I rarely leave reviews like this, but our experience at Truce was disappointing enough that I feel…read moreprospective guests should know what they are actually booking.
First, calling this a "spa" feels generous. We had planned a girls' spa day, and one of the amenities we were particularly looking forward to was the red light therapy that Truce advertises. When we arrived, we learned that the red light equipment had been recalled and was unavailable.
No one had contacted us ahead of time to let us know.
When I pointed out that guests should have been notified before their appointments so they could decide whether they still wanted to come, the response was essentially, "You never told us you wanted to use the red light."
That is an extraordinary response when it is an advertised amenity of the facility. Guests should not have to individually announce in advance which advertised spa amenities they might like to use in order to be informed that those amenities are unavailable.
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning.
Approximately three hours before my appointment, I called because I was dealing with a medical emergency and could no longer attend. I understood that Truce has a cancellation policy and that I might still be charged. What I did not expect was for them to make one of my friends pay my $160 massage fee -- despite having my credit card on file.
Their explanation was that once I canceled, my card had somehow been removed or canceled from the appointment.
If you are going to enforce a full-price cancellation charge, then charge the card the guest provided. Requiring another member of the party to pay someone else's $160 bill was unnecessary, embarrassing, and incredibly poor customer service.
I have since contacted the manager twice, asking for something very simple: credit my friend's card for the charge and allow me to pay the $160 myself using my own credit card. Both attempts have gone unanswered.
That is perhaps the most disappointing part. Mistakes and poor decisions happen. Good customer service is demonstrated by how a business responds when given an opportunity to correct them. In this case, management has had two opportunities to resolve a very straightforward issue and has simply chosen not to respond.
The experience for the friends who did attend wasn't exactly luxurious either. The "relaxation room" apparently has no door, no snacks, no magazines or other touches one would normally associate with a higher-end spa -- just tea. Even worse, conversations from the front desk carried directly into the room, including a loud personal phone conversation that was decidedly not relaxing or professional.
During the massage itself, loud bass/electronic music from the neighboring venue could be heard strongly enough to compete with the spa music.
For a facility located in a high-end hotel in downtown Bellevue, the entire experience was surprisingly amateurish.
A true spa experience is about more than providing a massage. It is the environment, amenities, professionalism, communication, hospitality, and attention to detail surrounding the treatment.
Truce missed the mark on nearly every one of those things.
We expected a relaxing girls' spa day. What we received was an unavailable advertised amenity with no advance notice, an astonishing response when we questioned that lack of notice, questionable cancellation handling, management that has ignored two attempts to resolve the resulting billing issue, a decidedly un-relaxing environment, and a level of service nowhere near what the location and pricing suggest.
There are too many excellent spas in the Seattle/Bellevue area to justify paying premium prices for this experience.
