L'essence De La Vie Spa — Local services in Hà Nội

An affordable but high-end feel from start to finish! Did not have a reservation but they were able to accommodate me as a same-day walk-in for whichever service I wanted. English-speaking ok! Staff and location did not make me feel uncomfortable or awkward at all when asking questions. (They accommodated my poor Vietnamese speaking with excellent English.)

Did not upsell on services, which was very much appreciated. Confirmed if the services I requested were the ones I wanted. Also asked for areas to focus and avoid (which isn't super common in Vietnam, esp for the cheaper businesses) and also inquired about allergies, sensitivities, and medical issues that might impede the requested service.

Site was very clean and spacious for Hanoi. The masseuses have a system of hand signals that they teach you when you come in to help accomodate language barriers during the massage. They def put your comfort first and foremost, no questions asked. I felt very safe with my masseuse and she made sure to check in periodically that I was comfortable and enjoying the service (I chose a Japanese dry massage with a sea salt scrub - all done very professionally and well, similar to RMT.)

If your service exceeds 90 min, a light meal is included. (Restaurant is on the same floor as the treatment rooms.) The meal is definitely light (salad, chicken pho, fruit) and very filling.

Overall, if you want a slice of luxury on your vacation in Hanoi with the luxuries and services common and expected in 5-star accommodations, consider L'Essence spa near Hoan Kiem.

PS - they do take credit card so don't need to worry about...

We came here after arriving in Hanoi after a long flight. There are plenty of spas and places to get a massage nearby but we chose L'essence as it was a recommendation from our hotel.

We were very happy once we arrived as L'essence is a professional and beautifully presented business. The staff are very knowledgeable and this spa is focused on wellbeing, so much so that there is a restaurant on the upper floors with a healthy and delicious menu.

I came here with my 2 children and the spa has special massage treatments for children of a young age.

There is an extensive range of treatments and some are a unique blend created by this spa. I am a qualified massage therapist myself and so I appreciated the skill and experience that had gone into these therapies.

All 3 of us had a body massage and face treatment and included a hot bath and steam.

The massage was excellent, my masseuse was qualified, very experienced and very professional. This was a perfect start to our trip.

Whilst at the spa I spoke with the owner and I was impressed with the level of detail and thought that has gone into the spa. The staff are traditionally dressed and the rooms are decorated to a very high standard. This made the experience complete and it is something that you only find in high end establishments. The team here can rightly feel proud of what they have achieved here.

Our trip may not allow us to return to Hanoi but if we are able to spend more time in Hanoi I will definitely return...

It was nicer than most spas in Hanoi. We booked 60 mins shampoo experience ($35 USD). However, the water temperature was unstable and 1/3 through the experience, they ran out of hot water. The therapists called manager for help, while waiting for the issues to be fixed, the therapists were a bit of clueless, leaving me and my 68 years old mom laying flat with wet hair, water in the ears and cold. I had to intervene and suggested them to turn off AC to warm Up the room, give my mom one more bath towel for her body, cover wet hair at least, and just get hot water from bathroom at least to rinse off the remaining shampoo residue or something or maybe giving simple message while waiting? Or change spa room?

We quickly rinse off our hair with bucket of hot water and blow dry. When we were done, the therapist told us we can go ahead change back to our cloth. I wanna change but it took 3-5 mins for them to leave the room? (They were making the massage bed for the next customers, folding towels, cleaning up…etc.).

Anyway, I understand running out of hot water was not the therapist’s fault. I gave two stars for the lack of leadership and problem solving skills from the manager. They could have easily solve the problem by changing the spa room in my opinion?

At the end, they gave us 30% off so it was $25 USD for cold head/hair washing 😂. I don’t think it’s fair but I wasn’t in the mood to argue and ruin...