Shangri-La Beauty Spa

3.5 stars.
*Please note, they have a new address — 244 Grand between Bowery and Chrystie*
Amidst the Asian pharmacies, food stands, acupuncture offices and markets, you will find a little spa that you have to REALLY look for…“spa” 244 Grand between Bowery and Christie… right about Chinatown. Once I saw the metal framed door with several large neon signs, the door man was able to point to the sign, «third floor» in broken English and I was on my way.
A friend told me about this place and raves about it. She has talked about Wendy and the facials in Chinatown for years. I went once before but once I tried Bliss, I kind of forgot about this place. So I tried again and I must say my skin has never looked or felt smoother. You may ask why the three stars when I say this. This is not your typical «Bliss Salon» experience. This is not a white robe, locker, cucumber water, fruit, «let me quietly walk you back to your room» type place. The spa is an improvement from the last location, although it did smell like rice when I walked in there. I don’t really want to walk into a place where I am getting cleaned and pampered and smell food. At the new place there are separate rooms so you are not next to your neighbor with a curtain drawn between.
So my experience was mostly very good with a few small drawbacks.
They use all french decleor products, a high end line that all the aestheticians receive training on every three months. Wendy was great! I opted for the collagen facial. She started with the make up removal, then the cleanser. her massage technique is heavy and very thorough. My face has never gotten such a work out with each and every strep in the process. She was doing techniques with her hand that I didn’t know existed, quick, fast and heavy! After the cleanser, the scrub, then the rose oil and more heavy strokes and motions on my face. Actually my face felt hot! Good for the blood circulation, i guess! Then came the extractions — blackheads, whiteheads, whatever you have will be gone! no mo’ dirty po’s! Seriously, all of your pores will be squeaky clean and the experience may not be so fun but hey, no pain no gain. That’s what happens as you get older, kiddos! After the extractions, she used a high frequency wand to seal the pores. Then came the mask. She used a basic mask, on top of that a lavender mask. I felt like I literally had a plaster mask on my face! On top of the masks, she layered hot lavender bead bags and left me there for 20 minutes. heaven! Until some of the water from the hot bags around my neck started to drip down my back. Being basically blind at the moment and having the wet back trickle threw me off for a minute! I could also hear two of the women right behind the door speaking in Chinese rather loudly. I certainly wouldn’t expect them to be quiet for me but it was distracting and it took away from such a tranquil moment. Later, when Wendy came in she literally peeled the mask off my face in one piece. It was like instant gratification and my face felt quite clean and tingly with a hint of lavender. After this heavy moisturizer massaging my face, neck, decollate, shoulders and even my back. Then the eye cream and lip balm.
BABY SOFT!
If you are in need of a facial but don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars, check it out!
The collagen facial was $ 80 and they take credit cards. You can also tip on the credit cards. They have packages which can end up being much more cost effective if you get facials frequently. They also offer a variety of other services but I say stick with the facials for now.
Now THAT was a long review… phew. All Unilocaled out!

First, a warning. this place does Chinese style facials meaning, unless otherwise told you are going to get a deep extraction and she will use the electric wand afterwards (which she should do) to sterilize the extraction and encourage closing.
I actually like that sort of thing. I also like the masks they put on afterwards and the steam they shoot on your face. It always relaxes me and puts me to sleep. This entire process sometimes lasts more than 1 hour. I’ve been known to loose 2+ hours in this spa.
They do have rooms for multiple people, so you can go with a friend. Also, they do have a multi-​facial card you can purchase. They are pretty entrepreneurial there and if you want to go in on a card with a friend, they make it work.
If i lived closer and was sure I’d make it often enough, I would most likely get the spa card and start going regularly again.
It’s not luxury, but it’s relaxing enough and a chilled out respite.