The Retreat at Brightleaf — Attraction in Durham

Just had a really disappointing experience getting a facial here with Mackenzie this morning. Long story short, just make sure you're getting the full time and that they're not trying to squeeze you in. I also felt that this place wasn't as friendly to first timers as it was to its regulars which wasn't really cool either.

I'm from out of town visiting my cousin who just graduated from Duke and decided to take the day off and treat myself while on vacation. I booked a 60 min. massage and 60 min. facial back to back online but something happened to my facial reservation and it was never logged in their system. I was willing to just let it go but then the receptionist at the front desk said they could get me in for a 30 minute facial in 15 minutes at 10:30am. I thought sure, it's better than nothing.

Well I ended up getting called in at 10:37am, which I thought no big deal, I get that things run over. My issue was the entire facial seemed rushed and on top of that my facial ended at 11:02am. I made sure to look at the time because when things run late I just want to make sure I'm getting the full time for this exact reason.

I briefly mentioned it to the receptionist when checking out and she said she could maybe talk to her manager or give me a discount on a future service. I'm from out of town so the discount would do me no good and I felt so uncomfortable I just wanted to leave. I ended up leaving a 15% tip because the total was combined and I was happy with my massage but I wish I had just asked for a refund on the amount I was cut short for my facial because I paid for...

Very disappointed. I booked a prenatal massage on their website. I was told after requesting the appointment that it wasn't actually available even though online it said it was. No problem, so I got another appointment made and confirmed. The appointment wasn't until 1-2 weeks away because they were fairly booked out. Then they called me later on and said they needed to reschedule it to a different day, which I said was fine. Then they called me and said they needed to reschedule it to a different time, which I said was fine. Then they called me the night before the massage (which was supposed to be at 10:15am) and told me they had to cancel it and offered me appointment times after 5pm that day or the next week. I understand that things happen but the sequence of changes to this one appointment shows they clearly have problems running their business. As a person in late pregnancy, this is obviously very disappointing that they are not more considerate to their customers and do not try to deal with their staffing issues prior to just asking the customer to accommodate them. I agree with the other reviewer below that was cancelled on by the Retreat 15 mins before her appointment-- it doesn't seem very fair for this business to have such a strict no cancellation policy for customers and then to not be as considerate to their customers before...

I went here for the first time based on reviews and had a very mediocre 90 minute massage that did not feel worth the money. It was a 3/5 in my book, until I then woke up this morning (the day after) and was in so much back pain. I can barely move my head from side to side. It could be coincidence, but I strongly suspect it's as a result of the poor massage technique. So, I'm left with a 2/5 rating. I don't remember the name of my technician, and perhaps there are others there who are more skilled.

----- Update in reply to management's response: It would be helpful if the Retreat had an option for feedback, but they do not. It is not clear to me who I should speak with or how to provide feedback other than writing a review. Should I have asked to stop my massage in the middle of it and come to the front desk? Is there a specific person who counts as "management" who I should speak to? I assumed the person at the front desk was a receptionist and not the appropriate "management" staff person with whom to discuss my concerns. I continue to be experiencing back pain after my massage, and I would love to know that the Retreat takes seriously an injury as a result of a massage in their facility, including a plan to prevent this from happening...