A couple of weeks ago my two girlfriends and I decided that we would take time to hang out and have a girly spa day. It's been a while since any of us had been to a spa especially with each other. I was truly looking forward to relaxing and having someone else pamper me for a change. One of my friends surprised me for my birthday with a gift certificate from Spa Finder which I could use at any participating spa in the world. I was so stoked and went on the hunt right away for a spa in Toronto. There wasn't a wide variety of spas in the downtown core to choose from but my deciding factor was a spa that offered threading. I'm embarrassed to admit this, but ever since I got bangs back in January I have let my brows grow out of hand! I had never tried threading and had always admired how clean and precise my Indian customer's brow were.
Ambiance Day Spa at the corner of Yonge and Queen was the only spa out of my list that offered threading. I had never heard of it before but figured it wouldn't be bad since Fashion Magazine had given it a good rating. Last Thursday I booked a threading and manicure for me, my one friend a mani/pedicure and my other friend a 1 hr deep skin massage and manicure. They were very accommodating especially since I had called last minute. Trying to book a spa day right before the weekend usually never happens so I was quite pleased they were able to take all three of us.
Friday had finally come and I was so excited! My one friend met up with me earlier and my other friend would be arriving an hour later (they're both from the Durham region). When we arrived at the spa we were a little confused because Ambiance appeared to be closed. I started to panic a little on the inside, but then thought they were taking a break and would be back in a few minutes. I started to calm down but when I didn't see a notice or sign saying they'd be back I started to panic on the outside. We tried opening the door but it was locked. We finally looked to the side of the door and saw there was a notice. To our surprise and luck the spa had been shut down earlier that day because they were behind $10,000 + in rent! We were livid and could not believe this was happening! I called the spa and left a message venting my frustration about how no one had the courtesy to phone me and that there had better not be a charge on my visa. I also thought maybe the lady that booked my appointment the other day knew the spa would be shutting down and was trying to scam me out of some money (I think I watch too much tv lol).
After my angry message, my friend and I started calling every other spa we knew to see if they'd be able to take us last minute and of course everyone was booked. We even walked down Queen St. to see if Beauty Queen or Civello's would take us. The receptionist from Beauty Queen even laughed at us implying , "Nice try". To my amazement the owner of Ambiance Day Spa returned my phone call and apologetically explained that it was out of her control. The spa was locked before they had arrived to work and instead were called right away into a meeting. She said she would have definitely called me had she been able to get in the spa to retrieve my number. I was still a little annoyed but was trying to be empathetic to her situation. She assured me that if the spa will reopen at another location she will offer me 50% off on any service. First of all it was hard for me to feel sorry for her because if she or her management had paid the rent on time they wouldn't have been shut down! Secondly, thanks for the offer but I don't think I'll take my chances.
So, our spa day was officially ruined. I called my other friend and told her not to bother coming down anymore. I felt really bad because I had chosen the place but how was I supposed to know I had booked us with a shady spa?? We decided to do the next best thing which was to eat and drink! There's nothing like a few martinis and some tasty food to make you feel good again. After our dinner we checked out The One of a Kind Show which was cool but don't go if you're broke like I was! It's no fun walking around seeing things you can't buy. The upside was that there were a few bath and body booths there which I will review in a later post. I will also give you my review of Civello's Salon and Spa and my thoughts on Aveda's make-up and hair line. Stay tuned!
Have you had a spa day tragedy? Would love to hear it!