Wednesday, November 9, 2011

I'm a Spa Snob!

Greetings!

As promised here is the review of the spa I attended for spa week. Let me first say I'm not happy having to write a negative review..then again maybe it was just me and my expectations were too high. The spa is Karen's Body Beautiful in Brooklyn. I think this was really a case of buyer beware. While I was running to get there, (so I'm not late and reduce my time as their literature states)...at 5:00pm I was still waiting and there appeared to be no one there....my appointment was 4:30....

This was the first spa I'd ever been to where there was no paperwork completed to assess if there was any medical conditions ..I was thoroughly surprised. Someone please let me know if they have had this experience before....

I was also surprised to see there were no lockers to store my belongings ...there was a clothes closet, but it didn't fit my purse... Hmmm..so my purse was on the floor in the ONE room for massages...

I choose the $79 special which I thought would include a hydrotherapy bath. I did have a bath..(in one of those tanks that they close you in and the jet streams water on you). Yes it was heavenly...With really great scents but it was more like an exfoliation...alas no real massage...in this case I got what I paid for (mind you the literature says something different).

My reflexology treatment was $49 and it could have been better but I will say the technician was very knowledgeable in relation to how massaging parts of the feet are related to the rest of the body... It wasn't awful .. Just not enough power...oh.. and this was the same technician who did my hydrotherapy/massage..umm..exfoliation (I broke my cardinal rule I mentioned in another post about having the same technician perform more than one service).

Now the pedicure wasn't bad...I was astonished, however, when I booked they had not included the pedicure but instead a manicure..then I was told I'd have to wait for the technician to clean the station and it would take 20 minutes... She gave major attitude saying I was supposed to get a manicure and argued with me! For those that don't know, I get my nails silk wrapped and many of these new "spas" deal with natural nails...so I asked if I could get the special with the pedicure instead.... I was told yes...

Imagine my surprise now that it's 7:00pm and still have a pedicure to go! The final straw was the pedicure technician was on HER cell phone the entire time....

There's just something incredibly wrong with hearing the traffic outside and the music thumping upstairs while I'm get a pseudo massage....

To make matters worse - disposable panties(and thongs!),bra and slippers... I've never seen anything like it. Of course as someone who is fairly business savy, I do understand this keeps expenses low..but...They are just...Well..Cheap.

Needless to say I won't be back.

So what exactly makes me a spa snob? I'm used to a few set of basic (ok maybe they are not basic??) formalities when "spa-ing"...

1. Tranquility - I expect to be taken away from the daily grind where I can relax, de-Stress and be at peace.

2. I expect my service to start relatively on time. My time is valuable as is everyone else's.

3. Can a girl have a locker? With some REAL robes and slippers? And shower caps? Shampoo? Soap? Scrunchies for my hair? Yeah I never really used the stuff offered in the other spas but I'm used to have them at my disposal!

So the motto here really is you get what you pay for...and always be prepared! My bestie had given me a spa kit a while ago..and another one as my bridesmaid gift so I was prepared...:)

I will say after thinking about how to end this post ... I like large facilities with all the bells and whistles. Make sure when deciding to spa if the small intimate setting or the large setting matters to you.

Please provide your feedback with your own spa stories..subscribe and tell a friend!

Ciao!

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