How to choose between our two Auckland spas

If you live somewhere between Parnell and Mission Bay, both of our spas are a realistic choice, and the honest answer is that you will have a good massage at either. But they are not interchangeable, and there are three things that should actually decide it.

1. What you can only get at one

This is the deciding factor for a surprising number of bookings.

• Only at St Heliers — the infrared sauna (45 mins, $60 for one, $90 for two), the sauna + scrub + massage package at $280, and Package C with a mini facial at $280.
• Only at the Viaduct — candle therapy massage, using warm melted massage candle wax with Swedish technique (60 mins $140, 90 mins $195, 120 mins $250), the standalone one-hour body scrub at $125, and Package B with a full facial at $295.

Everything else — Thai, aromatherapy, Swedish, deep tissue, coconut oil, back and shoulder, reflexology, hot stone, herbal compress, couple massage and facials — is available at both.

2. Price

St Heliers is consistently a little lower across the menu. The gap is small but real:

• 60-minute massage — Viaduct $115 · St Heliers $105
• 90-minute massage — Viaduct $165 · St Heliers $145
• 90-minute hot stone or herbal compress — Viaduct $175 · St Heliers $160
• 60-minute couple massage — Viaduct $220 · St Heliers $200
• Facial — Viaduct $140 · St Heliers $130

Full lists on the Viaduct pricing page and the St Heliers pricing page.

3. The kind of hour you want

The Viaduct — 1B/124 Customs Street West

This is the after-work spa. You walk out of the office, you are on the table twelve minutes later, and afterwards the harbour and half the city's restaurants are on your doorstep. It is the right choice for a weekday evening booking, for pairing with dinner, for out-of-town guests staying in the city, and for anyone who does not want to drive anywhere.

It also has two couple rooms, which makes it noticeably easier to get a couples booking at short notice. Phone 027-722-6564.

St Heliers — 417A Tamaki Drive

This is the slow-morning spa. A village main street, the harbour across the road, and the option of a swim or a flat-white walk before or after your treatment. It suits weekend bookings, eastern-bays locals from Mission Bay, Kohimarama and Glendowie, and anyone whose idea of a good afternoon includes the sea.

One couple room, so weekends book out earlier. Phone 027 654 6642. Our seaside spa day guide plans out the whole afternoon.

A quick decision table

• Straight after work in the city → Viaduct
• Saturday morning, no rush → St Heliers
• You want the infrared sauna → St Heliers, no alternative
• You want candle therapy → Viaduct, no alternative
• Cheapest equivalent treatment → St Heliers
• Late couples booking at short notice → Viaduct (two rooms)
• Making a whole day of it with a walk and lunch → St Heliers
• Dinner and a date afterwards → Viaduct

"Regulars use both. Viaduct on a Thursday when work has been brutal, St Heliers on a Sunday when it hasn't."

Siri therapist team

The menu, side by side

Available at both spas, at the prices shown as Viaduct / St Heliers:

• Traditional Thai (yoga) massage — 30 min $65/$60 · 60 min $115/$105 · 90 min $165/$145 · 120 min $220/$195
• Aromatherapy, Swedish, deep tissue, warm coconut oil — same four durations, same prices as above
• Back & shoulder and reflexology — 30 min $65/$60 · 45 min $95/$85 · 60 min $115/$105
• Hot stone and Thai herbal compress — 90 min $175/$160 · 120 min $235/$210
• Couple massage (price for two) — 60 min $220/$200 · 90 min $320/$280 · 120 min $430/$370
• Facial — 60 min $140/$130

Packages differ between the branches, so it is worth reading both lists: the Viaduct runs two packages ($245 and $295) and St Heliers runs three ($225, $280 and $280).

The things that are the same

Open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm, at both. Same treatment philosophy, same standards, same public holiday arrangements — closed Good Friday, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Day and until 1.00pm on ANZAC Day, with a 15% surcharge on public holidays. Gift vouchers, booking systems and the general feeling of walking out an hour later are identical.

Full addresses, maps and contact details are on the locations page. If you are still torn, book the one you can get to without thinking about traffic — the massage matters more than the postcode.

Common questions