Endota Day Spa The Rocks

Endota are normally lovely but this was pretty terrible. I booked in for a mani and pedi (not cheap but I wouldn’t be complaining if it had been enjoyable) and there was some confusion as I had some old gel polish on my toes, maybe I should have known that they wouldn’t have been able to remove this but I didn’t and when it became apparent it was handled very poorly by someone who made me feel really rubbish about myself. Certainly not the desired outcome from a spa visit that I’d worked extra hard to find the time for. Even without the gel issue I was really underwhelmed and wouldn’t recommend getting your nails done here.

I’m a spa junkie. I’m also a Massage Therapist by trade. I admittedly have high spa standards. But what I experienced at Spa Endota at The Rocks was so utterly disappointing and unbelievably sub par for an expensive spa in the heart of The Rocks in Sydney, I don’t even know where to begin.
I received a 3 hour «spa» package gift certificate to the Endota Spa at The Rocks and was beyond excited to finally have a spa day here in Sydney. I booked the Massage, (and paid $ 15 extra to upgrade to a «deep tissue»), the glycolic peel facial, and the pedicure.
Upon arrival, I was greeted by a receptionist and then taken downstairs to their «relaxation lounge». I was provided a nice herbal tea and given a form to fill out. Another woman, who did not introduce herself, then approached me with a pallet of colours to choose for my pedicure (it’s a dimly lit room below ground floor. Sure, let me pick that colour!). She took me back to the treatment room, and only then did I realise this was my therapist. «Are you doing ALL of my treatments??» «Yes. If that’s ok with you.» ‘Oh. Yes. What’s your name?’ No introduction, no «Welcome!» Or «hi, I’ll be your therapist today, follow me this way»…etc.
The Facilities: The «relaxation room» was nice enough. It felt like what a relaxation room in an Ikea would look like: grey sectional couch and enlarged print of random person included. The Spa Bathroom: I’ve seen nicer truck stop bathrooms. The treatment room: ever had a massage in a friend’s bathroom? Me neither. You’ll know what it feels like after visiting here! My therapist even took her shoes off and set them by the door so that I would know JUST what that would feel like!
About the services: It seems a common thing in Australia for spa industry people to cross-​train in massage and aesthetics which I find troublesome. The result is someone who only knows/​cares a little about both and are not very good at either. I’m really quite curious to know where these people are getting trained, because their industry standards are VERRRRRY different to those that I know.
The massage. Cons: She talked nearly the whole first ½ hour. I specifically ticked the box that I prefer to have quiet during the massage. I upgraded to a deep tissue. To my therapist that meant firmer fingertip pressure. I asked her to use elbows for firm pressure. She did on one ½ of my back after the first ½ was just fingertips and fingernails. I asked her to not place my hands behind my back to get to the scapula (this should never be done without consent, and specifically not to people with shoulder injuries). She actually argued with me and in a huff told me «well I won’t be able to get to where I need then, and it won’t help you.» Bullsh*t. I was cold the entire time. She never checked in with me. She skipped massaging my feet. Told me that because she is doing them in the pedicure, it would mean she would do them twice. The only massage was swedish strokes done firmly. This does NOT make it a deep tissue, nor does it even make it enjoyable. She also skipped scalp massage, apparently because she would do it during the facial, lord no, she couldn’t do it twice!
The facial cons: cold water used to cleanse my face. She turned the overhead lights on to have a look at my skin, no professional aesthetic lighted magnifying lens. No extractions. The washcloths used to take the product off smelled bad. There was a product she used that smelled disgusting… like seriously I could throw up, it smelled like dead fish. She argued with me that it didn’t smell like that to her, and although other guests had also complained of the smell, that is not what it smelled like. The glycolic peel didn’t even produce a tingle, and I was left to sit with another mask of what felt like toothpaste for… forever. This is when she began my pedicure. Whoah. WAIT, you say. Yes. I know. A pedicure ON THE TABLE two hours in to this «treatment». I began to feel trapped and tortured when I realised that my «pedi» would also take place here in this room. I wanted to sit UP! I wanted to be near people! I wanted to be sipping on tea and readingbtrash mags! I wanted to be clothed! I wanted to be warm. and SEE what she was doing. Can you feel my panic??! I asked…“so is this typically where you do pedis??” «Yes.Unless you’re at the Asian places in shopping centres. The nicer spas do then in the treatment rooms» ME-​OW. Claws out. Annnnnd… Bullsh*t. Oh and it looks like my 7 year old did my toes.
Seriously. Don’t waste your money here. I need a massage to relax from my massage now. :/

I kind of feel like with the price of the products I purchased post-​facial I should have received a complimentary nose job, but all jokes aside, everything about this place was TOTES AMAZING.
Ever feel like no matter what voodoo concoction you apply or how much ground up granola you scrub on it, your face just says ‘eff this!’ and does something far from Vogue-​worthy? Well, last week my mug gave me the bird — apparently I’m not made to endure this constant jungle humidity, and it’s making my skin angry. Luckily, there was a same-​day appointment at Endota, so I hustled off in search of a miracle, or even just a really good face massage as consolation.
A miracle did happen, kids, and her name was Kylie. After a lovely footbath, I plopped myself on the table in my spa oasis and let her have at my tired, unhappy visage. I went with the HydroPeptide facial ($ 160), to help start the process of bringing up the new, happy skin that was hiding beneath the surface. Kyle scrubbed, peeled, massaged, and then slathered my face in heavenly-​smelling potions. I couldn’t be happier with the results, and I ended up buying the product line to maintain it myself; If you buy a Bentley, you don’t fill it with cheap petrol!