Poor customer service and inexperienced staff. Refused to acknowledge that the manicure was their…read morefault and then the owner yelled at me on the phone because I was unable to come into the shop.

Worst manicure in the world. Cuticle cutters were rusty, staff using equipment on themselves and…read morereceiving treatments same time as customer having manicure. Three and a half hours for a gellish manicure which was thicker than acrylic nails. Used wrong procedure to apply polish so took 2.5 hours to remove, leaving my nails damaged. Awful service, avoid at all costs.

At Viva Sport Massage we provide premier sport massage therapy in Cardiff, South Wales. We believe…read morein tailor made treatment to suit you, using advanced massage and stretching techniques as well as postural assessment and correction. This will help to promote a quick recovery from injury, reduce the risk of injury and improve ongoing muscular problems. We specialise in back and neck pain, providing relief of tension and stress and offering self-care advice for long-term prevention. We have flexible treatment times in two central locations so visiting us could not be easier.

I haven't been to Thailand (yet), but I always hear about the wonders of the massage styles and…read moretechniques. Fortunately, I can experience a bit of the culture right here in Canton, thanks to Thai Touch, a massage and spa that opened its doors in January of this year. They've really made the effort to create a harmonising and serene environment, from the barely audible instrumental music and warm colour palettes to the dark wood furnishings and regional ornaments - and this is just in the reception area! With extensive services ranging from "Sneha" hot candle massage to reflexology massage, Thai Touch offers reasonable prices (from £25 for 30 minutes) in what appears to be an authetic and soothing atmosphere. For those eligible folks, Thai Touch also offers OAP and student rates as well.

Love Thailand, look Thai food, love Thai culture - ooh, and I love Thai massage! So, that said, I'm…read moreobviously very happy to see this tranquil new massage clinic open up in Cardiff, offering traditional Thai massages. Once you've had a really deep Thai massage, with all the Yoga-like stretching and manipulation that's also involved in this technique, most other types of massage may seem a bit too lightweight in comparison. If you're not used to the Thai technique, however, they will moderate it to suit your personal preference so you can enjoy a gentler version if you find it too brutal! It costs £40 for an hour, which I don't think is too bad considering how great you feel after being kneaded and stretched for all that time, and the amount of effort the masseur has to put in. They also do head, hand, back and shoulder and aromatherapy massages - but it's definitely the traditional Thai ones I'll be going back there for!

Gaia Lifestyle has two clinics in Cardiff, one in Pontcanna and another in Roath. They are…read more'dedicated to creating awareness of the benefits of Complementary Therapies, Ayurveda, Yoga and more'. Positioned around the corner from The Feet and Face Place, which provides a plethora of treatments that deal with looking good on a pretty superficial basis, I have to admit preferring the Gaia approach to health and beauty. It's not as flash as The Feet and Face Place, but it offers curative treatments as well as the purely cosmetic. It also provides Ayurvedic nutrition and lifestyle consultations, which deal with health and beauty on an essential level. (One thing in their favour is that the The Feet and Face Place offer Reflexology, which certainly does work on a more profound level than their other treatments). The Gaia Lifestyle Centre in Pontcanna operates an appointment only system, (as does their other clinic). They do not provide a reception as such, and so bookings are made with the individual practioners. A full list is available on their well maintained website. www.gaialifestyle.com/

Gaia's Ayurvedic treatments were what attracted me to try this place out, and I can only report…read moreback on this small area of their far wider range of holistic alternative treatments. Ayurvedic massages are meant to be incorporated into part of an overall treatment programme, often also incorporating yoga and nutritional advice. The practitioner at Gaia starts off by having a consultation with you about your lifestyle and then goes on to suggest massage treatments, and offers advice about yoga practice and nutrition. What I am most keen to tell everyone about, however, is the divine Ayurvedic Shirodhara treatment available here. This is also known as the 'third eye drip', which sounds far less appealing than it actually is! Basically, you start off enjoying a face, neck and scalp massage, and then the practitioner sets off a flow of warm oil onto your third eye on your forehead, creating the most unbelievable feeling of relaxation and peacefulness. I would actually go as far as to say this treatment totally transports you elsewhere, inducing a kind of dream like state without actually sending you to sleep. I can't recommend it highly enough, based on my own experiences!

