Relache Spa — Local services in Kissimmee

My husband had a conference at the Gaylord Marriott Resort in Orlando last week and I was the lucky one to get to tag along for a week of rest and relaxation. When we arrived, we stopped by the spa and were impressed by the lovely aromas, relaxing music and attentive staff members. They took us on a tour of the beautiful facility with a men's lounge, a women's lounge and a couples lounge. They were each equipped with comfortable chaise lounges, dim lighting, light snacks, juices and teas. They had lockers with thick robes and delightful showers and all the shampoo, conditioners and lotions you could ever need. They had hair dryers and noted you could request razors, curling brushes, etc. from the front desk if needed during your stay. It was a beautiful facility! I made appointments for a massage the following day and a pedicure the next. The massage was nice although not the best I've ever had, but it was relaxing and met my expectations. The next day was a different experience. I was scheduled for a "25 minute pedicure". I have never really timed my pedicures, but I usually get a mani-pedi in about an hour. I expected the usual or even better for the price ($45 + 20% automatic gratuity). I was first offered some soaking salts that could make me feel energetic, make me happy, etc. for an up-charge which I declined. (I actually already felt happy! :)) Then she showed me to the chair and I sat down in a chair that was leaking water all over the floor and had the vinyl worn off the arms of the chair. (not too classy...), When I mentioned the water pooling on the floor, the girl quickly threw a towel over it. When I mentioned the poor condition of the chair, she told me they replace them every 5 years (not sure that is often enough considering the condition of my chair) and that the peeling vinyl had just happened that morning because she had just noticed it herself. (really??) She said new chairs had already arrived and that they were awaiting installment in a few days.)Anyway, there were no jets on during the soak which lasted about 30 seconds and it goes down hill from there. She removed the old nail polish, pushed my cuticles back, trimmed and filed my toenails, rubbed some lotion on my legs and feet and put the polish I had selected on. Please note, NO soaking, NO jets, NO cutting cuticles, or dead skin, NO pumice for my heels and bottoms of my feet, NO massage, NO basecoat, NO topcoat, but she did spray something on my toes at the end...not sure it served as the top coat or was for drying, NO drying lights. I thanked her and asked the clerk at the check-out counter if there was a comment card I could complete. I was told there were none, but that I could add my comments about the spa to my Marriott stay questionnaire which should arrive in my email in a few days. I haven't received it yet, so I thought this a better place to share my experience. Sorry, but I am NOT a fan of the service...

I recently visited the beautiful Relache Spa as part of a mini vacation to Orlando. I was impressed by the facilities. A receptionist booked my appointment over the phone the week prior to my trip. She was able to arrange for a therapist to arrive earlier than usual on a Saturday to coincide with my friends’ therapies. Additionally, she was able to answer several questions about the treatment and I was quite excited to enjoy a day of pampering at the Gaylord Palm. Our hostess was attentive and quite helpful when I had trouble adjusting the shower temperature. I appreciated these examples of attention to detail.

Unfortunately, my therapy was not at all what I had hoped for based on the Relache Spa Menu. I booked and paid for the treatment described below. RELÂCHE SIGNATURE BOTANICAL BODY RITUAL Enjoy a comforting body wrap and soothing warm oil scalp massage. This treatment finishes in a state of peaceful rest with a massage using warm healing stones. You will emerge afterwards feeling completely relaxed and restored.

Sadly, the main elements described in the menu were completely missing from my 105 minute treatment. During the initial description of the treatment (and upsell attempt) my therapist did not mention a wrap or a scalp massage. I asked about both. He told me that I would have a hair mask treatment at the end of the massage, but that a wrap was not part of the treatment. At that point, I should have requested to speak with a manager to figure out the discrepancy, but, regrettably, I didn’t. Furthermore, the therapist said that while hot stones were supposed to be part of the treatment, he discouraged using them because they would make me "too hot". I assured him that I would be fine and had had hot stone treatments in the past and wanted them used. . The piece meal nature of the scrub and massage combination (doing both treatments on a single area and then moving on) may be efficient, but it felt cheap. My massage was satisfactory, although even after two requests, hot stones were only incorporated into my back massage. I missed the wrap. I had very much looked forward to that wonderful warm cocoon feeling while enjoying a good scalp massage. The scalp massage itself was also left out. Instead, the therapist very awkwardly poured warm water into my hair and ran his fingers through it with the hair mask product. He never one touched my scalp.

The facilities at Relache are beautiful. My party and I enjoyed relaxing in sauna and steam room. The cucumber and lavender infused towel were a nice addition to that experience.

Overall my advice would be to book a simple treatment and avoid the Signature Therapies, as mine did not deliver on the promised components. I could have saved hundreds of dollars and enjoyed the spa just as much.

I contacted the Relache Spa at Gaylord Palms, via the email address on the website, twice before writing this review. Neither email was...

Yesterday we had a massage spa service booked for noon at the Relache Spa at Gaylord Palms. Being a local taking an out of town guest for the day required a ~40 min drive each way to and from the spa. We arrived early as advised and while checking in the fire alarm started to go off-all of it-lights, siren, loud messages, etc. However, the loud messages did not include that it was a test. The spa employee advised us that they were testing the alarm system today until 2, but it probably would not go off for another 1 and a half. Just enough time to get through our massages. During our tour back to the locker room, the fire alarm went off again and did not stop for several minutes. The kind employee offered to move our spa for later in the day while we requested an extended spa service for our inconvenience. She had to check with the manager and would let us know. Although willing to provide add on services like hot stones and foot scrub etc to our already time allotted for the massage, it was not an acceptable alternative. We could not stay at the hotel and have lunch because the fire alarm continued to go off. While the employees were pleasant it was such an odd experience because nothing was really being done by the spa to own this situation nor correct the situation at a standard appropriate for the types of services and pricing of the establishment. Instead of returning to the spa for our afternoon appointment we called to confirm that the alarm test was over and that they were able to extend our 50 min massage to 80 or 100 mins. We were advised that they chose not to do that, but the alarm test was over so we could return for our treatments. We spoke to the manager Ashley and conveyed our concerns about all the communication breakdowns in handling our reservations. The hotel was aware that this fire alarm test was scheduled and failed to inform us ahead of time including the day of the appt. This would have saved us a 40 min drive each way. Furthermore, the spa’s expectation that one would enjoy a massage service that costs $228 inclusive of the mandatory add on gratuity while a planned fire alarm event transpired is baffling to us.

Unfortunately, Ashley was unable to figure out how to make this situation better for the customer as well. Hence, we moved our massage services to a different spa. We shared with Ashley that we were doing so and that we would no longer do spa services nor staycations at the Gaylord which we have done several in the past. We also shared with Ashley that we felt horrible for the two employees working in the spa during the fire alarm trying to get guests to continue with their spa services. It was apparent they were not given any tools or authority to work with in handling guests who were not willing to spend over $450 on two massages to listen to a fire alarm. It was a true disappointment in Relache, Gaylord, and...