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Washington, DC, DC

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Illa Spa

2.7 (362 reviews)
Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

Services - Illa Spa

Sugaring

Threading

Waxing

Illa Spa Photos

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Recommended Reviews - Illa Spa

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I called on Tuesday after finding them on Groupon and my spouse saying he had been there before. We are both having some back pain and I was having neck pain. I spoke to a female and asked her how I should proceed. She asked me what the current rate was on Groupon and I said $95.37 for the couples massage. The owner told me to not purchase the Groupon and she would honor that rate when I got there. I set an appointment of Saturday at 11. I have had massages before and this was the 2nd worse massage I have ever had. It felt like the masseuse had literally just put a balm on me like you would put on lotion. My neck still hurt afterwards. We then went to the front desk and was told the price was $120. I told the receptionist what was quoted on Tuesday. She proceeded to call the owner who called me a liar and said I didn't talk to her on Tuesday I talked to her on Friday and she didn't tell me she would honor the Groupon rate. I told her that she did tell me that and I would not argue with her. I then looked and the special was still being offered on Groupon. I purchased the Groupon then and there gave the code to the receptionist and left telling them this would be my first and last time there. Do not waste your time and money.

Justis T.

Management (I dealt with Hanna for at least part of this encounter) is incompetent at best and fraudulent at worst. The initial massage was good, but I was seen 90 minutes late. I was promised a free service, and now that I've tried to redeem the voucher that was provided in compensation for the delay, which I had to ask for a couple of times, Illa is trying to claim that the voucher is for 20% off (it doesn't say that on the voucher), and that it's a general voucher sent to all customers. Stay away if you wish to avoid hassle. Sure, other places may cost more, but is your time and effort really worth a service that ultimately causes stress?

I never post negative reviews, but this situation warrants one. I purchased a Groupon for massages at Illa spa, took time off of work to go (a rarity!), and when I arrived, I was told the owner refused to accept the Groupon! Instead, I was told that "since I was already there, they could offer me a discounted service." Kind of felt like that was their shady business model. I contacted Groupon support, which will be issuing a refund, but this isn't a way to treat customers. With dozens of other options, don't waste your hard earned money supporting a shady business owner.

Waiting are
LeAnn F.

Make sure to come early because you have a lot paperwork to fill out, which make sure to mark the spots where you don't want them to touch you. I wish they had options where you can choose female or male masseuse. Also, the option if you want more relaxing to them digging into the knots. I recommend checking out Groupon for cheaper prices.

Groupon's instructions on how to redeem the credits for the $92.80 I paid for the 2 groupons which had expired.
Jason S.

READ THE REVIEWS! AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE! I purchased 2 groupons for Illa Spa. I paid $46.40 for each groupon to be used for a 60-minute signature massage ($105). Time flew and both of the groupons expired. I chatted with groupon customer service and asked what my options were and was told that the $92.80 I paid ($46.40 x 2) could be used towards the same treatment. (screen print below) I made an appointment and received the massage and then went to pay. I told the therapist I had two expired groupons and that the amount paid of $92.80 would be used towards the purchase and I'd pay the difference (as instructed to do so by groupon customer service, which I showed him). He asked if I told the manager about the groupons when I made the appointment. I did not. He called the manager, Hanna, to make sure it was ok and she went from 0 to 100 and started yelling. (After reading the other reviews, this now doesn't surprise me at all) and told me I needed to let them know I was paying with groupon credits before I booked the massage. She told me that I could not use the credit yesterday for that massage but I could use it the next time I go there because they have to put it in their system differently because I booked the appointment "the wrong way." Umm... what?!? I asked her, since I already received the massage, can't they just "put it in their system" however it was needed and I would pay the $105 and put this $92.80 credit towards it and pay the difference? And why on Earth wouldn't she allow me to take the credit yesterday but they would allow me to take it in the future? Hanna then told me (nice and loudly) that I needed to pay for yesterday's massage in full with cash or credit card and could not use the groupon amount that day and that they have cameras on site and if I don't pay in full with cash or credit card she would call the police. I saved her the hassle of calling the police and I called the DC Police non-emergency number myself and reported the incident and gave them a heads up about exactly what was happening. I then was able to "surprise surprise" somewhat resolve the issue with a level-headed woman working at the front desk named Tresa, who was in one of the back rooms earlier. She explained that they book groupon clients differently and that I did indeed book the appointment incorrectly. Even though their instructions on the "right way of booking an appointment" are nowhere to be found. Got it. Makes perfect sense, right? I asked Tresa if she could edit the booking to however it needed to be input to reflect the $105 and then use the $92.80 credit. Nope. She said she couldn't. She explained to me that when clients use these expired groupon amounts that the establishment doesn't actually get any money. They only get money when the groupon is used before the expiration date. Whether this is true or not, I don't know. And frankly, from a customer point of view, THAT should not be my problem. But according to Illa Spa, this is now apparently not a groupon problem, this is not an Illa Spa problem, but this is passed onto the customer and becomes a problem for the customer to figure out? Very much, NO. In essence, Illa Spa makes you pay in full (and refuses to accept your credit) but then accepts the credit the next time you book a treatment on a future visit (as if THAT is ever going to happen again in this lifetime), so they can net a similar profit amount, as if you would have redeemed the groupon before it expired in the first place. Clever workaround? Fraud? Horrible way of doing business? Shady lady realness. Call it what you will. The choice is yours. So my suggestion, which ended up being our "resolution," was for Tresa to agree to write me a letter to provide to groupon that Illa Spa agreed to allow groupon to refund me for the $92.80 because they refused to redeem my groupon credit. And I ended up paying full price and I will hopefully get my $92.80 credited back by groupon. This goes beyond absurd. This goes beyond crazy. This was worse than an SNL parody on horrible customer service. It's truly unbelievable and sounds exaggerated until you experience it for yourself. So imagine going through all this literally minutes after receiving a massage. Do you think I felt better after getting my massage? Thanks to Hanna, and the staff at Illa Spa, and the way they run their business, I left feeling stressed, frustrated, annoyed, and furious and ended up with a migraine headache. Thanks so much. And I paid full price for that. Nice job, Hanna. Another sucker walked into your trap! Choose a charity and give them $105 instead of paying for anything at Illa Spa. You'll feel better than going here and you will have helped someone else in need in the process.

The text from Illa spa.

The worst spa experience! I was treated like a piece of meat. I hated the massage (it felt like the person watched 2 tutorials and just went for it) and asked to stop like 20 min in. The masseuse refused and asked to "teach him how to make me happy". I felt bad so let him go on... After the session I confirmed with the receptionist that the Groupon went through and no additional payment required. The next day I got a text that the place will report me to police for fraud and asked to pay full price ($110) in addition to the Groupon. Got 15 calls during work hours and multiple texts with threatening and harassment. All of them were saying that I owe them money and I'm not allowed to use Groupon. See screenshots.

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6 years ago

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Hanna L.

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9 years ago

Incredibly violating massage. Will never return and strongly urge others to stay away.

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6 years ago

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Page 5 of 10

Ask the Community - Illa Spa

How do I make an appointment?

You can make an appointment through our online portal at www.illaspadc.com.

Do you accept Amex for payment?

Yes we do.

Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

Review Highlights - Illa Spa

“I had a great experience her for a waxing treatment from Hanna.”

Mentioned in 24 reviews

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Illa Spa - hairremoval - Updated October 2026

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