Amenity Spa 85 — Local services in New York

I purchased a Groupon for a 1-hour massage and deep cleaning facial for two people—my daughter and myself—as a special Mother’s Day treat. The total cost was $225. A friend of mine also booked the same service, though she paid via Zelle.

The experience started off fairly well. My massage therapist, a male, used good pressure, but the calluses on his right hand made the massage uncomfortable at times. The facial, which was advertised as a "deep cleaning," was very underwhelming. No manual extractions were done—only a machine was used, and it didn’t effectively clean my skin. Calling it a “deep cleaning facial” is misleading.

When it came time to check out, I presented the Groupon voucher, and the woman at the front desk (who I believe is the owner) told me I had to pay tax—$24 for both my daughter and me. I’ve used Groupons many times before and never had to pay tax at the location, but I didn’t want to argue and paid it. Strangely, my friend who paid via Zelle wasn’t charged tax at all.

Then came the tipping. I offered a $30 tip total—$10 for each of the three staff who served us. The owner told me, “$10.00 no good. You NEED to give more,” which I found extremely unprofessional and offensive. I ended up borrowing $10 from my friend and gave the owner a $100 bill, asking her to take the $10 from there. She used a calculator to divide the $40 tip by the three staff, gave us a dirty look, and said something to her coworker in another language. They both laughed and continued to glare at us.

Worse still, when my friend received only $70 in change from her $100, I informed the owner. She again gave us attitude and claimed she’d “check the cameras,” but reluctantly gave us the missing $20 after we insisted.

This was my daughter’s first massage and was meant to be a memorable Mother’s Day experience. Instead, it was disappointing, awkward, and uncomfortable. If the owner has an issue with Groupon customers, she shouldn’t offer deals on the platform. Charging extra “tax,” demanding specific tip amounts, and treating paying customers with disrespect is unacceptable. I will not be returning and do not recommend this...

This is my first time at a spa. I decided to get a "deal'" on groupon here to treat me and my spouse to a relaxing day. Pre arrival i received a text about a confirmation regarding my appointment which was normal than was told that I'd have to bring "$10 tax" as if groupon doesn't already charge tax w/ your purchase, as well as mentioning that tips aren't included(keep that in mind). Once we did arrive we did have to wait a little but I got asked by the receptionist about the supposed $10 tax money. She later added on top explaining why it was 10 (5 for each person). Me and my spouse then proceeded to get our massages which we're actually quite good. For me and her we enjoyed ourselves for a first time experience. After getting dressed and proceeding getting ready to leave I decided to give the remaining of the cash I personally had to them in addition to a credit card tip. However when it came to the tipping portion it almost turned a good experience into a bad. I only wanted to give 10. Instead of 10, what did they want? $20... Because it was 10 dollars for each masseuse. It then became a back and forth as to what I personally wanted to give & what they wanted to get. It seems like they want double because of the additional person you bring. One of the guys mentioned something about charging a 20% tip. They then tried to guilt trip you by saying that they only make their money through tips which I find ridiculous considering the prices they show on their windows. You can tell they have a script going on to trick you to giving them more money as well as similar places & chains like this. Soon the original person who booked my massage told the guys to only charge the amount I said which they did. I don't understand why it had to be a difficult process. Tips are something we give as satisfaction to our experience. Even when it isn't much is should be appreciated to an extent. It sucks because at first everyone there really did seem bright, nice, and inviting but you feel like you become the enemy when you dont do things the way...

My experience is not your experience. Unlike the other reviews, the customer service I received was fine but i also went in there knowing that there will probably be a heavy language barrier(I tipped $25 for a groupon which was facial and massage; i think the groupon was around $90-100 so i wasnt harrassed for tip. A person before me did $30. We tipped on the full price); everything else was as bad as it could be. I went in feeling perfectly fine and left with a cold. It was very cold in that place, and I was taken to the basement to get my service done. It was uncomfortably cold on a cold day. And when I was being wiped down with the towel after my massage, the towel was cold after a while as well. I was too happy when she used the hot stones. I had already prepared myself for a rough massage because I can hear the woman next to me crying out in pain and saying it's too rough. I think my lady was on the phone but she spoke so quietly. It didn't bother me. She also had conversations with her coworkers but that isn't something that bothers me. I knew I was not going to have a relaxing time. I got a facial, which was very rough and broke skin. I knew my skin was broken because the product she put on after scraping off my face burned like hell. The massaging of the face was also very rough. The cloths didn't seem to clean; I'm hoping they were clean and just stained. The bathroom smelled bad. The new person next to me kept moaning or snoring. They have a sign up saying do not ask for sexual favors so... just know what kind of place youre walking into... meaning it is not aesthetically pleasing at all. Overall, it was not a good experience for me. I will not be going back. I had better experiences in chinatown or other spas/ massage parlors...