Thursday, December 29, 2011

Drift Spa @Palms

Continuing with my indulgence with spa in Las Vegas high end hotels, I added the Drift Spa at the Palms Hotel to my experience.

Another special from Travelzoo Local Deals where they offered a combo of services. I chose a massage and a pedicure. But my primary purpose is to check out the facility.

There were two spas at the Palms, the Palms spa at the older tower and the Drift spa at the newer tower. It wasn't easy to locate from the information I could find on the hotel website. Eventually I got there. I wanted to try out the newer one as the reviews on the older one were nothing to brag about according to Yelp.

Since the facility is relatively new, the place is clean. The spa reception area is well lighted and displayed various spa products for sales. I didn't bother to look. The place is "minimalistic", a bit too minimalistic in my opinion. Plenty of locker and space for changing. The quiet waiting area was small, maybe 5-6 loungers at most. Unfortunately, another customer was talking loudly on her cell phone in the courtyard just outside of the quiet waiting area.

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There is a sauna room, a steam room, and a very spacious western version of a Hamman (Turkish bath). Everything is clean and well stocked (such as towels).

Now, the not so good part. I think I had the worst massage service ever in my life. It was very disappointing. My masseur asked me, right after introducing herself, "This is a Swedish massage, this means it would be relaxing. Is that ok with me?" I explained to her I like the pressure to be firm. Then she said, she CANNOT use more pressure as this is only a Swedish massage. I can "upgrade" to deep tissue massage by paying more.

Ok, I probably have over 100 massages in my lifetime by now. I know the difference between Swedish and other massage styles. I have never been with a masseur that would refuse to "try" to meet the customer's request. After the second round of "suggesting" I upgrade and I declined, I basically didn't bother to say much more after that. I don't know if she was new or just plain stupid. Making a client upset isn't going to help her in the tipping. Maybe she figured I wasn't a "local" and not likely to ever see me again, why bother to do any better. Or maybe the management asked her to keep pushing to get more revenue. Nevertheless, it was a poor experience.

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My second service at the Primp Salon upstairs, the pedicure, was totally the opposite. The beautician was very professional, skillful, and applied enough pressure when she was working on my nails. She did mentioned she was doing something extra; of course hinting she is going above what my package included. I am ok with that. I don't mind rewarding people doing a great service.

When I left, I went back to the front reception, gave the masseur her tip based on the discounted rate (which I normally wouldn't) and double the tip for the beautician who did my pedicure. I should have kept the masseur business card so I can write the review on Yelp or send in a complain to her management.

And here is a nice view of the pool, accessible by spa guests.
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