Frangipani stands out as a nail shop that gives you a feel of being at home. The interior is decorated with colors are mostly pleasant pastels and whites, and the IKEA-esque furnitures keep things casual and light. The staff wear cute looking t-shirt/black apron uniforms that change with seasons. The treatments are not cheap (pedi + mani is over $200RMB something), but the quality is pretty good. You can get a $1000RMB card for $800RMB. Earlier this year, there had been an exodus of more experienced staff to a new salon Balsamine nearby. I've followed my manicurist to the new place but decided that Frangi still upholds a quality standard that gives me a reason to come back. There's also an iNail spa right downstairs from me, but I've never used their services, because it doesn't quite have that warm, welcoming feel that you'd expect from a spa. Hopefully, more and more places like Frangi will crop up but at even better prices so we can all afford to go more often ;-) Frangipani have locations on Fuxing W Rd, XiangYang Rd (next to Awfully Chocolate), and HongMei Rd.
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Tags: spa
Taipan is a franchise owned by one of the wives of Macau's casino tycoon Stanley Ho. Upscale and lavishly upholstered, the private rooms resemble those in a KTV sans the microphone. They do have a snack menu from which you can order juices, pork filet sandwiches, curry rice places, and teas - all included in the price. You can also reserve a big room that holds up to 8 people + 8 masseuses. You can also bring your own DVDs (which you can buy right across the street) to watch on the in-room LCD screen. The foot massages themselves are ok but not spetacular, but it's a good choice if you're looking for an alternative place to hang out with your friends.
For body messages, check out Kang Jun Massage, which is a few doors down from Taipan on DaGu Rd.
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I always find it maddening that newcomers to Shanghai would right away get suckered into Dragonfly and plunk down like $1000RMB to buy a pre-paid card. Apparently Dragonfly is the best in the business when it comes to advertizing to foreigners. However, I must say that the newbie massage therapists they bring in from their ChongQing school are mostly too green and unable to find the pressure points on your body. If you are one of those people who are just happy that someone is caressing you, then I guess anywhere will do.
Being a certified massage therapist myself, I think I'm qualifed to rate massage places. There several decent places to go for massage, but I love KangJun in particular because they have the massage skills to show for a very reasonable price. AND they're located in the city center, unlike other good places which are most clustered in far-away GuBei and HongQiao areas. They cater to a Japanese clientele so you know it's clean, albeit a bit cramped. They have many branches around Shanghai, and the one on Dagu Rd is the closest one in the city center and also nicest one in decor.
For $75 RMB, you can get a 1-hour Chinese-style full body massage or a foot massage. I also tried their oil massage ($225/90 min) and ear candling ($120/60 min) , where they insert a hollow wax burning candle in your ears and suck crap out of them. For the foot massage, they give you a nice pot of tea and some cherry tomatos. My friend had bought a couch from them cuz they are so comfy.
If you have a big group and want a more social setting, try Taipan Spa just down the street on Dagu Rd.
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