The Spa at Turf Valley — Local services in Ellicott City

I've been driving past Turf Valley Spa for years. My brother-in-law and his wife gave me a gift certificate for the Spa but I just kept driving past and not scheduling. I finally decided it was time to get some pain relief for my neck and upper back and some stress relief! I'm a chiropractor and always tell patients to look into massage for their health and wellbeing and I'm so glad I took my own advice (it's been YEARS since my last massage).

I made a mistake while scheduling on line so I called the Spa and that's when the great experience started. The person on the phone was able to fix my mistake and reschedule my appointment for August 11th. I arrived at the Spa for my appointment and the ladies at the front desk were professional and very helpful. I filled out the intake form and they told me to relax in the Serenity Room until my massage therapist came for me. And within about 5 minutes I was called to the room (and offered a pit stop in the restroom first which meant I could fully relax for the massage).

My therapist was Minta and right from the beginning she made me feel comfortable and she asked exactly what I needed and if there was any areas of concern that she should avoid or be careful with. She had me lay on the table and made sure I was comfortable and that the temperature of the room was good for me. I took a few deep breaths and Minta got started giving me the BEST MASSAGE I HAVE HAD IN MY LIFE! Seriously, the amount of time she spent on my problem areas, still getting to all of the other spots, and the pressure she used was perfect. The entire experience that day was so relaxing and it was exactly what I needed to heal my body, my mind and my spirit.

When Minta was done (I almost cried) she had me go back and sit in the Serenity Room to relax and enjoy some refreshments (the watermelon infused water was insanely good). I had every intention of grabbing a cup or two of water and then make a quick exit to go on with my day. I was way too relaxed to even think about rushing anywhere! I sat in a comfy chair with my water and put my feet up for about 30 minutes just doing nothing but breathing and sipping. I finally headed out to the front desk to take care of my bill which was very reasonable. One nice thing too is my service cost less than the gift card I had and I was able to use that extra towards a gratuity for Minta. So many places will not let you use gift card/certificate funds for anything other than the service provided so you end up with a small balance on your card and the whole tip ends up out of pocket. This was a nice perk. Once again the ladies at the front desk were professional and continued the relaxing experience.

I will definitely return to The Spa at Turf Valley and I hope to book a massage with...

I treated myself & two girlfriends at the Turf Valley Spa. We all got the Mini Spa Day package of 1 hr facials along with a 1 hr massage. The spa techs were amazing. Very experienced & personable. They also have a hot tub and a indoor pool, which is great for some additional R&R after the treatments. The pool is dated and can use a little cleanup but, overall it’s nice.

Here’s what was awful though. My friend was injured in the shower after her massage. The soap dispenser fell on her foot and cut her toe pretty deep. It bleed nonstop for few minutes, which was scary. What was disappointing the most is that the ladies at the front desk had absolute no compassion. When we asked for a first aid kit, she said she didn’t have anything and that she’s not a medical professional. My other friend had to run to the front lobby of the resort to get bandaids & ointments. I asked them to take a report of the incident in case she needs further medical attention so, they called a Sales Director who came down and took notes. No one, not even the Sales Director gave an apology. We weren’t asking for much. Just a little compassion? Or a simple “I’m so sorry this happened”. We all just felt like they were treating us with such attitude as if the incident was our fault.

We wondered as we were leaving, if this mistreatment from Turf Valley employees was due to our race. Had we been three Caucasian ladies, instead of Asians… would they have treated us this way? With the rise of Asian Hate since COVID-19.. it always makes me wonder. Especially since this establishment is not as diverse. Was it racial? I really hope not and it’s just a case of untrained employees.

I wanted to treat my mother in law here for a spa day but, don’t think I would visit again based on this experience. It’s really unfortunate because the spa technicians are excellent.

Edit based on Response: Hello. Thanks for responding. Your staff was not asked to provide medical attention, rather we only requested a first-aid kit. The front desk rep was completely rude & condescending as she said “well I’m not a medical professional”. A simple call to the lobby (or anyone else in the entire resort) for a bandaid would’ve made a world of difference. Also, the injured guest was not asked to leave a contact info, however you already had my contact info on file. This type of customer service was not what any of us expected from such a prestigious establishment such as...

the masseuse was great, provided a top tier massage. However the staff who did the scheduling put an over 3 hour break in between our services that had us waiting to finalize our service until the evening. When I booked the services there was only an hour wait which was fine for us as we wanted to use the pool. Also I scheduled a couples massage that they did not accommodate and didn't tell us they weren't accommodating until they called our names for the service. When I asked what happened to the couples massage I was told, "we aren't set up for that what do you want us to do?"

The massages were good (although not what we intended) however that 3.5 hour wait between services was off-putting to say the least. During the wait we weren't offered anything (i.e. refreshments etc.) and weren't permitted to move up our last services to not wait as long. Also the front desk staff was exceedingly rude to us. Since we had such a long wait between services we asked that our final food service be brought to us within the 3 hour window instead of after as we would rather just go home after. However that front desk staffer bought it 5 minutes before our last service and then when I asked her to hold it until after our service since it was so late she rolled her eyes and said, "well what do you want me to do with it??" in a huff. I was caught off guard with her rudeness and I believe the person delivering the food was as well. He actually intervened before I could respond and said that he would put in the refrigerator.

Once we got out of the service I went to the relaxation room and she came back around from the front desk and told me she packed up the food and that we wouldn't be able to eat it there as the spa was now closed. It was originally scheduled to come out to us after the service so I asked her why was it packed up. She ignored that question and instead offered to put the shot of alcohol for the cider in a paper cup and told us in no uncertain terms that the spa was closed and we would not be able to have the food on site. We essentially felt kicked out and outright disrespected.

This is probably the worst spa experience I've had in my life. While the massage and facial were good the service outside of that was beyond terrible. There are some regulars spa visitors to Turf Valley in my family who were shocked to hear our experience. I won't...