Woodhouse Spa - Greenville — Attraction in Greenville

Just had my first experience with Woodhouse! I originally booked for their new Lighten + Brighten facial, but changed to a hydra facial after talking with the staff on the phone and her mentioning that was her personal favorite and one of their most popular! Also noting there was no down time and it was very popular before events!

When I first walked in, I was warmly greeted, shown the relaxation room where I was offered a snack, fruit infused water, hot tea, or a mimosa. I was then shown the bathroom, all the amenities offered, and left to change into my robe. After changing and returning to the relaxation room, there was a name plate with hot tea awaiting me and I was soon offered a heated neck wrap. (I do wish the neck wrap had been warmer because I couldn’t feel it as much with my cozy, plush robe, but it was still a nice touch.

I will say all of the staff was super friendly and I noticed how nice everything smelt throughout the space (especially the eucalyptus spray in the bathroom!)

After relaxing for a bit (I got there 20-30 min prior to my appointment as recommended) my esthetician Jenn came to get me, walked me back to my room asked if I had any challenges or concerns, and if there were any add ons I’d like to request. I told her I was open to any add ons she suggested after seeing my skin since it had been a while since I had a facial and wasn’t sure what I needed, but she did make mention that she doesn’t like to add too much at the first appointment so we can create a baseline and see what’s truly needed.

Jenn asked if I had ever had a hydra facial before (to which I answered no) and she proceeded to tell me it was one of her favorites as well, and that my skin would feel “the cleanest it’s ever felt, while still feeling hydrated”. The service did seem on the short side but I only booked the 50 minutes and I understand time just goes by quickly when you’re relaxed and enjoying yourself. I do think my expectations were slightly higher being that I paid almost $300 (after tip, which I’ll circle back to in a moment) and the hype that the facial was given, but to be honest, I wouldn’t pay that much for it again based on my results. That being said, I chalk that up to a me + my lack of skin problems rather than a treatment issues because hydra facials seem to be about $200+ anywhere, so the service may just not be for me. I would however request a different esthetician for my next appointment because I do prefer someone that uses a bit more pressure, there wasn’t anything inherently “bad”, but it felt like she was lightly rubbing my skin rather than truly massaging my face, neck or shoulders. Overall I just don’t feel like it left my skin looking/feeling any differently than when I exfoliate, cleanse, tone and moisturize at home.

I do love that you’re invited to stay as long as you’d like after, as a small business owner and busy mom of 2, I could definitely see myself spending an afternoon, relaxing in their space!

Upon checkout, I do have to note that I was turned off by (who I perceive was the manager because she was the only one dressed differently than the rest of the staff) asking me if I would like to “leave a 20% gratuity to my esthetician Jenn”... As a salon owner, I understand the importance of gratuities to a service providers income, but the verbiage that was used definitely made it feel obligatory, and I did not feel as though I had the option to leave less or more.

I do have an appointment for myself and my team to get massages + facials in January (that I had made prior to making this hydra facial appointment) and I hope to come back and update this review to 5 stars after...

Updated 2/16/21: Added a star since I was issued a refund with a heartfelt apology regarding the service and lack of communication regarding what the service entailed. I’m still not sure if the mud was only supposed to be applied sparingly to just the front of the arms and shins. I’d recommend calling and asking specifics before booking anything as they said it is a franchise so the videos on the website that describe what a service may look like is not necessarily for the Greenville location. Deceiving.

The service I received (warm spice mud wrap) was a total joke. Waste of money! Hardly what would be considered a “wrap”. A tiny bit of mud was swiped on the front of my arms and the front of my shins. THATS IT! Then a bunch of lotion was rubbed into my face until there was no lotion left which ended up feeling like rug burn all over my face followed by a scolding hot towel to my face. My face was still burning red 4 hours later. The Vichy shower was next. I’ve never experienced this before, however I am sure it is not intended to last until the water gets cold enough to make you shiver and soak your entire head and hair. If so, this should be communicated to customers beforehand so they are aware (or at least explain for those who aren’t familiar what a Vichy shower is so not to have to sit in soaking wet underwear as I did). Since it was completely dark and my face was covered, I couldn’t tell if she was in the room with me or not so I did ask about the cold water but didn’t get a response. A few minutes later, the water stopped. I’m also sure that I should’ve been completely dry before the subpar massage that followed (again, just the front of my arms and from the knees down). She did change out the drenched towels for dry ones however the newly laid down towels became soaking wet within minutes (probably due to not wiping down the table or myself prior to changing). Laying on wet towels for the remainder of the session was extremely uncomfortable; I just couldn’t wait to dry myself off and go home. At the end, she explained the floor would be wet and slippery so she placed a dry towel on the floor for me to step on and to put my robe and sandals on and she’d be waiting for me to come out and walk me back. The robe on the back of the door and the sandals next to the door we’re not near the dry towel on the floor so I had to scootch my feet with the towel under them to get to the robe. I wasn’t aware of any dry towels to dry myself off completely or wring the excess water out of my hair except for the small hand towel in the shower area of the locker room. I dried off the best I could with it and bunched up my soaking wet undergarment and threw it in my purse. After I reached out to express my concerns, they claim they will contact me to have a conversation about this, however the time frames I gave that I am available to talk is not likely to work for them. ...

I’m not one to write reviews but this is the third time I’ve been disappointed with woodhouse.

First time, I was booked for an appointment to use their Vichy shower. They apparently double booked and switched my treatment using their soaking tub instead of the Vichy shower. I wasn’t given any sort of notice of this either or I would have cancelled and I had two services booked that day, this being the first and I was told 10 mins before my appointment. I was not given any sort of discount due to this change or offered a chance to rebook using for the service I originally requested.

The second time, I was called an hour before my appointment and was told that they had to cancel my services that day due to being short staffed. No sorry, no option to get me rebooked. Just that my appointment was cancelled and I also had two different services that day as well.

The most recent one was when I called last week looking to book a party package for my sisters 30th birthday. I had looked online and they had availability. I called to get it booked and they said they’d email me more information. I looked over it and called back within an hour to get it set up. I was told someone would call me back as who was in charge of getting the package set up had stepped away. I received no call back that day. I had to then call again the following day and was told to respond via email. I did so, and then no one got back to me until 5 days later just to then let me know, they no longer had availability.

I say all of this to tell you, just don’t waste your time with this place. When my services have actually gone as planned, they are great and I’d rate it 5 stars but the scheduling issues and cancelations bring...