Like many others, I ended up here on a group buy offer. It sounded great! The voucher was for:
30 minute relaxation massage
45 minute oxygenating facial
Life in the Metro manicure and pedicure
Actual value was $189, apparently
Things started to go a bit wrong with booking. It looked so great! Their website had a specific link for group buy offers where you could enter your details and request a day/general time. I filled it all in on the Friday before my vacation week in mid-May and was looking forward to my treat. I heard nothing. I emailed them late the following week to be told that online booking didn't work. Great. Thanks for the warning on the website!
My voucher expiry date was July 15th. I was unable to get an appointment on that vacation week and they were booked up all weekends until mid August so I ended up booking this Friday (june 14th). I was lucky enough to have another week off; albeit a very busy one where I really didn't feel like giving up a few hours!
I arrived at 3.20pm for my 3.30pm appointment and amused myself for 5 minutes while the girl on reception talked on the phone. I got myself some water and fidgeted a bit. When she was ready, she took my voucher and gave me a tablet to fill out details and medical details etc. I then waited until 3.45pm before someone came to start my treatment. She informed me that she was taking me because I looked like I was stressing about the time. Ouch. Must remember not to look at my watch when I'm being delayed. Naughty. No apology whatsoever from her.
I was told to undress and lie face down for the massage. It was OK. It was certainly nothing like an RMT massage. It seemed random and haphazard. I wasn't very relaxed. Only positives were that it was neither too painful nor too light and feathery strokey. Facial was next and was also fine. I've no idea what products she used and don't recall being told about any oxygen. There was steam though. I dozed a bit because I was completely exhausted. It was over before I knew it! Probably because it was done by 4.35pm. Time for 30min massage and 45 min facial=45 minutes.
There followed a decent pedicure (with a massage chair that only did vibrate), a 15 minute wait for a manicure spot and a manicure that smudged on the way home. The aesthetician was nice enough but her top was filthy, she told me my eyebrows were terrible and she complained about the previous customers to me. They'd had the audacity to ask if they could shower after their treatment. In a spa. Imagine!
Did I feel relaxed? During the facial, yes. But only then. They offer the same deal themselves and I wasn't even remotely tempted to buy.
The spa is also not very spa-like. When I think spa I'm anticipating an oasis and escape. This was basically a few very basic treatment rooms and a small nail salon. It looked nothing like the photos that have been uploaded here. I'm not sure they're even of the same place.
Positives: nice glasses for water, cute basins and faucets for pedicure, clean, some staff seemed nice, location on the harbourfront
Negatives: everything else