15).

La Miad also offers aromatherapy, herbal compress, and foot massages that use warm, cloth-wrapped herbs to heal and even "relieve pain, aches, sprains, strains, stiffness, bruises." A full herbal compress massage for 30 minutes costs 500 THB (about $15). If you're looking for something more akin to a Western or Swedish massage, try a warm oil massage. This treatment targets pressure points the spa claims will not only "reduce stress" but also "boost your immune system, and help you sleep better." La Miad's 90-minute warm oil massage will run 2,400 THB ($71).

The spa's menu includes hot stone therapy, which uses literal stones placed on various parts of the body to stimulate blood flow and decrease tension in the body's muscles. Healthline promotes the positive attributes of hot stone therapy as a stress reliever and sleep aid, while a study in the Journal of Clinical Oncology even suggests that hot stone therapy can help relieve side effects and symptoms experienced by cancer patients. La Miad's 60-minute hot stone massages comes to 800 THB ($24). Please note that all prices are current as of this publication.