Herbal Spa And Salon — Attraction in Honolulu

Ok.......Overall, not bad. Is is $200 worth? I'll let you be the judge. So, my friend made reservations at this place and I was so excited to go. I've been sore and stressed so I needed this day of relaxation. My friend got called in to work last minute but I still went. I parked right in front of the building and noticed there was what looked like a restaurant there so I tried to make sure I was in the right place. I walked up to the desk and was immediately greeted. The lady said "pay now" which was fine. My total was $146 and some change. So I paid it. She gave me the receipt back and said "the tip", which i said "I didn't put a tip on there". She then asked me if I was going to pay it in cash and I said "is the tip mandatory?" and she showed me another person's receipt where they left and additional $30. I wasn't unclear about how the process of tipping works, I do not leave tips until I have experienced the service. Now, usually, I would just leave but she had already ran my card, I didn't want to deal with having to get a refund and today I fought high traffic in the rain to get there and I was really looking forward to relaxing. If the service is advertised as $140, then that is what I expect to pay. If they feel like it's worth 170, then charge that amount. So, this encounter was very off putting because I am not one to be "forced" to tip for service that I have not received. So, i paid the "forced" tip and the lady gave me a basket with clean towels and a robe. She guided me to the locker room where I was able to leave my belongings under lock and key. Next, she ushered me to the Himalayan salt room sauna. I loved being in this room. I had no concept of time but it felt like I was in there for at least 35-40 minutes. Next I was told to disrobe, get in the shower, then the cold plunge. This was so invigorating!! Then she put me in the steam room. I love steam rooms. This was nice but it became a little too hot and I have a pretty high tolerance for heat. Then I was told to go into the shower, cold plunge, and the jacuzzi. Then it was time for the scrub. This section of the experience deserved the whole $176. It was absolutely great. You know how when you were little after you played outside all day and your grandma told you to get in the tub, but you get in and out so fast she knew you didn't scrub right and she made you get back in and SHE scrubbed you herself? This is what it felt like. I haven't been scrubbed like that in a while. It was amazing. All i could smell was Irish Spring soap. Definitely not for the modest. All your girly parts are out, but it didn't bother me one bit. After the scrub there were more cycles of very warm water being splashed on my body, more scrubbing then another shower. After that, she doused me in coconut oil while giving a slight massage. She then put a cucumber mask on my face, and washed my hair. Ok.......as a Black woman with 4C hair, the wash does NOT cater to our hair texture. So now, as I write this my hair is very brittle, but the wash itself was very relaxing. The scalp massage was everything. Next she put milk all over my body, rinsed it off and told me I was done. As I dried off, I saw a sign that said, Grutuity is not mandatory but is greatly appreciated by the staff. And I was like "oh wow, ok". I was initially put off by that tip conversation at the beginning of the experience. Had they not asked for the tip before service was rendered, I would've given her a $60 tip, but since they wanted it up front, she got $30. As I was walking out some lady said "Did you tip?" Once again, I was immediately annoyed. I got in my car, looked at my glowing skin and realized there were thick chunks of product in my hair. I just smiled and drove home. One thing about this spa is that there were no herbs used. I was expecting something herbal, or at least essential oils. Definitely could've had aroma therapy and some calming music, but the place seemed fairly clean and they took their...

