Overall, my mom and I did not have a relaxing experience at the Ballantyne Spa after years of…read morelooking forward to trying it (hence the robust review). The events leading up to our appointments caused more stress than zen, and the experience itself was mediocre at best.
For Christmas this year, I purchased my mom a massage service and myself one at the same time to go together. She doesn't get to relax often, and I knew she wouldn't want to go alone. I found 2 appointments at the same time when I was in town, booked, received confirmation, all is good. I gave her the gift & she was excited, even getting us matching PJs to wear in the day of. We continued to receive confirmation emails and appointment reminders.
The day before our appointments (which were at 8 AM, arrive at 7:30, which was also confusing because they spa said they open at 8?), we received a call at 11 AM that there was a glitch on their end, and they could not accommodate us as there were no other appointments at the same time that entire week. I called back, left a message explaining the situation and asked if there is anything we could do, and waited. 2 PM rolls around and we have heard nothing, and finally I have my mom try and call since my calls were not being answered. They answer and said the manager was working on a solution and would call back, but likely would not be able to find someone. 4 PM rolls around and we have not heard back. At the same time, we were receiving confirmations of our original appointments, forms to fill out, etc. Finally, that evening they let us know they would be able to accommodate us for our original appointments, which felt great after everything. We asked if there was anything they could do for the hassle and the manager offered 15% off our services. We went to fill out the forms so the next day would be hassle-free and, of course, none of the 8 links they sent us throughout the day worked.
After the difficult and last minute issues, we were ready for a relaxing time. The next day, upon check in, we were asked to pay the full amount with no mention of a discount or apology for the difficulties we experienced. She told us to come back after our services to talk to the manager.
We made the most of the rest of our time, but overall had issues with the spa itself, outside of booking issues, that led to a two-star review:
- The spa promotes they are 'technology free,' even declaring outside of the waiting/relaxation room door that cell phones are prohibited, yet every single person in the wait room was on their phone (at least 10-15 people). We put our phones away prior to entering to follow the policy/enjoy a tech-free zone at a spa, and it was not relaxing walking into a room of everyone glued to their screen. Might as well not promote this if you do not enforce it.
- The waiting/relaxation room is supposed to be a quiet place to relax with beverages and snacks pre or post service, but most the snacks were empty, the water for the tea was cold, and the constant shuffling of people coming in and out for their appointments was disturbing. The room was packed.
- Half the clients were given a beverage post-service, and half were not it seemed. One client was told she could not get served champagne before 10 AM, yet multiple people were sipping on a glass. I had to spend about 10 minutes tracking someone down to even receive mine that comes with the service
- They promote the pool as part of the spa, but when we went to go to the indoor pool it was filled with screaming kids so we opted out of that amenity. I understand its apart of the hotel, but then it shouldn't be promoted as a 'resort-style pool' with 'therapeutic whirlpools' as a spa amenity.
- The locker room attendant was very difficult to find, with multiple clients walking around confused looking for assistance and talking to each other to get around. The tour at the beginning was not good/the attendant seemed confused.
I probably would have given this a one star on the standards of how a 'luxury' spa should be, however both the massage services were good, and they did end up being able to accommodate us in the end. The whole experience, however, was disorganized, stressful, and not at all what we were expecting. Being a spa that requires their customers to give a 24-hour cancellation notice, it was disappointing that they were unable to do the same for their clients. The appointments were booked weeks prior where the glitch should have been caught. Overall, the booking experience put us off on the wrong foot, and the spa experience itself didn't make up for it. Definitely a bummer!
TLDR: Stressful booking experience with hardly any accountability or regard from the spa, promotes to be tech-free and is not, feels like an in and out service vs. luxury spa experience, lack of staff/multiple confused guests, relaxation room not up to par and very busy, noisy pool with kids even though promoted as a spa amenity