Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa — Attraction in Plymouth Township

I hate to give this place one star because I had a great previous experience on my birthday. However, my recent experience was frustrating to say the least. I booked an appointment (couples massage) in advance for the Sunday after Valentine's day as an extra gift to for my girlfriend, because last year I had to travel for work and my girlfriend and I spent Valentines Day apart. I booked it weeks in advance because I knew if I waited any longer it would probably be booked by the time I called. I was told by a gentleman on the phone that they had a few times available for Sunday, February 16th. He couldn't really give me any details about the massage such as the details of the actual massage, any accessories, etc. He just said I could come in and add anything additional to the massage, took my card number down along with my phone number so he could contact me if any issues came up or so he could text/call me as a reminder for my appointment. I booked it anyways because I didn't find that to be too much of a big deal. Here's where things took a wrong turn: he contacted my girlfriend INSTEAD of me, which ruined the surprise. Even though I informed him multiple times NOT to contact her because it was a surprise. To make matters worse, according to Nikki whom I spoke to on the phone, the gentleman on the phone was "in training" and "didn't notice" that Sunday was fully booked. I wasn't contacted back until today, and everywhere else is booked. I'm not writing this to shame this location, but this is very frustrating. It also didn't help that when I tried to call back, (I was having signal issues on my phone) I spoke to a different person (Scott) and he didn't really seem to care that they inconvenienced me. This really screwed me over because not only is this surprise ruined, now, after making numerous calls to other locations and also other events, festivities, etc are all booked now. I was really looking forward to becoming a member or reoccurring client at this location. That's obviously not happening anymore....

I usually do not like to bash businesses with a negative review but the massage I received yesterday unfortunately warrants one. I received a massage from Scott and prior to beginning he went through the usual procedure of asking trouble areas, what I do for a living (I am on my feet and work on a computer) and how firm I wanted the massage. I told him my trouble area is my neck with alot of tension and that I do get tension headaches and migraines. I also stated that I liked the intensity of the massage at a medium but not too firm. He began by telling me that he would be massaging my forearms and hands because people don't know they are connected to the neck and shoulders. Well I didn't know my massage would mostly consist of those areas being not even massaged but moved around in weird positions. My neck, shoulders and back were massaged for approximately 1 minute. He also began to rub my scalp which I always enjoy and it relaxes me .. usually. He began pressing so hard on the back of my scalp that I was flinching away but he didn't stop. I know I could have told him to stop but I also assumed he knew what he was doing and not that now a day later I have so much pain that area of my head it is causing a headache. My "massage" felt more like a chiropractor appointment and I was not relaxed even a little bit. I couldnt wait for it to be over. I've now wasted another gift card at this location (I've had previously bad experiences here as well with other therapists). I left the "massage" feeling more tense and in pain than I did when I walked in. I unfortunately have another gift card to use and hope to use at another location so somebody else's gift doesn't...

I just had the worst massage experience I’ve ever had. I wanted a relaxing hour to relieve some stress. I also asked for extra work to one area of my upper back that was bothering me because I think I slept on it funny. I asked for medium pressure, which I’ve done for years, from various people, without a problem. First, Alex tried to pressure me into all kinds of extra add-on services. Then he made inappropriate comments about my tan lines while I was lying on the table, which made me feel really uncomfortable. He then kneaded my back so hard that I was almost in tears. After just two minutes, I told him that the pressure was way too hard. He scoffed and told me he was using light to medium pressure. Absolutely not true. Throughout the massage, Alex very loudly yawned or sighed about twenty times, as if I could not be more of an inconvenience to him and his day. He “massaged” my arms by grabbing and pulling on skin and fat. My entire back was so sore from the first two minutes with him, I could barely move when I woke up the next morning. And the problem area on my upper back was just as bad if not worse than when I arrived. I will certainly never book another massage appointment with Alex ever again, and I’m debating as to whether I want to return to Hand and Stone at all...