I went on my first trip to Macau and was searching for a spa experience. I did a lot of research which spa I should go to. I am really glad I picked Rio. It surpassed all clubs in Europe that I know of. Here I want to point out some info, I wasn't sure about before going.
Getting there & gettting in
I bought a ferry package in HK with entrance and services. I wasn't sure about time, but it did take longer door to door than I thought. If you are planning for the first time, figure about 2-3 hours door to door from your hotel up until you enter the spa. This might be helpfull, if you are planning on going last minute, since you might not get the next ferry. I took a taxi from the ferry terminal to the Rio hotel, but you probaly can walk there from the ferry terminal. The spa is in a regular hotel. So when you enter looking as a tourist, no worries that others know what you are up to. Also in the elevator, just simply the floor is mentioned with the spa. It is really funny when you read reveiws on tripadvsior about girls complaining, that this a male only spa
You see how discreet everyhting is if they don't get the message what is going on there
Just enter the spa area and will be met at a reception desk like in a "regular" spa.
Security
Ok, I am a little worried about security. The kind of "will I be mugged, video taped or exploited" security. I can say without a doubt no need to. The moment you arrive until I left I felt secure. One of biggest concers was leaving everything in the loccer (inclunding my passport to get back to HK), and not finding anything when I get back. No need to! First, there is a locker inside the locker with two keys. This locker-in-locker can only be oppened with your key AND the attendants key. Very unlikely someone is just going to get in and take those things.
It didn't seem they had bouncers running around, but I did see some well built guys in suits. So I am sure they have a security staff just in case. Also looking around with the other guys, It looked all good everyone behaved and no problems while I was there.
Service
I might have gotten a good night, but service imho was really good. From the moment I walked into the front desk, and explaining it is my first time, the staff was very helpfull. The locker room attendant spoke good English and explained where evrything was.
The only thing I don't really get were the two girls dressing me. They just dressed me for 30 seconds and expected a tip. I just gave them 10HK$ each just to be polite, but I just didn't get it (I heard in other spas, these girls shower you and dress you afterwards, maybe providing a short bj or hj, here was nothing).
Common areas
Can't say much, very clean, luxurious, best I have ever seen. Kind of like other shower areas of a 5* hotel spa. See for yourself! If you come here during the day, they have all the toiletteries so you can get ready for a meeting or dinner afterwards.
Drinks & Food menu
You can find all the standard drinks and food at a nominal price. I didn't try the food, but it looked good from what other people were eating. Also I was a little worried about maybe having roofies in my drink
I know I might be a little paranoid, but it was an issue I was concerned about. I can assure you, the night didn't end like the hangover movies
Tipping
I always like to tip at places like this, since I noticed, it goes a long way and you treated better. But I didn't get how this works at first. I did have a pouch with me (for phone, and other things I wanted to keep close to me) and some small bills. But whenever I wanted to tip the girls (massages, waiters, NOT the working girls) they were always a little weary and made the moeny disappear fast. I got explained in a moment, that the management takes tips away from them if it is handed cash. However I just gave it under the towel (i.e. when getting a thigh massage), and the tips were very much appreciated. I seemed to work well, because after a while, when I wanted a thigh massage the girls were chasing to come over and give me one
I guess word spread the Italian guy was a good tipper
In the rooms it was no problem to give the girls an extra tip and they seemed to appreciate it, too.
Lineups
So every half hour or so lineups are called. And I agree on what other guys wrote, sometimes you have to be fast to choose. This was a little hard for me, since I asked the manger which girls speak English, offers certain services... So by the time he explained it to me, the girl might already be gone. Anyhow, I still got excellent girls, even if I was a little slow. You can request a semi private linup up in the room areas. This is what they do at later hours when not too many girls are working anymore, too. It doesn't seem that girls work the floor, so if you are feeling like something now, just ask for a lineup outside of the regular times.
Rooms
They offer a varity of premium rooms like with a round bed, subway car.... But the "standard" rooms are very nice, much nicer than a lot of hotels I stayed in. Unless you have a certain fantasy to fulfill, you can stick to the standard rooms and save the money. They have mirrows on the ceiling and really nice shower and a tv with porn.
Language & Managers
So if you are like me and have no idea of Chinese or any other language of the region, DON'T be afraid. The reception, the locker room attendants, the girls working the massage services even the guy doing the manicure, all spoke at least good to very good English. The managers were always very nice to me, and answered the questions in very good English to help me. When requested a girl that speaks English it did seem the managers did make more a good guess, than actually knowing who spoke English well (I chose a South American and Malaysian girl from the line up, the Malaysian girl spoke much better English than the South American girl. I will add the reviews to for these two later).
Departure
I left around 2 a.m. - At this time there is only one ferry per hour. So it took 10 mins go get out, another 5 min to the ferry terminal and then another hour wait for the ferry (time would have been better sspent at the Rio!). Until I was back in HK at my hotel it was like 5 a.m. I didn't know this was too much time, since I didn't want to miss the ferry. I would recommend definately, if you are stuck at 2 a.m. it might be wise just to have another round with a girl and just sleep there! It all looked very comfy and they tuck you in a lot of towels
The reception has a the ferry hours on a list. So you can ask them anytime when the next one leaves. This is especially important for departures after midnight.
Final thoughts
I hope this helps everyone who wasn't sure how things work and how procedures are! I will post my review on the girls I had the pleasure with soon. I wanted to keep this review focused on the spa experience I wasn't sure what the answer were to and hope this helps others, too! Overall Rio is an excellent place for a first spa experience. I don't know if it might spoil you for the other ones!
If you can recommend a spa similar to Rio for my next trip, I'd love to hear. Feel free to ask if you have questions!
