Modern Salon & Spa | Phillips Place — Local services in Charlotte

I booked a massage for myself as a special treat one month in advance. I would have loved to come in sooner, but the massage therapist books far in advance and coupled with my own scheduling conflicts, this was the soonest I could get. I was really looking forward to the massage and had planned my whole evening around it. This is why I was incredibly disappointed and frustrated to have the service cancelled at the last minute, only hours before my scheduled appointment.

I received an intake form to complete the day of the massage. I promptly completed it shortly after receiving the email. A couple of hours later I receive a text message from the massage therapist saying that due to the medical history I noted in my comments, that she would not provide a massage without a doctor’s note. Keep in mind that it is not an active medical condition but merely a history. I have had massages for many years and no other massage therapist had ever had an issue providing the service for me.

This medical condition was not even amongst the list of conditions that were indicated on the form. I’m a fan of full disclosure so I wrote it in the comment box (never again!). When the therapist texted, she indicated I would need a doctor’s note to allow me to receive a massage. I assured her I have had massages for years with this medical history (again, not an active issue) and that the doctor was aware and had no concerns. I also indicated that I would not be able to get a letter from the doctor on such short notice (a Friday afternoon only hours before the scheduled appointment). I did reach out to the doctor anyway, but as expected did not get a response.

So the salon proceeded to cancel my appointment which I had booked an entire month in advance. They offered to reschedule it after I obtain a doctor’s note, which is ridiculous to me because it did not make up for my ruined evening, and I was not willing to wait an additional month for another mutually acceptable time slot. They did not value my time whatsoever. And in fact, the salon has a policy that if I were to cancel within a 24 hour period, I would be charged. But there are no repercussions to the salon for canceling on me with such short notice, for an entirely preventable reason. Had the salon provided me with the intake form at the time of booking, or even a week in advance of my appointment, I would have been happy to accommodate their request and retrieve a letter from my doctor. It is entirely unprofessional to cancel at the last minute, when the entire situation was unwarranted and could have been avoided. They have lost my business as a result because I will...

I've gotten massages from Modern Salon several times, and loved them all there... until the last time, when I lost my penchant- after learning the masseuse I had used before, no longer worked there. His replacement was a woman who did nothing but make me more tensed up than when I came in! It wasn't until after I already paid for the service, gave her a tip and went home, that I started thinking in retrospect... then got mad that I actually paid for something that made me feel WORSE. It was some time ago, so I will have to call them to see if her name's on record, so I can recommend not using her. I don't think she listened to a word I said. I had the 1-hour massage, and I explained to her before hand, that I wanted her to mainly focus on my upper back & neck, because I had a lot of pain in the area from working on the computer 24/7 until finishing a job that week. I also told her I prefer harder pressure. I have never had a "massage" like that before. She did nothing but tickle me. I told her at least twice that she can use more pressure, but I guess she didn't care... then she ends up paying the LEAST amount of attention to my problem areas I asked her to focus on. I guess I was being too nice? I should have asked for someone else, but I didn't want to hurt her feelings.

I haven't had a massage there since then, but I love getting my haircuts there. I've had a few different stylists, but loved each one. They were especially helpful when I had to undergo chemotherapy treatments, which made me lose all of my hair. When it finally started growing back in, it was a mess... they helped my hair to look & feel so much better and healthier.

The staff are all friendly and pleasant. The spa (upstairs) is nice and separated from the more chaotic salon and registers. The spa's waiting area is comfy and quiet, and the dressing rooms/showers/sauna room is nice, and offers a nice assortment of Aveda products...

Edit on 8/23 :

I always look forward to my afternoon at Modern Salon & Spa. This time I wanted to go for a similar cut I had many moons ago that I missed dearly. I had an inspo pic that I was confident they could do it given the many stylists working there. My usual stylist admitted she is not comfortable doing the cut and I respected the honesty. She then introduced me to a senior stylist, Emily, who was very sweet. After showing her the picture a few times, Emily got to work. While I was looking through work emails, I completed left my hair in Emily’s hands. As we got closer to the blow drying part, I had a sunken feeling that this was not going to be what I had wanted. I tried very hard not to freak out, but instead tried to work with Emily to cut down the volume off the top of my hair (I was starting to look like a mushroom cap 🍄‍🟫 ) and made the pieces by my ear pointier. The long bangs in the front were non-existent and I was disappointed to hear that it was because I have different hair texture when I’ve had my hair in a long bob before. I’m conflicted by this experience because as any woman knows, it’s hard to find a new place you like. And it’s not like my hair won’t grow out. I just wish they had said, “look, let’s get a different stylist that has experience in doing this haircut”, I would have been happy to come back! It just didn’t go that way. So this review is just a cautionary to those looking to get something short. Picture of me in pink shirt with my bob haircut many years ago. It had been thinned out a lot because of my thicker Asian hair, but it is possible. Then picture of the inspo, and picture of what I actually got. 😕 ————————————————————————— Love the space and staff here. I come for cut, highlights, and blow dry. My gal is Riley....