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| - I delayed writing this review for a few reasons. One, my visit there was a gift, and I didn't want the giver to know that I'd had a less than great experience. Two, I didn't want to get any of the employees in trouble. They were all nice people, but they probably shouldn't be in hospitality of any sort. I should also first clarify that this was the Shizen location inside of the Cosmopolitan Hotel, and not the one inside the Pantages.
I was given a gift certificate for a mani-pedi & massage at Shizen for my birthday by someone who wanted me to try one of the top rated spas in Canada. I arrived 30 minutes early, as was suggested by the rep I booked my day with, who also said I could relax in the large hot-tub before my massage. I ended up waiting in the reception area of the spa for those first 30 minutes, with an Indian business man, both of us waiting for the receptionist to arrive. Perhaps she should have told herself to arrive 30 minutes early. The one spa employee that we could find, told us that the receptionist was running late, and that there had been some management changes, and she was running around lighting candles, but there was no real apology.
Once checked in to the spa, I was lazily pointed toward the change room, which was clean, and well-supplied, but not very warm feeling, and the big glass door (albeit frosted) made it feel less than private. I was shocked to notice that the slippers provided were stained, and instead of complaining, I just slipped into my own flip flops that I happened to have in my gym bag. I changed into my bikini and robe and headed out to the hot tub. There was still no staff to be found, except one lady still running around lighting candles. I slipped off my robe and took a dip into the tub, hoping to loosen up my muscles a little, and was surprised to find the water lukewarm at best! It was absolutely useless. I hopped out, and grabbed a magazine to read on one of the comfy lounges by the water. Soon after, the lone-staff member brought me a cup of sweet smelling tea, claiming it was Ayurvedic. Cute. Thing is, I buy loose leaf tea every week, and I actually recognized their tea as the "Winter Punch" blend I keep stocked at home. I bought-in for the time being. Sitting on that lounge was likely the best part of my experience there.
I've had a few massages in my time, and having recovered from a shattered elbow a few years before, I had been exposed to professional massage by RMTs. This is how I knew that the massage I ended up getting was most likely not done by an RMT. I ended up with more tension and knots than before. Either she had no clue what she was doing, or her head was somewhere else.
The next portion was the mani-pedi. I had unfortunately had some finger nail-trauma a few weeks before, so I opted just to get the pedi. They couldn't offer me another service in exchange, but instead issued a small credit, which I still have and will likely never use. I wish I could say that I was surprised to see that the woman who did my massage was the one also doing my pedi, but I wasn't. The pedicure was done well, with lots of attention to detail. The woman was likely ACTUALLY trained in this area, but any chance for relaxation was marred by the gossipy young-professionals who kept walking in, in street clothes, for manicures. It began to feel like a standard nail salon. If you're going to have a spa that you market with an emphasis on privacy, you should either have all clients change into robes, or have a separate section for one-off treatments like this. It felt rather uncomfortable to be sitting in a robe, covered in oil beside a woman in a pantsuit complaining about the past quarter. It was also difficult to choose a polish colour with the ambient lighting. What I thought was cherry red, ended up being brown in natural light. Still, after a botched pedicure at the W Hotel's (Los Angeles - Westwood) "Bliss" spa, I was happy to have someone good working on me.
After listening to several high-powered execs talk about their stressful days in detail, and the manicurist herself telling me all about her divorce, and some very personal and morbid issues I don't want to mention here, I would have had a more relaxing day on public transit, in rush-hour, in Japan. I asked for some more tea, and sat on the lounge by the pool for 20 minutes following my pedicure before getting showered & changed. Upon leaving, they tried to sell me some of their "Ayurvedic" tea, packaged and labeled as such, in little black tins, for nearly triple what I normally pay for it. Better yet, the parking at the hotel was not included. As a spa package, especially a gift, you would think it would be. Nope. Had to shell out $20 for 4 hrs parking. Never told the gift-giver because had it been me, I would have been embarrassed. If you're paying that much for someone to be taken care of, they should be fully taken care of.
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