A healing tradition, carried from Chiang Mai to Holborn
Lotus & Lantern began not with a business plan, but with a grandmother's hands — and a promise to keep an art alive on the other side of the world.
From Khun Yai's front room to a Holborn sanctuary
Our founder, Ploy Srisai, grew up in a village outside Chiang Mai watching her grandmother — Khun Yai — treat the whole neighbourhood with her hands. There was no clinic, no price list; just generations of knowledge passed down through touch, and a queue at the door from sunrise.
Ploy trained formally at the Old Medicine Hospital in Chiang Mai, then spent a decade practising across Thailand before moving to London. She found a city full of spas but few that practised traditional Thai massage the way she'd been taught — patiently, ceremonially, with real reverence for the lineage.
In 2014 she opened Lotus & Lantern on a quiet Holborn street, with one rule: every therapist would be Thai-trained and every treatment given the time it deserves. Ten years and twenty-five thousand treatments later, that rule hasn't moved an inch.
Four principles we practise by
Tradition, untouched
We practise authentic nuad boran as it's taught in Thailand — no shortcuts, no fusion gimmicks, just the real art, given properly.
Time, not turnover
Every treatment runs its full length. We'd rather see fewer guests beautifully than rush anyone through the door.
Therapists first
Our team are skilled professionals, fairly paid and properly rested. Healing hands need looking after too.
Calm by design
From the lantern light to the herbal tea, every detail is chosen to slow your heart rate the moment you step inside.
The hands behind the calm
Ploy Srisai
Trained at Chiang Mai's Old Medicine Hospital. Twenty-five years of practice and the keeper of Khun Yai's lineage.
Nong Wattana
Our most-requested therapist, famous for finding tension you didn't know you were carrying. Eighteen years in practice.
Mali Aran
Blends every oil by hand to suit your mood. Her aromatherapy treatments have a quiet, devoted following.
Kanya Phana
Steams every herbal compress fresh and leads our reflexology. Trained in northern Thai herbal medicine.
Trained properly, certified fully
The tradition makes more sense once you've felt it
Book a treatment and experience the difference proper training and unhurried time really make.