Psyche Dream Spa

Most shops in this guide sell minutes. Psyche Dream Spa sells a set. Its website calls it Thailand's first role-playing spa and not a traditional massage parlour, with six themed rooms running from a hospital ward to a first-class cabin.

It suits the reader who wants theatre with the massage, or two friends who want to book together: the website says two guests can share a scenario. It doesn't suit a tight budget. The cheapest line on the card is ฿4,800 for 70 minutes, and the house is a long walk from any station. The 4.9 rating from 112 reviews is high; one reviewer's verdict, that the price is good for one experience, is worth keeping in mind.

According to its website, Psyche Dream Spa runs six themed scenarios: hospital, gym, classroom, female dorm, airplane first class and prison. The staff are described as actresses, graded S, A and B, with a different fee for each tier. Photography and recording are not allowed.

Google reviewers bear the theme out. Several describe booking the classroom, one the hospital, another a personal-trainer session, and the word immersive turns up. One reviewer, though unhappy overall, still credits the place with clean, modern facilities. The listing gives English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean as languages spoken, and private rooms are among its services.

The address sits on RCA Alley, in Huai Khwang, and the website places it near Route 66 Club. That is the landmark the taxi driver will know.

Prices come from the shop's own published rate card:

• One therapist (B tier) 70 min: ฿4,800
• One therapist (A tier) 70 min: ฿5,800
• One therapist (S tier) 70 min: ฿7,000
• Two therapists (B + B) 100 min: ฿7,000
• Two therapists (A + B) 100 min: ฿8,000
• Two therapists (S + B) 100 min: ฿9,000
• Two therapists (A + A) 100 min: ฿9,000
• Two therapists (S + A) 100 min: ฿10,000
• Two therapists (S + S) 100 min: ฿11,000

Each step up a tier adds roughly ฿1,000. Two B-tier therapists for 100 minutes cost the same as one S-tier therapist for 70, which is the sum worth doing before you choose. Shops with two-therapist sessions are collected in the four hands volume, and two guests booking together can compare the couples list.

Booking runs through LINE and WeChat. The website recommends booking at least two hours in advance, since a themed room has to be free when you arrive.

No station is close. MRT Phra Ram 9 is the nearest, about 1.3 km away, a 21-minute walk. MRT Phetchaburi is 1.4 km off, about 23 minutes, and ARL Makkasan around 26. Most readers will take a taxi to Route 66 and walk from there.

The door opens at 13:00 and closes at midnight, every day. RCA keeps its own late hours after that, but the trains don't: plan the ride home. Psyche Dream Spa is one of the shops in the RCA district.

This is for the reader who finds an ordinary massage room too ordinary, and who doesn't mind paying for the staging. Groups of two get the most out of the card, since the website says each guest can book a therapist and share a scenario.

Anyone after a quick, cheap hour near the trains should look elsewhere. The under ฿2,500 list and the near BTS and MRT volume are built for that, and the Top 20 sets Psyche against the city's best-rated doors.

Psyche Dream Spa holds a 4.9 Google rating from 112 reviews, and the recent reviews are mostly five stars.

The theme carries most of them. Google reviewers often mention the role play by name, describing classroom and hospital scenarios as fun, interesting or immersive, and several first-time visitors say they plan to return. A number of reviews name a favourite therapist, with Jenny and Jam mentioned more than once, and one notes a therapist who speaks Chinese.

Value is the open question. One four-star reviewer says the atmosphere is immersive but the price is good for one visit only. One one-star reviewer, who paid ฿9,000 for 100 minutes, complains that the two therapists talked to each other in Thai and that one used her phone during the session. That is a single report, but at these prices it is worth agreeing what the 100 minutes include before you pay.