Will be staying at the Peninsula but would like to get some advice on where the wife can get facials/manicurs/pedicures without spending a fortune at the hotel facilites/spas. needs to be a clean nice place.

I lived in Hong Kong for 5 years. My favourite place for facials, pedicures etc was a place called Ellespa. In the interest of full disclosure, this spa was started by friends of mine about 3 years ago and I was an investor in it, I sold out about 6 months ago as I had moved from Hong Kong. It is very much for expats and local Hong Kongers, you won't find any tourists here. The place is beautiful and they have a full range of treatments. It is in Repulse Bay, so while she is getting the treatments you can talk a walk on the beautiful beach and down to the Tin Hau Temple. (The spa has a full range of treatment for men as well, so keep this in mind!) The bus ride over to Repulse Bay is an adventure in itself. Take the #6 from Central Bus Terminal. The Verandah at the Repulse Bay is also a great place for lunch or dinner. Your wife may want to compare the prices to the Penn, I can't promise they are much cheaper, but the service is excellent, and English is the first language.

Ellespa Limited
shop g106A
the repulse bay
109 repulse bay road
hong kong
tel: (852) 2537 7736
fax: (852) 2530 9738

Take a look at http://www.ellespa.com. They list treatments and prices. They have treatments on Sundays, while many places are closed. I believe the Penn's website has spa information as well.

Repulse Bay is on the way to Stanley so you could stop off for a few hours here and then continue on to Stanley for shopping and dinner.

Many spas are in hotels in Hong Kong, as they are just starting to get into the spa craze. There is an Aveda spa in the Marco Polo hotel, I don't know anything about it. Outside of hotels, Ellespa and Frederique (see below), you will find some beauty shops offering facials and "spa treatments" but IMO these girls don't have the training that you would find at Ellespa or a good hotel spa, and the facilities are not up to date. Other good spas are:

The Regent Hotel (down the street from the Penn on the water)

Frederique Spa
4/F, Wilson House, 19-27 Wyndham Street (in Central HK)
tel: 852 2522 3054

Frederique is a French woman and an institution in Hong Kong. She set up the first western style salon and spa in Hong Kong many years ago and also has a beauty school. She was also an original investor in Ellespa. Take a look at the website at http://inet4.hktb.com/d22638.htm Her prices may be less than Ellespa and should be less than any hotel spa.

Sorry the Regent is now the Intercontinental hotel. I just can't bring myself to stop calling it the Regent. . .

If you wife just wants a basic manicure or pedicure, the hotel could probably recommend a place nearby. For these basic services, any shop is OK. Have to say that the pedicures at Ellespa are fabulous, we designed special reclining chairs just for pedicures. . .

Cicerone,
Without following BillT's many posts you had no way of knowing that he is talking about the Peninsula in Bangkok.

BillT,
You should try to post all your questions on one post. So far you have about 4 or 5 different ones dealing with basically the same subject - Bangkok.
Anyway, if you are staying at the Pen, there is the Oriental Spa, basically next door. It's one of the best, if not THE best in Bangkok.

yes I'm talking about the Penn in Bangkok. I do separate posts as it is more focused on the question- readers will know more about the post from the title.

OK, Bangkok. I agree that the Oriental is probably the best spa in Bangkok. Banyan Tree also have a world-class spa. Bangkok is in a similar postion as Hong Kong in that the best spas are currently primarily in hotels. The Marriott Riverside and the JW Marriott both have excellent spas. They may be slightly cheaper than the Penn or Oriental.

For basic pedicures and manicures, the beauty salon at the Penn is very good and really not expensive.

Thanks all- but I was really looking for some advice on where to go outside of the 5 star hotels. Surely there are plenty of Beauty Salons all ovet Bangkok
These would be a better value than the 5 start hotels which tend to be a bit pricey.

I had the best pedicure of my life at the beauty parlor at the Oriental shopping mall (across the driveway from the entrance to the hotel). I don't remember the price, but I think I tipped more than the cost. I wish I had had time for a manicure and facial there. I would only go to a salon/spa attached to major hotel because I could be concerned about the cleanliness of the equipment.

The salons and spas attached to the 5* hotels are considered the best in Bangkok. When I was in Bangkok last December there was a new spa that had just opened at the Sheraton Royal Orchid. I thought the prices were reasonable, and it had just been written up as one of the best in Bangkok.