Heaven On Earth Salon and Day Spa — Local services in Honolulu

⭐⭐⭐ Three stars, not total dud but I do have some some pretty big critiques. So here goes. I had a gift certificate for an all day experience. 6+ hours of luxurious spa treatments that I was very excited for and honestly desperately needed. I made my appointment for 3 weeks in advance, marked my calendar, and was counting down the days. I've never had a full day spa experience so I was excited to say the least. In anticipation of the big day I started to do some simple research reading articles on do's and don't s and what to expect. I learned simple tips like lining up your massage first /saving the facial for last. Speak up, don't be afraid to ask questions or request a change in room temperature or pressure during the massage. Bring fresh clothes to change into and normal gratuity is 20%. All good things to know. For the most part the the ladies at the spa were kind, knowledgeable and excellent at all the service I received. I got a full body massage, a body scrub and wrap, a facial, and last, a mani /pedi. In the end, I can say that I was somewhat satisfied with my total spa experience. SOMEWHAT. There were a few things that were displeasing and I'll list them here. There was no bathroom for me to use inside the spa. If I had to use the toilet I had to put on a robe and walk outside the spa into the hotel lobby and use a public bathroom. Yuck. 2.No shower is provided. Now I understand having a locker room with showers or a private shower in your room may not be practical. However, I'd like to think that patrons who purchase big ticket packages should have the option to freshen up after the full body scrub/wrap and the massage. The masseuse did massage my scalp, which felt amazing, but left my hair very greasy afterwards. And the body scrub technician did wipe my body clean with damp warm fragrant towels, however, there was still some product left on my skin which felt uncomfortable under my clothes. I was never offered refreshments or snacks and I was there for a very long time. My last treatment of the day was a mani/ pedi and I had about a 15/20 minute wait before the technician was ready for me. Iced water, coffee or herbal tea, fresh fruit or chilled salad would have been nice. Instead I had to leave the spa and look for a vendor and/or snack shop in the hotel lobby. Which was kind of a far walk in the hot sun and was the last thing I wanted to do after a very relaxing massage, body scrub and facial. Big disappointment. Last, what I was told when I made my appointment about parking and what actually happened were two different things which ended in me having to pay a HUGE parking fee. $65. 😮‍💨 A map should of been included in my confirmation email that showed where the parking lot was and should have explained that military ID was needed for validation otherwise expect an expensive parking fee. When the receptionist explained to me that I needed a military ID for validation, which I do not have, she then suggested I go into the lobby and tap on a stranger's shoulder and ask if they had military ID and if they would take my ticket to the front desk to validate it for me. Ummm..no! That's embarrassing! I would have rather used the hotel valet. It probably would have cost the same amount and I wouldn't have had to walk as far. Something that should have been made clear to me before I even arrived.

Big sigh, so the big picture is this. I liked my treatments. They were relaxing, felt wonderful and luxurious but we're mostly ruined when I had to leave to spa to use the restroom and look for something to eat and drink. I didn't feel very refresh and radiant when it was all done because I couldn't rinse my body and wash my hair. My clothing stuck to my skin and had to walk a far distance to pay $65 to get my car out of the hotel...

This is a very late review. I arranged for several families to spend Mother’s Day weekend at Hale Koa. We’re a mix of military retirees and local families. The ladies were all down for moms day pampering. Only one of us had a great experience and for that I’ll give the 2 stars. I was constantly poked by long fingernails by my therapist. It was very uncomfortable and I’ve never had that experience with any massage therapist before. I did extra add ons so I was there a while. I did tell the therapist I was uncomfortable but it was a lot of nervous laughter but no resolution. In addition, the portion of the table that has the insert for your face to be head down was broken because one side was higher than the other, so I was at an angle the entire time- my left side higher than the right. It was significant, and there were several times during the session she tried to fix it, at which point I asked if perhaps we could switch rooms but she said she couldn’t because they had prepared that room for use. I finally said don’t worry about it because between all the attempts to fix it it was taking up my massage time. So for at least half the time my neck was at a weird angle and when I rotated over the nail digging got more intense because I booked a reflexology add on- and it was constant nails in my feet! They did not offer water when I exited and when I asked for it they had to find a cup (they seemed bothered by that) and go wash it out before use…. Like what???? Even independent therapists offer you water. When I was asked about my massage I said the truth - it was okay- it would have been better but nails digging into your skin isn’t a good feeling when trying to relax, and the face holder seems stuck or broken. The receptionist did apologize but at that point, they weren’t really trying to make anything right so it seemed insincere.

My other girlfriend got a pedicure and it was the first one she ever had where they didn’t massage her legs at all. However she did have a facial and she loved the esthetician she was paired with. she was not offered water either and that is a standard SPA criteria.

To speak plainly, we understand that the hotel offers a discounted rate because it’s a military hotel, however, we have all had better experiences at other facilities that are not labeled “a day spa” for similar or better pricing.

This place seems inconsistent, and the experience seems relative to the person who you are assigned to- ones who have been trained in other higher end spas or those who have no understanding of client services.

It also pains me as a former business owner and a person who has spent decades in client relations and direct in person marketing that poor experiences are not addressed at the moment the customer speaks about it.

I think they may rely on tourist turnover, however my family and our friends all live here. I would have gone back if my experience had been better. My husband and I are monthly massage type of people and it saddens me we cannot support a local business or one that assists military service members. We won’t be back, so next time please listen to your reviews and aim to make your customers feel validated and let them leave with a great experience not an unhappy one. We go back to the hotel for one of the HAMILTON touring dates, but we won’t be using...

What can be be bad when your on vacation in Hawaii!!

I didn't have time to get a mani/pedi done prior to our trip, which is fine. I knew there would be a place at the hotel to take care of that.Upon checking in, I walked over from the lobby to the salon, they had no availabilty that day so I was schduled for the next day, which was fine. I'm on vacation. "hakunamata" from the Lion King song means no worries. I arrived on time and was greated by my technician who was sweet. The nail salon portion of the spa was clean, a very soothing , relaxing atmosphere. I had a nice manicure, and pedicure notwithstanding the massage chair I was in that was broken and not working ( which FYI should have been out of service until it was repaired or replaced the pillow DID NOT HELP!! ) that had something hard and sharp sticking me in my back the whole time I was seated. And this is why the 2 star review. After paying the price that I paid $113.09 plus tip, the results should have been reflected in the quality of the final results. This was the salon's gel nail polish final results from my manicure lumps, and bubbles through out the polish, there was no follow up the clean up the excess polish around the cuticles or around the nail bed( see photos) We had to leave because we had an excursion planned with others in the group, so redoing was not an option. I did not go back, and I should have. But I was on vacation with things to see and do, I didnt want to spend addtional time repairing something that should have been done right the first time. Now I'm no trained technician but I'm telling you I could have, and have done a better job painting my nails. I was...