I have just recently had to find another tanning salon as the one I was going to shut down without notice one day, so I have been looking for another salon that has premium beds for an affordable rate... however I am unfortunately still looking
First of all I find it a little unsettling that some tanning salons list their prices publicly online whilst others force you to come into the salon just to get a quote. Sunset tan is one of the salons that doesn't list their prices publicly; I have provided a pic of their prices displayed at their front desk because its an important part of picking a salon and I feel the information should be publicly available.
Upon first entering the rather small salon it looked fairly clean, not as aesthetic as many other salons I have visited but it was tidy as far as I could tell. They sell designer skin lotions for the most part which is a high end brand however I didn't see a lot of brand options meaning very little flexibility regarding price point. I always get a little concerned when salons sell random products like contact lenses as well which this salon does, that's not a huge concern in my eyes but does tend to raise a few warning flags for me. Another small detail I found concerning was the eye wear available in the room; some may think this is a welcome savings in cost however the price of the goggles is minimal and trusting to use communal eye protection is a risk Im not willing to take with my eyes especially. Maybe offering free disposable eyewear but nothing that's going to be reused, those glasses are notoriously hard to keep clean.
The woman at the front desk was polite and fairly knowledgable, however I find most salons boast the same calibre of service as the majority are charging premium rates and Im sure customers would expect nothing less.
In this case the salon had 3 tiers of beds; super, premium and platinum; each bed technically has different stats and benefits however the attendant gave me next to no information regarding their differences and seemed to only push the platinum packages which come with a pretty hefty price tag. I have the image of the price list attached but I believe to tan in the platinum bed at 8min once a week it worked out to $69.99/month (+tax and lotion cost) where as competitors have unlimited tanning in the same level of beds for that price.
I believe they only have one of each platinum bed because when I booked a hydra station + tanning session the last time I went, which I payed almost $40 for, I was forced to use another bed because the one I booked they put someone into while I was still in the hydra station. This bothered me because I payed for a certain bed and was forced to use another as waiting for the one I wanted would have defeated the purpose of using the hydra bed to begin with. It may have had something to do with the fact that they were training a new employee at the time but still I don't think that excuses the fact that I paid for a bed I didn't want.
Now for the hydra station; personally I feel this is a complete waste of time and money. First of all many of the people offering this service know next to nothing about it, they all spout the same sales pitches you will see in the company video available on youtube which offers zero information just empty claims of benefits.
Essentially your laying in a sealed plastic capsule with your face outside and foam padding underneath you which mildly vibrates. The steam only comes from above you so truthfully only the very front of your body feels anything, they claim this bed opens your pores and preps your skin for tanning BUT only the front of your body gets any steam so your back only gets the runoff from the front which leads me to wonder how even a tan I would get as a result? Because i was told nothing about the bed I wondered if I should turn over half way through which I would actually suggest if you want to get even tanning results however I will recommend doing this with care as the steam vents can burn you if your aren't careful.
The LED lights have zero function as they certainly do not have any physical ability to affect your tan and your head isn't even in the capsule so you can't even see the light which truly makes them completely useless. Because your face isn't in the capsule it gets zero benefits which I found dumb because of all areas of your body your face would seriously benefit from the steam and for that to be the one area of your body not exposed to it is truly a waste in my eyes. Lastly they claim you achieve up to 3 shades darker results when truthfully I saw no difference to even lower end beds like Fabutan offers and I tan easily without burning.
I have since invested in another self tanner that may even replace tanning beds all together for me as the search for a reasonable tanning salon seems like an endless one. read more