A spa menu tends to describe treatments in the language of the treatment rather than the language of the person reading it. This is the other way round: here is the kind of day each style suits.
Traditional Thai
Clothed, no oil, worked on a mat, built around assisted stretching and firm pressure along the body. Choose it when you feel stiff and compressed rather than sore — after long travel, long sitting, or a week where nothing moved very far.
It is the most active of the four, and the one people either take to immediately or need a second session to settle into.
Oil massage
Closer to what most people picture. Smooth, continuous, on a table, working the muscle rather than the joint. Choose it when you want to be still and warm, or when stretching sounds like too much. It is also the easier first treatment if you are unsure.
Ask for deep tissue if you want real pressure; ask for something lighter if the point of the hour is to switch off.
Hot stone
Warm stones used along the back and shoulders, sometimes left in place and sometimes worked with. Heat reaches tension that pressure alone takes longer to get through, so it suits a back that has been tight for weeks rather than days. Good in winter, and good for anyone who runs cold.
Herbal compress
Cloth bundles of herbs, steamed and pressed along the body while warm. It is the gentlest of the four in feel and the most distinctive in smell. Choose it when you want warmth and aroma more than pressure, or as an addition to a Thai or oil massage rather than instead of one.
Still unsure
- Stiff, and you want to move better — traditional Thai.
- Tired, and you want to be still — oil.
- One area tight for a long time — hot stone.
- You want the gentlest hour on the list — herbal compress.
- You have never had any of them — oil, or a longer traditional Thai if you are curious.
And if you still cannot choose, say so when you arrive and describe your week instead. The therapist will pick better than the menu will.