exhale Spa Battery Wharf — Local services in Boston

DO NOT GO HERE. If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. At the end of summer there was a "lifestyle membership" promotion: $149/month for unlimited studio classes and one spa treatment per month.

Seven reasons why you should never step foot in this spa:

1. The facility is dirty. The locker room sinks are filthy, the floors are always wet. I do not trust that the slippers are clean. Their women's room amenity offering is a bowl of used combs.

2. The facility is dated. Their idea of a quiet pre-treatment room is bulk almonds in a jar and dusty tea bags. There has been a "pardon our appearance we are undergoing a facelift" sign in the reception room for the entire four months I was a member. They do not invest in maintenance or upkeep. The lockers are out of order. The sauna is tiny and worn down.

3. The studio classes are over sold and crowded. Their idea of a luxurious members only spa night was amazon quality sheet masks and mats so close strangers are touching you during the work out.

4. The front desk staff do not care about their guests and it's obvious. They love to "pop you on hold" until you wither away and hang up. They will promise to follow up via email with issues to your account and then never do so. I witnessed a front desk person raise their voice at a member because she was standing too close to the back of the desk.

5. The technicians are always unapologetically several minutes late and it cuts into service time, and they do not make up for it at the end. This is reason enough to cancel any membership.

6. The real issue, the final straw for me: they do not have a single face mask in the entire spa.

It's cold and flu season, I require my technicians to wear a mask. It's that simple. Despite having asked to have a note on my file, receiving confirmation via email when I began my membership, having discussed my needs with the facial tech Jill multiple times, and Jill agreeing to wear a mask (that I had to provide for her!) for the past three treatments, Jill was not comfortable wearing one on account of her “microdermabrasion” and I only found out once I was already set up and at the spa. She knows I require a mask and yet acts surprised every single time I request it, prioritizing her comfort over her client's wellbeing. By refusing once I was already at the spa and on the table, she created a moment of tension and did not value my time as a guest. I cancelled my membership immediately with a person at the front desk named Tyler. However despite assuring me that he would email me a confirmation and have a paper trail, Tyler has yet to fulfil his obligations.

7. They will make cancelling your membership an absolute headache. It takes 30 days to cancel which means you will be charged for services you did not use, in my case two months worth of membership fees. Tyler told me he would waive it taking into account their indiscretions. Unless this is sorted out immediately, I will have a dispute with them totalling nearly $300.00.

I have emailed and called trying to resolve this before writing a bad review, I wanted to give them the opportunity to make it right, but they are ignoring my emails and dodging my calls claiming they are in "meetings". This establishment is an embarrassment. I see they respond to reviews so cue the phone coincidentally ringing in...

Tldr: positives: not too expensive, nice and kind front desk, good location; negatives: very sparse classes, no instructor retention, poor communication and no transparency from management, outdated facilities, they will try to rip you off I have been a member of this studio for about 6 months and nothing has ran smoothly. Initially joined because of the affordable membership cost, variety of classes offered, and their instructors which were initially all great however now the good instructors have all unsurprisingly left/quit, classes offered are very few & sparse and frequently cancelled with no prior notice which is very inconvenient. The facilities are quite outdated and not very clean, most of the time there is no hot water. The spa prices are way too costly for the quality of the service you get. Front desk team is nice, however they can't be super helpful because most issues are not on their hands. Communication from management is overall the most disappointing part. When the studio was closed for 2 months for renovation, initially I wasn't notified at all, only learned about it when I showed up and the class was cancelled. The whole time the studio was closed I called probably 4-5 times for updates, most of the time couldn't reach anyone. When the studio reopened again I wasn't emailed or called to be notified about it. I randomly passed by the studio one day and realized it was open (during the whole time that the studio was closed I continued to pay the membership fee). While the studio was closed I told a staff member I would like a refund for the months missed, I was told it would be revisited in the future. Later I was told I couldn't get a refund, but I would get a spa credit, which to this day I still haven't received although I am still very much an active member (also needless to say the credit is not the most helpful as all spa services are overpriced and you can't use the credit to tip). In the light of everything above today July 2nd I called to cancel my membership. My next billing cycle is August 2nd as my current cycle ends August 1st. I was told I couldn't cancel because it is outside of the 30day window which according to simple math, it is not true. So I will be forced to pay for an extra month until September for absolutely nothing. Overall, this place has a lot of issues, please use your money...

An update (9.5.25): I recently had my first massage at Exhale’s North End location after taking numerous fitness classes as a monthly member, and Jerri was a FANTASTIC massage therapist! She uses a combination of both Thai and Swedish techniques, and she is knowledgeable, highly skilled, and deeply intuitive. My one-hour massage with Jerri was amazingly comprehensive, covering the major muscle groups, and with emphasis on the particular tension areas that I asked her to tend to. I highly recommend Jerri’s massage work!

I’m also delighted that Carly D. has returned to teaching at Exhale; her Barre and Pilates classes are SUPERB, and she joins an already excellent team of instructors that includes Katie, Tyla, and Amanda. This spa went through a rough patch following an electrical fire early this year that shut the place down temporarily, but it’s clear that the entire team has rallied to renovate and make important improvements, including additional staff and fitness classes, with support from Exhale’s regional office. I’m very pleased to see Exhale Spa in the North End thriving once again…bravo!

My previous review: I’ve been taking barre, yoga, and Pilates classes at Exhale in the North End of Boston for about 6 months and have been very pleased with the instructors and the cleanliness of the facility. All of the class instructors I’ve had are excellent and earn 5 stars from me: they’re knowledgeable, communicative, enthusiastic, and well prepared. (Special kudos to Carly D who I’ve seen most often…she’s terrific in every way! Elaine, Katie, and Cassandra, are all excellent as well.) Also, the reception staff are always friendly and welcoming, especially Alyssa who is always friendly and thoroughly professional.

The facility has a few lingering flaws that can be corrected, and the dry sauna is not always working, but these are minor imperfections. Overall, the facility is clean and well maintained.

My main suggestion is for Exhale to re-open the cycling studio, which has been closed since the onset of the COVID pandemic. I’ve no doubt that this would be an attractive option for many folks, and would attract new members. Thank you to the team at Exhale in the North End for a consistently...