I won't just say this was a bad experience. I'll give all the details of why it was horrible.
Things are most definitely NOT the same since the owner Denise left.
My first float ever was at Paradise. Denise was amazing, giving info about floating and the benefits, showing me around to see the float rooms and the serenity room she set up for guests to relax after their float.
I even did a video about her & my experience (she shared to the Facebook page too)
I've brought family for floats and recommended to friends.
Last night, I went for a float and brought my friend to cash in her christmas gift for her very first float.
I bought 2 90 minute floats.
I considered trying a new spot but wanted to return to where I've had such great experiences.
The young lady at the reception desk was nice. Her instructions for the float was ok. Nothing like my prior experiences but I chalk that up to the fact that she's not the owner or really invested which is fine.
I did notice that there were a lot of white spots on the wall but thought it might just be flaws in the wall.
I got started in my room, showered, got in the tank, and the first thing I noticed was that the water was warmer than it should be. Float tank water is meant to be body temperature to help in the sensory deprivation of not feeling your body in the water.
I figured I would acclimate.
Then I started to feel a burning sensation everywhere, especially my arms. Again, I thought it was the salt and would pass. It did not. In fact it got worse. I couldn't ignore it. I tried but after maybe 20-30 minutes, it was too much and was distracting at the least. The only part of me that didn't tingle and burn was my face that wasn't in the water.
The best way to describe the feeling is like spending too much time in an over chlorinated pool.
I don't have sensitive skin, had no products on and showered before my float as instructed.
I immediately took a shower, washing with soap and rinsing off multiple times. It didn't reduce the discomfort much. I put lotion on and it didn't help. The burning and tingling stayed all night and, while it's not as bad, I can still feel it today.
While I was in my room, I saw the same white stuff all over the wall. It was dry residue of some kind. It was all over the mirror too. The plastic caddy they have attached to the wall holding q tips and misc was coated with white stuff. There were piles of it in the caddy. The top of the soap/shampoo/conditioner and the large shower head had a light layer of dust or something (I could see the top of the shower head as it was at an angle)
After showering, I let the reception lady know what happened. I told her it wasn't her fault but I was not happy that I didn't get to have my float.
I had already paid and asked if I could come back to have the float that I didn't get. She said she added it to my account.
I looked in the other tank rooms (including the one my friend used) and it was the same.
I took pics of it all
My plan was to reach out to the manager or owner to talk about it and figure out when I could give them another try.
I waited in the serenity room for my friend to finish.
When we left the serenity room, there was a guy at the front desk with the young lady who was there.
I asked if he was the manager. Turns out he was the new owner. I told him what happened, and that maybe the balance was off in the water solution.
His first responses? First he said "this is my family's money" and that he'd give me 50% off next time. I said that I didn't expect to pay anything. His next response was that "no one's ever had a problem here before" and again went into how it's his family's money. And that the young lady didn't have the authority to give me another session. That she was just a young girl. That started to get me upset. Not only was there no acknowledgement of my experience or "I'm sorry you didn't have a good experience", but he completely dismissed my experience and got argumentative. When I described the burning sensation as being like a high chlorine pool, he said "we don't use chlorine", clearly not even hearing me. I mentioned the dirty state of the rooms.
He said, "now I'm not giving you anything".
I told him I'm happy to show him the dirt and he just got madder.
He said "we just redid the entire place!".
I was just shocked to have a business owner respond to a concern with such dismissal, lack of concern, and outright aggression.
This unprofessional and escalating behavior made me more and more upset. I regret that I let him get me so upset that I yelled right back at him. It got heated. He told me to get out and never come back, continuing even as I was leaving. Like I was ever going to go back after the way he treated me as a customer. Not to mention the impact it had on my friend seeing his behavior.
This is not a business or owner that I will ever go back to, bring/refer other people to and will let anyone who mentions float therapy read more