Ok So here's my scoop. This little hideaway in Honolulu is a local diamond in the ruff. Ok so I had no other information to go in on except I had heard previously they ask you to be in the buff,( more on that later) And they can be pretty deep massages.( which is precisely why I wanted to try them out ) So first things first - just do what they say. From the moment I stepped over the threshold of a run down neighborhood in kakaako I almost felt I was in another time. An old asian bathhouse- like no one wanted to know me not I them but yet welcoming and comfortable The cute thing is the therapists are all older Korean speaking women who do they're work in undies and brackets-more on this to. .it really was its own unique cuteness (I'm pretty sure this is not that kind of place ) You are led into a quite remarkable hot sauna room layered with Himalayan salt rocks beneath you Constructed to breathe in the salt for about 20 min. I think I lasted 10. Then to rest in the dry sauna , hot tub and cold plunge for the remainder of the hour so that you can prepare your skin and muscles for...um what was to come. The next 2 hrs I was in and out of a deep haze as I was exfoliated and scrubbed for 1 hr straight that's right -every inch of me- back to them being in the buff In my care practice I also encourage people to dress down and explore being comfortable in they're own skin however I at first was shy and concerned she we probably start by telling me I was to skinny then judge my every inch.I was very happy to realize I felt so comfortable and they could care less as it really is a fuller experience being nude as compared to having cloths on they're. Admist the scrubbing of my body ( I don't think I have a dead skin cell left on my whole body) She would poor large buckets of nice warm water to rinse me off. I then realized why they wear what they do. She gets as wet and oily as I do Ok then the hot yogurt body bath- as I layed on the table she came over with a large container of warm viscous liquid and started massaging it into my body. Then placing a frozen cucumber mash on my hot face (after she yogurted that to!) the chill of the cucumber as she continued to pour sumptuous amounts of what I believe to be mineral oil on me again and again. Elbows knuckles extremely long deep strokes running from my feet to my neck and then back down again. Stretching my arms and neck and legs again and again. Oh and then she washes my hair and puts a hot cloth on my face and a nice hot wrap under my meck. All in all this was A 3 hr experience for far less than I've payed for much much less The neighbor it's in mmmm not in great condition it's a neighborhood with a lot of history however pretty sure you want to go in knowing it seems a little seedy outside of the Korean bath house.like I said a diamond in the ruff. These women know what they're doing and have done it for year's . If you were to ask me if I would go again? The answer is a definitely huge YES and I will invite...

Tldr; best avoided.

Having lived in Korea for 5 years collectively, my husband and I were ecstatic to find a jjimjilbang while on vacation.

We did a walk-in two hours after opening. After ringing the bell, the owner (?) trugged towards us aggrivatedly and demanded we pay in cash. There was no indication on the website or at the desk that this was a cash only establishment and we could clearly see the card reader on the desk. After showing her that we did not have sufficient cash, she begrudgingly accepted our card payment, slamming our bins of cloths/towels/locker keys on the counter. We probably should have left then.

She led us both to our separate spaces and left in a huff without instruction. This was fine for us but would be very confusing for a first time jjimjilbang attendee.

Throughout my time in the spa, the owner and an older Korean woman came in and out of the women's section. Stomping their way through, clearly annoyed at my presence. I felt extremely unwanted. I always smiled and greeted them in Korean, but this did not seem to lessen their displeasure at my presence.

Now about the spa-- it was dirty. I lived in the Korean countryside, so clear signs of owners living at their establishment was not unusual or unwelcomed for me (cloths hanging out to dry, milk and other general groceries in the fridge, personal hygiene items tucked in corners, etc). But the spa was an unual level of dirty. It had clumps of hair strewn about, had a large buildup of mineral residue on the walls and floors (as if it wasn't cleaned regularly or at all), and the warm tub felt slimy on the bottom. It just did not feel clean. It did not feel like the owners took pride in their establishment.

The salt room is beautiful. However, the conversations of the upstairs room can be heard through the ceiling-- which isn't a big deal, except it was a woman complaining in Korean about the people in the spa. My husband and I were the only two people in the spa.

Other things of note: the men were told to wear shorts while in the spa, which is highly unusual; I was lectured at length about touching the salt room controls, despite explaining that I had not touched them and was reading the sign on the wall next to it; the entrance to the women's room faces the open front door and is only hidden by a curtain, which occasionally blows up and can give anyone in the lobby a full view of the women's tubs. My husband reported having a similarly weird and unpleasant experience in the men's section and has written his own review.

In summary, we were unwanted and the spa was uncleanly. When I got home afterwards, I soaked my feet in vinegar and took a shower. I am so sad to speak negatively about an independent business, but this review...