To say this experience was utterly disappointing is putting it mildly.
This place is under construction and has been for several months. The new spa is supposedly due to be finished in April. The temporary hotel room setup is completely lacking in ambiance and there are no aromatherapy bath treatments available.
Furthermore, there were two of us who went for massages and neither of us were impressed with the service. Definitely sub-par work - I've had a massage from a beginning student who did far better. We both agreed it just seemed like they were continually rubbing lotion into our backs without doing any manipulation of the muscles. My partner actually said they slept worse the night after the service than before.
But this is not the worst part.
I received a manicure from Jessica, who is a very sweet girl. But I have to be honest... I know 6-year-olds who could have done a better job. My nails were filed all uneven, she never did ANYTHING with my cuticles (I know some places refuse to cut them, but she didn't put oil on them, push them back.... nothing), and my nail beds apparently had fuzz from the cotton on them before she polished which created an interesting textured look I would prefer to have done without. I have seriously never witnessed a worse polishing job, even from a child. She just slapped the color on there all uneven, so in some cases it was on my skin and on others it was only on 3/4 of the nail.
Not wanting to make a fuss since I was otherwise enjoying my stay I decided not to make a big deal out of it and instead just post my review here for others to see. The Spa at The Plaza has apparently received "Spa of the Year" awards in Monterey for many years but the last was in '06. I can't help but think that they are possibly under new management or the previous staff left as I cannot believe it would have received such accolades with the services we witnessed there recently.
Pros: Location if staying downtown
Cons: Poorly skilled staff, no ambiance
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