Thai Beauty & Massage is a peaceful haven on Clifton Street. It's modern interior exudes comfort…read moreand peace. They offer a range of beauty treatments including manicures and pedicures, acrylic nails, waxing and facials, but it's the Thai massage that always brings me here. I was a complete convert to the joys of Thai massage when I ended up staying in Thailand for about two months about twenty years ago. Before arriving in Thailand I had spent a month in Rishikeshi, in North India, undergoing a rigorous course in Hatha Yoga, and so I was utterly thrilled to discover that Thai massage offered me the same kind of health benefits that can be achieved with Yoga, but without all of the discipline and hard work! I'm nothing if not pragmatic! In Bangkok I used to visit a temple for my treatments, which was an amazing experience. All the temples have gardens and the area where the massages took place was in a massive room with vaulted ceilings that were held aloft by a series of soaring pillars. This meant that there was no need for walls, and so the gardens were in full view with the scents of the flowers hanging heavy in the humid air. Visiting Thai Beauty & Massage is not quite the same kind of experience, but what it lacks in grandeur it makes up for in style. They provide a number of different Thai massage options. The full body massage is really inexpensive at £30.00, and an aroma massage is £35.00. Both last for one hour, as does the Thai steamed herbal massage (£40.00). There are two half hour treatments, both costing £20.00.

i have had back pain for over eight years now and i would normaly visit a spa in newport for a…read moremassage once every two weeks. my mum told me about this place and had alot of good things to say about them. she perchesed a gift voucher for me so i went and tried it. it is well located and there is street parking out side. i felt very wellcomed by the staff. it was very different to a brirtish style spa becaes the massage is done on a thin soft materess on the floor. this is so that the therapist can put her full weight in to the massage witch was very strong as i asked for and all of my body was worked on and streched. it was fantastic i have to say it was the best massage i have ever had. the room was well decorated and had a warm light and soothing sounds of thai spa music. it lasted for one hour and the time flew by. after that i was offered a cup of tea and sat and talked to the staff. now i go there every two weeks and it has helped me alot. it takes out the tention in my shoulders and back and the next morning i feel great. the price is so good i pay 30pounds for one hour. i paid almost twise that at outher spa's and had half the service. i have to thank my mum for that first time. i have recomended all my friends and they all enjoy the great massage they have. one of my friends lee has a two hour massage every time he goes. i know they do aroma oil massage and herbal massage as well. but i prefer a strong thai massage. my only comlaint is i didnt know about it sooner.

Rebalance is nice enough in itself, and I'm sure that a lot of people appreciate the services that…read morethey offer, but I've been to a fair number of spa's in my time, and have had to conclude that the ones that seem to focus on superficial treatments just aren't my thing. That's not to say that Rebalance isn't heading in the right direction... it offers treatments like Reflexology and deep tissue massage that have a profound impact on the condition of the body... but it's just the way that the whole thing is marketed that makes me uneasy. Much of the fanfare is reserved for the superficial treatments like fake tanning and false nails, which is just a little too plastic-fantastic for my liking. It's not that I'm averse to faking it either... I own a bottle of St Tropez, and have used this product pretty consistently over a five year period, up until about a couple of years ago. These days I feel disinclined to bother with the faff, and probably won't invest in another bottle once my current one is spent. I've always been acutely aware of the perils of the objectification of people, and grew increasingly concerned when men became firmly at the centre of this kind of attention, alongside the women... to my mind two wrongs don't make a right! With boys now suffering from bulimia and other low self-esteem and low self image related conditions, I feel more inclined to veer away from endorsing businesses that trade in the promise of bodily perfection, and the maintenance of youth everlasting. Rebalance is nowhere near the likes of the clinics that offer cosmetic surgery... quite the opposite. It is moving more toward an holistic approach to beauty and wellbeing. But the fact that they use gorgeous girls with pursed lips and fake tans to market themselves doesn't sit well with me. It is neither representative of their client base, nor a realisable reality for most women. And even if I were personally able to conform to the appearances of these beauties, I certainly wouldn't be adopting any of the expressions that they all seem to sport in the publicity posters... sun drenched sex kitten isn't a look that would suit me!

This is a spa and a beauty salon combo, offering a range of treatments including many using water…read moreas their base - such as the hydro dermabrasion (water jet peel), and aqua blitz body treatment. I haven't tried either of these, but I have enjoyed a Dermalogica facial here, which was very relaxing and made my skin feel fantastic. The therapist even gave me a hand and arm massage, which I wasn't expecting. She was very professional, going through the proper Dermalogica 'face mapping' process before deciding on the best treatment - and although the effects may be short-lived, it's great for a quick boost, and a relaxation treat in itself! I'll be back sometime to try some of their other treats, such as their deep tissue massage (£30 for 30 mins, £45 for 60 mins) - as they're more reasonably priced than most hotel-based beauty salons.