I had the best experience here on the weekend! My husband bought me the "Parental Escape" wellness…read morepackage for my birthday, which includes the 50-minute Exhalo scalp treatment that includes hand and arm treatment, a 45-minute relaxing Swedish massage, and one hour in the salt room.
I arrived about 10 minutes early on Saturday morning, checked in, hung up my coat, and waited on the small bench. I didn't have to take off my boots, but I should have grabbed a paid of the sandals at the front, as there were none in the back.
It's a much smaller space than I expected, with the "spa" part is at the back, hair on the right, and nails on the left. I only saw one small room for massages and spa treatments and another one across from it for the salt room. The front has all of the products and gifts, including a bunch of local brands, but it's also where people check in, pay, and wait, so it's very tight and makes it hard to look at the products, as well as social distance.
I had Maureen for both my scalp treatment and my massage, and she was great! She asked me which one I wanted first. I wasn't sure and asked which one was more relaxing, and she said usually the scalp one gets her, so I did massage, salt room, then scalp.
The massage was great and nice, harder pressure like I prefer. I asked what the difference was between the relaxing Swedish massage and the RMT massage and she said the RMT massage typically has more pressure and tries to get out knots. The RMT can also be claimed for insurance, while the relaxing massage cannot). Maureen was kind enough to ask if I wanted to do the front of my legs and other parts of my body instead of hands and arms because those were already included in the scalp treatment and this way we could maximize the massage. Really appreciated this suggestion! I wish I paid more attention to the package details because I thought it was an hour long instead of 45 minutes. It goes by quickly!
The salt room is also much smaller than I expected, but I enjoyed the vibe of the room with the soft orange and blue hues. There are two anti-gravity chairs, but I was the only one booked in there for that time, so I could wear whatever clothing I liked. It was my first time and I was told comfy clothing is fine, but some people wear bikinis and swimwear because it's better to expose your problematic skin areas to the healing salt. I was also told to bring snacks, which I did but didn't end up eating, and instead I was allowed to just take off my mask for a little bit to breathe in the medical grade salt that gets pumped out. Again, I was the only one in there with the door shut, otherwise I absolutely would have kept it on. I also got a robe and a blanket, and had the option of turning the heat of the electric fireplace up or down. You could also get a massage in there, though I'm sure the protocol with the mask and fireplace is different. Maureen said she'd knock before coming in, but I only fell asleep for about 10 minutes (it's hard to relax!), but it was nice. I would have napped longer if I could. There's no clock in there, so it's a great way to unplug (minus the couple of photos I took at the beginning when I was getting settled). The only downside is that the room is right across from some of the hair stations, so I could hear the hair dryers and conversations over the relaxing music.
The scalp treatment was like nothing I've ever had before. They massage warm essential oils onto your neck, shoulders, and scalp. They then wrap your hair in a heated towel while you get a hydration face mask and get more massage, plus your hands in wax with gloves on. Once they take the towel off, you get some cool drops (oils? serum?) massaged into your scalp. Some of the hot stuff, like the towel behind your neck and the wax, are really hot, so be prepared for that, especially if you're sensitive to heat, though the burning sensation goes away pretty quickly. You can definitely come out of this one a little woozy, so take a few minutes before sitting up and leaving to drive home.
Maureen was such a pleasure and really took great care of this new mama. She was really understanding of all of my issues, like tense shoulders, lower back pain, postpartum hair loss, etc. I enjoyed it all so much that I ended up buying my husband a gift certificate for the same package! Just need to remember that the tip is not included.
Hot tip: If you're looking for an actual parental escape, don't book on a Sunday, as it's family day at the spa.
