I had a great spa experience at Riverspa this week. Allison's facial was attentive and careful and I left glowing and relaxed and feeling pampered. Amenities are not like hotel spa (fluffy bathrobes and slippers, fancy teas, cucumbers in cold lemon water, sauna and steam rooms), but the place is clean, service attentive, showers are clean. For a day spa it was great.

I was excited about my spa day at the Riverspa as it was my birthday and I was meeting two of my girlfriends there. It was my second visit there and the last time I went for a facial (6 years ago) it was decent. Unfortunately this wasn't the case this trip. The receptionist was perky but young and inexperienced. She was not on the ball as she told me my friends hadn't arrived when one of them was in the locker room waiting for me. I waited in the lounge for 10 minutes past my appointment time and there were very few clients that day. The aesthetician was humorless and didn't have any teeth (I mean I didn't see them once due to lack of smiling). I had to make the introductions. She offered me two treatment options and later I realized there were at least SIX to chose from. The facial was perfunctory and partly painful as she neglected to warn me before she extracted my blackheads, which she did multiple times. I was hoping she'd get the hint after I yelped in pain (and I have a high threshold) but she ignored me and continued on. Through most of the facial I worked hard at trying to relax and lighten the mood which was the complete opposite reason I went to the spa in the first place!

After my experience I wrote to the manager of RiverSpa and never heard back. I am usually willing to give people/places a second chance -- not this time.

Had a one-hour massage here last week for my birthday & my husband had a facial.

Pros:
--The best massage I've ever had, with Norma.
--Decent prices for the area. (One-hour massage = $95, Facial = $95, Pedicure = $35)
--Lovely lighting, good smells, heated massage tables, relaxing sounds.

Cons:
--One of the front-desk staff is young & inexperienced, not very professional or accomodating. Plus, I changed our reservation & she messed it up. Twice.
--No decent river views from the spa itself. Dirty windows!! And you don't get a river view unless you're in the manicure/pedicure room.
--Everything's for sale. Product placement & actual advertisements EVERYWHERE (lounge, bathroom, dressing area). Not very relaxing to feel like they're trying to sell you stuff at every turn.
--Lobby area is small, crowded, & hectic.

I'd go here again because the massage was so great, but it wasn't the blissed-out experience I expect from a spa. I didn't relax until I was in the massage room.