Oh Spa Chakra,
You promised great things:
- "An exclusive luxury spa and fitness destination ... offering more than an isolated moment of relaxation."
- "A soothing transition from the hectic pace of the outside world ... an entirely stress-free experience."
- An 8,000 square foot spa facility in addition to a 10,000 square foot fitness center "providing guests with a luxury urban retreat that offers a comprehensive transformational healing experience."
Short Version: You can't put the fitness center/locker room/steam room on a separate floor from the spa while failing to include any relaxation space in the spa, and still call yourself a destination. Really, it's just a posh day spa that happens to be in a hotel -- "in, out, and on with your life." And when an old Chili's slogan describes part of your spa experience, something has gone horribly wrong. For those who want the full scoop, read on.
Contextual Environment: I'm not sure who's to blame for this (probably whomever was in charge of the $170M Palmer House renovation), but this was one of the worst layouts I've ever seen. The fitness center is on the 8th floor, where you'll also find the locker room and steam room. Unfortunately, the spa is on the 5th floor. To travel between the two, you have to take a hotel elevator and risk running into wedding guests or convention attendees on their way into one of the many ballrooms, while you're in your robe and slippers. And you do have to travel between the two because the spa itself offers no amenities beyond treatment rooms - no steam room, no locker room, no meditation space. That's not an "entirely stress free experience." Particularly where your spa lacks additional amenities, the fitness center and spa need to be on the same floor or at least part of a discrete complex within the hotel so you can use them both comfortably and seamlessly. Major fail.
The Locker Room (in fitness center): Decent steam room, if a little small given the overall size of the facility. Clean and modern, with eucalyptus spray available for spritzing as you like. But there are no hooks immediately outside the room for your robes, at least none that we could find. Probably because the robes are from the spa, and you're at the fitness center. So, do I bring it into the steam room and let it get all damp and gross? Or shove it into a tiny locker? Yuck.
Spa Environment: The spa facilities are gorgeous - modern, airy, and soothing. Nice balance of light woods, clean whites, and the occasional flowing natural fabrics. Each treatment room is spacious and well laid out. Unfortunately, there's virtually nowhere to rest peacefully outside of the treatment rooms. A few chairs around a coffee table in the Guerlain cosmetics and perfume (i.e. thinly veiled retail) space doesn't cut it. No quiet room with a fireplace or a relaxing lake view or light aromatherapy to just sip tea or cucumber water and enjoy the moment before or after your treatments (especially while waiting for friends with overlapping appointments). We expected a lot more from the 8,000 square feet than we got.
Spa Treatments: All four of us enjoyed our massages and rated the therapists highly. Also, the 15 minute foot soak which is included at the beginning of each treatment was a nice touch. I wouldn't say it was anywhere near the best massage I've ever had, but it was a solid B+.
The Spa Menu - Pricing: You have to dig to find the prices here - the downloadable spa menu doesn't include them. In fact, I couldn't find them until I went onto the online reservation system. I guess it's the old "If you have to ask, you can't afford it" bit. Tacky. At first blush, the services seem a bit pricey, although Chicago price points vary widely. Basically, every 30 minutes of spa treatments cost $90. And while the shortest massage they list on the online reservation is 90 minutes for $270, by calling the spa directly I learned a 60 minute massage was available for $180. I will add one upside to the spa menu/pricing, which wasn't very clearly advertised: there's no gratuity allowed. Effectively, a $180 treatment is the equivalent of a $150 treatment anywhere else, making it much more reasonable.
The Spa Menu - Packages: The closest thing to a "deal" I saw in the packages was the Skin Revive - a body treatment/facial combo that threw in an extra 15 minutes. Not impressed. Look, I'm not cheap. In fact, show me any kind of "value-priced" or experiential package, and I'm a total sucker that will spend double what I planned. But adding multiple treatments without any kind of package-pricing or added bonuses just offends my practical sensibilities.
Staff: All very pleasant, but not well-trained or informed. They didn't have a grasp on how to check us in and weren't sure on what credit cards were accepted. It's not a huge deal, but those little administrative hassles certainly take away from the overall relaxation.
So, would I go back? Probably not. If I just want a good massage in a nice day spa environment, I can get an equally good treatment at a much better price at any number of day spas in the city. I dare say I could even get an awesome package. Maybe the treatment rooms won't be so beautiful. But hey, if the massage is remotely decent, my eyes are closed anyway.
Regretfully,
Kate
No comments:
Post a Comment