The Spa & Salon at East Wind — Local services in Town of Riverhead

Do not have your wedding here.

My aunt and uncle got married here on April 26th. Let me just say, they are two of the most loving and deserving people I have ever met. So, imagine my surprise at the grotesque behavior of the banquet staff and the complete incompetence of the Marti-D. But first, let's start with the ONLY competent individual I had the pleasure of meeting at my aunt and uncle's wedding. Tracy, the bartender of the night. Tracy singlehandedly served drinks to a party of over 120 guests, All Night Long. She was by far the most (maybe only) impressive individual working at this establishment. She was an absolute star and a trooper during the entire night. I didn't see a single empty cup all night long and the line at the bar was never much of a wait. She was incredible and we all noticed.

Now, I'm only going to mention the names of the staff whose behavior was absolutely vile because they are the only ones who deserved to be called out for their extremely disappointing performance, extensive rudeness, and insane lack of professionalism. Let me just say, my expectations for customer service are generally low, especially in the state of NY. I can imagine that when you're a grown adult working as a banquet server at a wedding venue on a Friday night.. you're generally pretty unhappy. I don't blame you. However, the biggest day of two people's lives where two people (and their families) are being joined together in Holy Matrimony: a monumental, spectacular, and hideously expensive event… This is not the time to spread your unhappiness, self-loathing, and dark negative energy to everyone trying to celebrate and have a good time.

Let's talk about Tara. I've never seen a Maître d at a wedding do so little. If she wasn't wearing a pantsuit I would have thought she was a guest because she was completely useless. I couldn't even believe my eyes. She was just standing there, waiting for the whole wedding to organize itself. I've never seen such laziness in action and I was completely baffled. She found the perfect job because a MANDATORY tip of $800 to the Maître D is included so she didn’t have to work for her money. I guess that is what happens. Towards the end of the night, I saw the true nature of the waitstaff. Obviously, I realized that they were incompetent very early on because nothing seemed to run smoothly the entire event and all the staff looked genuinely unhappy but I was blaming Tara for the messiness and poor timing of the ceremony. (She had my uncle standing at the altar for 15 minutes before the rest of the wedding party started to come out). But WOW. Megan and Jackie outdid Tara. They were banquet servers and their behavior during the entire event was completely appalling. I have never in my life seen anyone act like that at their place of employment especially, in such a professional setting. I was shocked by their behavior and the fact that they felt so comfortable being SO disgustingly rude to my family. But it makes sense because my family ALREADY PAID $26,000 to have a wedding at this venue. At the very end when Megan was verbally harassing my family with her nasty attitude and her “big girl” voice. That's when I said I was going to have to speak to a manager about her behavior to which Megan replied “Oh Jackie, she wants a manager” then Jackie said, “I'm the manager”. This was a little bit funny to me because I'm a grown person with a legitimate education and critical thinking skills so I have a thorough understanding of how customer complaints function. The chain of command, if you will. Maybe she meant that she was a shift leader.. like those teenagers at McDonald's? Not too sure.

My aunt and uncle had an EXTENSIVE list of issues. Imagine? It’s your wedding day and you’re nervous and excited and scared and now, you get to be stressed too because the venue staff is incompetent. Btw, the only compensation they received was Tara's tip being returned. I’m sure that’s not the first complaint she has gotten. But, $26,000 - $800 = $25,200 POORLY SPENT. Yuck.

Do not have your...

My husband made us massage appointments as a surprise when we chose to spend our 25 wedding annaversary at East Wind hotel and spa. This was hand down the WORST massage I have ever gotten and the hotel wasn't much better than a holiday inn. It was as if she used her hand to poked at me like a meat tenderizer as the entire bed shook violently thorughout the session making it impossible to relax. I was acually happy she ended my 60 min massage after 30 mins. Yes, I did speak up on the table and asked her nicely several times to use another massage technique (nothing fancy just basics) she would say ok and cobtiune with what I specifically asked her to stop doing. After it was over, I calmly explained all of this to spa "managment". She started by first calling me a liar and then did nothing to help/ make it right. I walked out in more pain and aggrivation than when I went in. I even had to seek out emergency medical care that day. The "massage" was a series of 4 fingers very vigorusly poking at my muscles which was so hard it violently shook the table for entire trearment. She didnt touch any areas I had communicated to her to that needed treament. She ignored my concerns while on the table. I have been treated by some of the best and worst for decades to keep my chronic pain in check. This person seemed to have extremely poor training, even worse attitude with no care to actually help someone. This whole "SPA" was a huge dissapointment and managments lack of action made it worse. She started very late and ended very early.

For less expensive and much better treatment from a group of practioners who truly care, go a few miles down the road to Balanced Health and Wellness in Wading River ( king kullen shopping center). They have talented practioners for all their services. I personally have been treated by Katie with massage and would recommend her for a truly relaxing spa massage. They offer advanced acupuncture and many other specialties. Balanced Health and Wellness is less expensive and certain services are even covered by commercial...

We were underwhelmed. We live locally. My daughter lives out of the country and was here for a once yearly visit so we splurged for a girls spa day for her birthday. Starting with the lack of signage outside to locate the spa easily to the unhappy, borderline rude staff. We entered the lobby and had no idea where to go and there was no one there to help us. We wandered around until we found signs leading us to the Lowe level which looks like a dark dreary castle with dated wallpaper and dark accents, it just felt more like an old funeral home. The spa staff never made eye contact when we arrived and greeted us annoyed and couldn’t even be bothered to welcome us or show us around after we said it was our first time there. We ended up leaving and coming back because they never told us about the pool area to relax until the appointment. The waitress serving us had the same blase bothered attitude when she brought our complimentary red wine that smelled like vinegar and tasted like cheap church wine. The lunch was tasty but again, the restaurant dark and gloomy with dated wall coverings and fixtures and old ugly furniture. We found our way back to the spa to await our massage in the “quiet room.” No music, all the herbal tea selections were empty, the furnishings were very institutional. Not warm and welcoming. The massage was ok. No real complaints but the room felt sterile and unwelcoming. Followed up after the massage with the best part of the experience, the steam bath. There is also a sauna, if you like that. Lockers that are roomy and easy to use. Showers. The staff at Checkout could have cared less if we had a good experience or not, in fact, not one of the staff we interacted with all day even had a smile on their face. Not one. Overall the place was clean but definitely not a memorable experience and for that reason I wouldn’t spend the $400 there again. Very...