After doing numerous research on the prices and features of all couple massages at the spas in Las Vegas, I decided on Djanel Spa because it offered the most services for the most reasonable price. When I called to make an appointment, I was greeted by a man with a French accent (named D.J.), whom was difficult to understand sometimes but helpful, nonetheless.
Djanel Spa is located inside the Bluegreen Resort, which is off the strip a couple blocks. I didn't mind the drive there since we were lodging at the Venetian. However, when you arrive at the resort, D.J. instructs you to meet him in the lobby so that he can take you to the spa, as it's very easy to get lost. Once I arrived there, I noticed that the spa is really small. There is a large room that D.J. always uses for massages and treatments...and then another smaller room that he uses to store products and ring up his clients. If you wanted to use the bathroom, you would have to go outside and down the hall to use the bathroom by the resort's swimming pool.
The feeling was a little eerie since this small spa was lit with a dark blue light, rather than candles or dimming lights. D.J. had another masseuse, named Lisa, who performed the Swedish massage on one person while he performed a facial on the other.
Let's start the review by evaluating Lisa. She's nice, but quiet. The massage she performed on both me and boyfriend was softer than we wanted. It was almost as if she had weak hands and couldn't apply more force. Even for someone who prefers a light pressure like me felt like the massage wasn't strong enough. The one thing I didn't like is she never checked up on us during the massage and asked how the pressure was. She just kept quiet the whole time. The massage wasn't bad though, I did fall asleep for a little bit.
D.J. has unbelievably soft hands, which was perfect for the facial. He applied various products to my face and occasionally used a hot towel to wrap around my head. The part that I didn't like was he removed all of our blackheads by simply squeezing them out...which hurt like a b*tch. I've heard that squeezing blackheads can be damaging, depending on how your skin reacts to it...and that there are better ways to remove blackheads than with your hands. I just didn't appreciate how he did this without asking us first.
I later realized that D.J. is short for Djanel, which meant he was the owner of this spa. The gifts that are included in the couple's massage is actually a DVD of him teaching simple massage techniques and a CD of him playing music that are designed for massages. I also didn't like how he pushed his skin care product line on me because he said we needed to take better care of our skin, even though I told him I was already using other products. I expected to leave my appointment feeling rejuvenated, not with my hands full of newly bought merchandise.
The last thing I wanted to mention, is that although D.J. was super friendly to both of us, he crossed my personal boundaries many times. He was always hugging me or rubbing my arms in front of my boyfriend, which upset him, of course. He would also touch my face and give this creepy smile. I'm not sure if this is because he's French or because this is normal behavior for masseuses in Vegas.
I guess what's most important to say is that I would never go back. The experience as a whole was satisfactory but I've had better massages and facials. D.J. is nice and I give him props for managing his own business but the atmosphere and behavior of the staff though isn't what I wanted. I think I'll stick to a spa on the strip next time.