NAYA Thai Massage Phuket Town

This is the kind of massage place I'd point people towards when they've had enough of beachfront spas charging resort prices for scented towels and a gong. The focus here is the work itself: traditional Thai massage, done by people who know what they're doing, in a setting built around treatment rather than presentation.

The location helps. It sits on Thanon Phun Phon, close enough to the Old Town that you can spend an afternoon walking the Sino-Portuguese shophouses and then go get your legs stretched back into shape. Phuket Town moves at a slower pace than Patong, and this fits that rhythm.

The hours are the real advantage. Doors open at 11am and stay open until midnight, seven days a week, which means you can eat your way through the night market and still book something afterwards. That's rare, and it's worth planning around if you're arriving on a late flight or coming back from a day trip stiff and sunburnt.