I've never had a bad massage . At Green Spa you literally don't have to leave the hotel, they are…read moreon the bottom floor of Hotel Mercure Altunizade. They always have an appt available. During my 7 days in Istanbul I got 6 massages, they were all great, all very different. Anytime I called to schedule a service they had immediate availability or I could pretty much pick any time I wanted later in the day. You usually you have to schedule services in advance and it takes some pretty rigorous planning.
Every service was about half the price of a service in the states. However, particularly if you are from the United States, leave your modesty at the door. You will be taken to a locker room and provided slippers and robe for your walk through the spa. The therapist will take you to a room and help you remove your robe and your naked butt will climb onto to the table. They keep your bits covered to some degree but your massage greatly outweighs their concern for your nudity. I was fine as I've had European massages that ran along the same lines. Just relax, they don't care about your bits, they focus on giving you the best massage experience . Give yourself over to deep breathing and focused relaxation, let them do their jobs, they are very good at it.
During your stay or you must have the full body scrub and massage package. It's the closest thing you will get to a Turkish bath without actually having to leave the hotel and go to a Turkish bath. It is a 90 minute experience that will leave you as the wettest, limpest noodle in the spaghetti pot and you will sleep like a baby. Book it for 7 or 7:30 PM and then go back to your room, eat room service for dinner (call room service ahead of time to schedule dinner) and you'll sleep for a solid 12 hours like a freakin queen. I could hardly move afterwards it was so awesome.
So below I'm going to list some of the negatives but the positives far outweigh any bad thing I have to say. And they're not even really bad, just some things you should be aware of if you are staying in the hotel and planning to use the spa services. If I had been more aware of these things I think it would have made my visits a little easier.
Be aware that the services listed on the website in the services listed in your hotel room and the services listed in the spa are three different entities. None of them match. The things listed on the website do not match the spa menu in the spa in the spa menu in the spa does not match the spa menu that they put in your hotel room. None of the menus have process except for the menu that's actually in the spa. You would think that you could call Greene spa and find out prices but unfortunately the language barrier will prevent you from doing that. I suggest you walk down to the spa and retrieve their menu which is in Turkish and English and lists times and prices. Then actually schedule while you're there in the spa, being aware that none of the receptionists (except one) speak any English, but if you point to the service and tell her what time you would like it she will absolutely hook you up. Even with the language barrier the reception area is a warm and welcoming place. If you truly need to speak to someone the receptionist will go grab one of the massage therapists who seem to speak pretty good English. You can also use Google translate, they were more than willing to communicate with me that way.
You may want to, while you were still in your home country, contact the spa via their email response form to schedule your appointments. I did and it was a waste of time. They do not respond to requests for appointments or request for prices. But as I stated they are very accommodating and flexible with appointments so don't even bother, there's no need.
Probably the only and biggest disappointment I had with the spa was that I scheduled a couples massage our first night in town. On the website they list the couples massage as this wonderful 90 minute long experience that includes a bath and a scrub and a massage afterward. That is not what you get when you schedule a couples massage. You simply get a couples massage without any of the extras. Really though, it's hard to complain about getting a massage.
The hotel has pool and sauna listed as part of theit amenities package. These things are not, in fact, part of the hotel's amenities they are part of the spa. Not that I would've use the pool much but after a cold rainy day the sauna would've been nice. I think its a hotel issue rather than a spa issue and I probably could've figured it out if I went down there with Google Translate.
There you have it, a few challenges due to the language barrier, you are in a foreign country after all, but an experience that you will want to repeat again and again.
