Grotto Spa-The Forum Carlsbad — Attraction in Carlsbad

I have been getting migraines so I knew it was time for stress relief. My body only responds to deep tissue massage. I called and spoke with a man and scheduled a 5:30 PM deep tissue massage for one hour last night. When I arrived, nobody was there and there was a sign that told me to wait. So I waited about 20 minutes and finally someone came out and took me into a room. Nobody spoke in English. I kept telling the massage therapist that I needed a deep tissue And she didn’t understand. I couldn’t keep telling her DURING THE MASSAGE - when I should have been relaxing. it got to a point where it was just ridiculous and she couldn’t understand anything. She ended up doing a 90 minute Swedish instead of the one hour deep tissue massage That I had booked - Swedish does nothing for me. Then when I came out of the massage I had to pay $115 For the Swedish 90 minute that I did not want. The 60 minute deep tissue was $65. The lady at the front desk didn’t speak any English either. She kept shoving her iPhone in my face, literally 2 inches from my mouth with the bright iPhone light blinding me and asking me to speak for a translator app that did not work and she was getting upset at me for not allowing me to shove this iPhone in my face. I kept pushing it away after the translator did work about 5 times. It was seriously disrespectful. The translator didn’t work. Then she kept hassling me to pay for it $115!!! instead of $65. This went on for about 15 minutes and I couldn’t handle it anymore. I had to give them my credit card so they would let me leave the building. Then she stalled with the credit card processing machine in her hand and wouldn’t charge my credit card because they were hassling me for a tip. I didn’t wanna leave a tip. I was already being bullied and overcharged for something I didn’t even want..and didn’t receive any benefit from. They wouldn’t let me leave until I tipped on the credit card. so I threw $10 out and she finally ran my credit card for the $115. They wanted me to tip more and I was just disgusted at this point. I just wanted to leave and go home. I had a headache and now I’m out $125 for something I didn’t ask for. At this point I just wanna refund and I don’t think I’ll go back there anymore.. I was going once or twice a week and my boyfriend was taking me every week to a massage at one of their few locations. I’m just going to have to tell him I don’t wanna go back there again. You need somebody that speaks English on premises at all time. They’re pushy for money and tips. It’s horrible. I go to relax and have nothing but anxiety. It’s bad enough my massage therapist can’t understand me during a treatment and I’m constantly hassled to explain myself with sign language they don’t understand DURING THE TREATMENT!!. Really bad. I woke up sick to my stomach this morning from the whole experience. NEVER AGAIN!! Go somewhere you can actually enjoy the experience instead of getting hassled, upset and held against your will so they can empty your pockets . There are several negative reviews - don’t dismiss them. The business says they are against their employees hassling over a tip - this isn’t true. I sent my son in for a massage a few months ago and he tried to give them $15 for a tip on a $65 massage and she kept hassling him until he pulled more money out of his pocket for...

Unfortunately this business doesn’t put the client first and I have a hard time continuing to support businesses like that.

I bought several massage packages from them in the past that did not list or explain an expiration date, on the cert or otherwise. I have been in and out of Southern California for business non stop since. I just so happened to be back over Easter and found all of my gift certificates so I figured that would be a nice way to finish the day and treat myself.

I arrived for my 8 pm appointment and was told to stand at the desk 10-15 mins while the hostess tried to call the manager repeatedly in front of me to see if they could even use my gift certificate (again with no expiration date listed) After the long wait I was told that the price has increased since the year when I bought the several gift certificates and I would be forced to pay the difference… not able to use multiple of my gift certs to pay it, but to monetarily pay the difference over the top of one of them.

In my opinion this is just bad business. As a business owner myself in the health and wellness industry i bend over backwards for my clients, and would never have forced a client into this situation. Especially one that was already standing in the, empty, lobby of my business.

Horribly customer service, and even worse that it happened on a...

I had a massage at The Grotto Spa in the Forum Shops in Carlsbad using a Groupon. I bought the Groupon because the spa was in the Forum shops, so I trusted that it was legitimate and reputable. The massage was really intense and not relaxing but my muscles felt better afterward. Unfortunately my masseuse pulled on my head and neck repeatedly, and I have had neck pain for weeks since the massage. I don't think this person was licensed. There was no communication with her because she not did not speak English. Over one month later I continue to have neck pain. My doctor examined me and referred me to physical therapy for the pain. I found other similar poor reviews online for this place. When I bought the Groupon it said the name of the spa was The Forum Spa. When I used it several weeks later the name was The Grotto Spa. There is another spa in Carlsbad called The Grotto Spa on Roosevelt that has good reviews, so it looks like they are hoping people will mistake them for that place. The whole thing is shady and has the potential to harm a lot...