Spa Enliven - hot stone/exfoliation/body scrub — Local services in New York

The spa is in a great location. Inside, it is clean, elegant, and relaxing. The massage and facial were decent. Why only 2 stars? The scheduling was a nightmare, and that's something that rarely ruins an experience for me. I made a reservation a month in advance and they called to confirm a massage first and then a facial.

I watched a Caucasian girl come in for the same treatments in the reverse order. The receptionist started whispering and deliberating with the esthetician. Then, they tell me that the facial is first. Three red flags in a row. The facial was okay, no extractions, and the products felt nice on my skin. Before leaving, they tell me the massages are packed and they will be delayed at least 30 minutes, and to wait in the entrance area. The fact that they had an inkling from their whispering and did not inform me from the start was very sleazy. They even blatantly gave the Caucasian girl my schedule, so that makes me wonder if this is a race play.

Either way, the relaxing day I planned months ago was now stressful. To add insult to injury, when I went to reschedule the massage, the receptionist tried to tell me that they weren't free for a while. I saw her do it to other people on the phone. I promptly cut her off and told her that I hauled ass to get here, made the reservation a long time ago, will have to come back on another day, and would prefer that they make some sort of scheduling accommodation for a time ASAP for my trouble. The fact that I had to even tell her this made this an abominable experience.

From the start, they should have apologized and offered an incentive to come back, or simply rescheduled both treatments. As for the massage, it was very good and the room was comfortable. There was no mention beforehand of a male masseuse and I can see how other women might find this problematic. However, the male masseuse was very courteous and had good technique. Since I have been playing tennis recently, he instantly pinpointed a tight, unbalanced right shoulder. That was the highlight of...

TLDR: The receptionist made infuriating unnecessary racist remarks.

Another lesson to really read the reviews before booking - the reviews were right even when some of them are 5 years old: they do have really bad over the phone customer service.

We booked through ClassPass and although we fully acknowledge that we were late, we have called ahead to let the reception know that we were late. After knowing how long it will take for us to arrive, the reception lady hung up abruptly without saying anything.

When we arrive at the salon, 5 minutes later than what we expected, the first thing she asked is why we were late. We explained it’s because of work and she said that we won’t be able to be serviced. We fully understand, thanked her, and was heading out the door to leave. She then was extremely rude and said that we were rude because we wanted to leave and that’s not the attitude that I should be giving. I was confused as she just told us that we will not be serviced, which I fully understand why. She then verbally attacked me and accused that I am of a certain nationality and argued that is why I am “arguing so logically” (maybe because her own logic makes 0 sense).

Totally appalling service, would not recommend this salon to anyone any day the lady is still at the reception desk. A real shame since the manager seems to be really accommodating and helped me and my partner placed together for a...

I have a bad back so I was really excited to get a calming aromatherapy massage. I arrived and was greeted by a warm front desk gal. Cute place. I was asked my preference to a masseur or a masseuse to which I preferred a masseuse. My request was granted only to be told five minutes later it would have to be a masseur. Not my preference and annoying, but whatever that’s fine. I was shown to a room and given about 30 seconds to change before the masseur came barging in. No knocking. After repeatedly saying “one moment please” he did the same thing, THREE TIMES. I found out he spoke not a lick of English and didn’t understand. It was 45 minutes of what felt like untrained and unprofessional pain. I have a bad back but due to the lack of English, my repeated requests for “lighter pressure” and hand gestures went unnoticed. So my flinching in pain must have gone unnoticed too. One day later and I’m in extreme pain causing me to think these folks aren’t trained. The communication made it impossible. To make it worse, the music was skipping (let’s be honest that’s super annoying), there was no hint of “aromatherapy” and an employee barged in half way through rummaging around for something creating a lot of noise.

Painful, unpleasant, odd and I would not recommend going back here again. I didn’t really think a massage could turn out like this, even if mediocre....