Massage near Mission Bay, Auckland: our spa on Tamaki Drive

Most people in Mission Bay and Kohimarama who want a massage assume it means a trip into the city: the drive in, the hunt for a park, the drive home again, and the calm worn off before you reach your own street. It doesn't have to work like that. Our nearest spa to Mission Bay is Siri St Heliers, at 417A Tamaki Drive — further east along the same waterfront road.

So if you are searching for a massage near Mission Bay, Auckland, that is the short answer. The St Heliers branch is open seven days, 10.00am to 8.00pm, with a 60-minute massage at $105 and 90 minutes at $145. It also has two things our city spa does not: an infrared sauna and a mini-facial package. The rest of this guide covers getting there, what to book, and how to fit it around a day by the water.

Getting there from Mission Bay, Kohimarama and Glendowie

Tamaki Drive does most of the work. Heading east from Mission Bay, the road follows the water to Kohimarama and then St Heliers, so from either beach you are simply carrying on in the same direction. Glendowie and St Heliers sit side by side, so from there the village is next door.

• By car — a short drive east along Tamaki Drive from Mission Bay or Kohimarama. Leave a few minutes more than you think on a sunny weekend, when everyone else has had the same idea about the beach.
• By bus — the TāmakiLink runs along Tamaki Drive and stops at Mission Bay, Kohimarama Beach and St Heliers Bay. Auckland Transport's Link bus page has the current route and timetable.
• On foot — flat, seaside and lovely, but longer than people expect. Auckland's official visitor guide to St Heliers puts the walk along Tamaki Drive between St Heliers and Mission Bay at about 60 minutes one way.

If you walk, give yourself time to spare at the end. Arriving pink-faced and out of breath is not the best start to a massage, and the slow walk home along the water afterwards is the better half anyway.

Which massage to book when you live near Mission Bay

Being close by changes the maths. You do not need to cram everything into one big visit, because you can come back. The St Heliers spa works best for locals the way the beach does: little and often, matched to whatever the week has done to you.

• When work has followed you home — aromatherapy massage at St Heliers, $105 for an hour or $145 for 90 minutes. Blended essential oils and gentle, steady pressure: the one to book when the problem is your head rather than your hamstrings.
• After a run or a ride along Tamaki Drive — 60 minutes of deep tissue, $105. Leave a day or so after a hard session rather than booking straight off the bike, and tell your therapist what you have been training for.
• For feet that have walked the bays once too often — reflexology foot massage, 45 minutes for $85. Legs and feet only, firm and specific.
• For a home-office neck — back and shoulder massage, 30 minutes for $60. Short enough to fit between school pick-up and dinner.
• For a stretch rather than a rub — traditional Thai massage, done clothed and without oil, $105 for an hour. Good if you want to walk straight back out to the beach afterwards.

What you can only get at St Heliers

Most of the menu is the same at both our spas, but two things are only on the St Heliers menu — and for eastern bays locals they are the strongest argument for staying out east even on the days you work in town.

The infrared sauna

A session in the infrared sauna at St Heliers is 45 minutes plus a shower: $60 for one person or $90 for two. Many people find infrared heat gentler to sit in than a traditional hot-rock sauna, and on a cold, damp spring evening it is the most direct way to get warm right through. It is not available at the Viaduct.

Add a massage and it becomes Package B: 20 minutes of sauna, a body scrub and an aromatherapy massage over two and a half hours, $280. If you are pregnant, have a heart condition or high blood pressure, check with your GP or midwife before booking any heat treatment, and tell us when you book.

The mini-facial package

Package C is a body scrub, an aromatherapy massage and a mini facial over two and a half hours, also $280, and it is only on the St Heliers menu. The closest thing at the Viaduct is a package with a full facial at $295.

The trade the other way: candle therapy massage is only available at the Viaduct, so that one does mean a trip into town.

"Come straight from the beach if you like. Just tell us if you have had a lot of sun, because burnt shoulders change how we work."

Siri therapist team

Fitting a massage around a beach day

The eastern bays make it easy to turn a massage into an afternoon. The order you do things in matters more than people expect.

• Swim and walk first, massage second. Salt water and sand rinse off easily before you arrive. After an oil massage you will want a slow walk and a shower at home, not a plunge into the sea.
• Mention the sun. Firm pressure on sunburnt skin is uncomfortable. If you have caught too much, say so at the start — your therapist can adjust the pressure or the areas they work on, and sometimes moving the booking is the kinder option.
• Eat, but lightly. An ice cream on the Mission Bay promenade is fine. A big lunch just before lying face down for an hour is not.
• Use the long evenings. We are open until 8.00pm, seven days, so through the daylight saving months an after-work booking with a walk by the water afterwards works on a weekday too.
• Bring something warm. Even on a good day the breeze off the Gulf cools you quickly once you are relaxed, especially after the sauna.

Booking for two from the eastern bays

St Heliers has one couple room. That is plenty on a quiet weekday and not much on a sunny Saturday, so if you want a couple massage here — $200 for two people for 60 minutes, $280 for 90 — book well ahead, particularly for weekends and the summer holidays.

If the room is already taken, the Viaduct has two couple rooms ($220 for two for 60 minutes). Or ask about booking two separate treatments at St Heliers at the same time. It is not quite the same as sharing a room, but it still gets you both out of the house and walking home together.

When the Viaduct is the better choice

We would rather you booked the right spa than the nearest one. Choose our city branch instead if you want candle therapy massage, a body scrub on its own, or an appointment straight after work in the CBD. Prices are a little higher in the city — $115 for a 60-minute massage against $105 at St Heliers — and our side-by-side comparison of the two spas lists every difference.

If what you are after is a whole unhurried day — sauna, scrub, massage, lunch in the village — our St Heliers spa day guide plans it out in the right order. And if you just want an hour, the village and the beach will still be there when you walk out.

Every treatment and price is on the St Heliers price list. Book online, or phone the branch if you want help choosing.

Common questions