Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary — Local services in Sebastopol

The service staff here is incredible. It’s a shame the front desk staff ruined my experience. I am so disappointed by Osmosis. They managed to make every step of this process difficult, awkward and unenjoyable except the actual services themselves.

When I called to book the ultimate package for myself and two other girls for my birthday- well over a month in advance the girls on the phone literally said “ugh these are hard to book” and complained the entire time on the phone about how challenging my request was for her. Wow I’m so sorry I’m booking $1500 worth of services it must be so hard for you! She ended up demanding payment in full for all packages at the time of booking and was really pushy about me specifically paying for all three on my cc which I didn’t plan on doing my friends wanted to pay for their own services. They acted like this was a huge inconvenience for them! They ended up not being able to accommodate the full experience for us and had to cut out certain services which we were okay with. We only wanted the cedar bath, massage, facial and lunch. The woman Janelle said she had to get special permission to change our package since they didn’t have certain services available and couldn’t accommodate us and was able to drop the price down to $505 to include everything listed above minus the chair experience which we were okay with.

Our services were amazing but while being shuffled around the facility naked in a robe the front desk girls were very unprofessional and unwelcoming which was really bizarre for such an upscale spa.

The nightmare happened at check out. They tried to charge me almost $40 extra dollars for the lunch - which by the way was served to me freezing cold soggy and in a paper to go box. I told the gal sorry but i was told by Janelle it was included in our package we prepaid for. She said no it wasn’t and was very rude once again and said I had to pay. After me standing my ground and refusing they finally waived it for me but were snippy as HELL and rolling their eyes At me as if I was such an inconvenience to them! I couldn’t believe it!

Finally she asks if I want to leave a tip for my service staff and that 20% was typical and I said sure how about $50. She said “oh” as if that was insultingly low and said “do you mean per person?” I said no….$50 total please between the masseuse and esthetician. And some girl next to her goes “YOU ARENT TIPPING YOUR BATH ATTENDANT????” Like woah excuse me I had no idea she accepted tips this is my first time here I’m happy to tip her. So I then say how about $20 per staff member please $60 total and she raises her eyebrows and rolls her eyes at me and swipes me card as if my tip is insulting. I told her at this point they were being way too pushy about the tip and making me feel extremely uncomfortable. The experience I paid for was over $500 and they treated us like dog shit.

It’s really sad the front desk has to be so horrible because the services I had that day were so enjoyable and so wonderful and the grounds...

Tl;dr: The cedar enzyme bath was a unique experience that I'd be interested in trying again. The gardens are peaceful and beautiful. The staff were helpful and addressed any questions/concerns. BUT...

I'd like to say it was a relaxing, stress-free experience from start to finish, but this wasn't the case.

Arrival: My bf and I arrived earlier than our appointment time because we wanted to explore the gardens before it got dark and without having to rush. Check-in was smooth (no wait and no issues), and we were given a rundown of how the property was laid out and where to find refreshing water and tea. The gardens were beautiful and peaceful, also because we were the only ones there for most of our time there. There were a few closed off, but the ones that were available were very nice.

Dressing room: This was the less-than-relaxing bit. We were shown to the dressing room and assured that we would be the only ones using it so to feel comfortable changing into robes, but no! During that time multiple sets of people tried to come in! I understand that it's a shared dressing room in the sense that multiple guests use the lockers, but then there should be a sign to knock before entering, a lock, or even just don't tell guests like us we're the only ones using the room when that was clearly not the case so we'd be prepared! It was awkward and embarrassing for everyone to be surprised in various states of undress. On top of this, two of the lockers wouldn't lock properly which just added to the time in the waiting room - yes, more people tried to enter during that time.

Tea room: The tea room was a nice place for quiet meditation. The attendant came to serve tea and answer any questions, and we were left for some time to enjoy the tea and the small private garden.

Cedar bath: An interesting, unique experience. The cedar was hotter than expected, but in a good way, and the weight of it felt comforting (I suppose this is why weighted blankets are so popular). Beneath, the cedar was supportive and fit properly into the curves of the body.

Post-bath: I'll admit after the dressing room fiasco I did not feel fully relaxed to be out in the open again, brushing the sand off and then using the shower room to wash off the rest. I was 50% sure someone was going to randomly walk in again. Fortunately that didn't happen.

Overall it was a pleasant, unique experience that was marred by unexpected visitors (a problem that's easily solved with a lock), so it could have gone better. It's a pity since the staff was so friendly and helpful and tried to make things comforting, but it was...

I don't think I received the intended full spa package. First off everyone was really nice! The cedar bath was a nice experience and the time does fly by in there. The attendant was really attentive and answered all my questions. When it came to the massage, when the masseuse first got me, she said that I will be receiving a Swedish massage, I forgot what I had booked and assumed she was right. She was a little inconsistent with the pressure during the middle of the massage but did address the areas that I pointed out. But at the end of the session I felt a pinched nerve on my side that I've never had before and it didn't subside even when I had returned home, it just kept bothering me the rest of the day. When I was done I wanted to check out the meditation garden, so I walked out in my kimono. When I reached it, there was another spa visitor in her kimono in the garden but so was, what I assume, her husband and child. And it felt awkward just me in just the kimono trying to walk around the garden and this random man and child in regular clothes just there with their stroller. I ended up just leaving cause theres no way I could relax there. I wanted to walk further down the path but then there was another random man in regular clothing poking his head around the pathway, and I don't think he had done any of the service or was waiting around for when it was time for his appt?, so I just went back to the main building and got ready to leave cause I didn't want to stay in my kimono any longer. When I was checking out the receptionist said I should have received the fusion massage not just the Swedish but what she described didn't sound like what I had received. So I don't know if I'm just clueless about massages or there was some miscommunication. I wish I could have enjoyed the experience more but it's unfortunate that I couldn't get the full experience especially given the price I paid. It was a nice experience but I wouldn't return again. For an exclusive spa to allow just random people to walk around the place willy nilly, while visitors who clearly after being serviced are just in robes/kimonos trying to enjoy whats included in their paid experience just doesn't feel right. I'm quite honestly sad I didn't get the...