The Spa at Boar’s Head

I’ve been to most of the spas in Charlottesville and in my view this is one of the nicest facilities. Several interconnected rooms that have a lovely ambiance and you can go outside and look at the lake if the weather is good. My hot stone massage was great and the steam room was a huge plus. Not cheap but worth it

Pedicure was very relaxing and the atmosphere was nice. I didn’t plan ahead so getting an appointment was tough. My fault though. I will call ahead next time and take advantage of the many great services they offer. Beautiful place to stay!

Starting with the positive, it was very convenient to our room (we’re staying at the hotel) and the locker rooms are beautiful. The men’s room has lockers, a sauna, steam room and showers. Very clean, updated, and relaxing.
My wife and I received a couples massage as a gift. Our therapists were very nice and asked us what to focus on. However, the massage was one of the least relaxing and least relaxing massages I’ve ever gotten. It felt rushed and my therapist never concentrated on the locations she asked about. I ended up being annoying the second half as my back started to seize up.
My back felt better going in than coming out. To be fair I didn’t chose the type of massage we received, but this was one of the least inspired massages I’ve received.
When we went to pay we asked to separate the tip from the treatment cost. They were very nice about it, but it took 15 minutes and two people to figure it out. And I found out after my wife had tried to take care of it before I left but waited for 10 minutes without anyone showing up.
For the price, go elsewhere. If you’re staying at the hotel and like very light massages and recently sold an Internet company, also go somewhere else.

I got a deep cleansing facial at Boar’s Head, and I was really happy with my choice. Coming here is more than a treatment– it’s a whole experience. I’ve not a spa aficinado, but I have visited spas before and Boar’s Head really impressed me. There were two fancy rooms with calming tea and a babbling brook water feature, there was a posh changing room with free stuff, fluffy robe, warm slippers, the whole nine yards. My aesthetician was attentive to my sensitive skin and even massaged my shoulders and legs while the exfoliating mask was working. I left with super soft, super clean skin and the benefits of the facial last weeks. It was expensive, but honestly not much more than other facials in town, and the experience was really worth it. Plus, they give discounts and certain deals, especially on weekdays. If you’re going to get facials every week or every few weeks, maybe a less expensive spa is best for you– but if you want something really special, Boar’s Head is the best.

I came here for a weekend getaway with the ladies. Of course you can’t go on a weekend away with your girls without a spa treatment. I decided to get the blue ridge mountain spa (80 minutes). I thought the spa was very cozy and cute… but was not impressed with the massage. Not knocking on the massage therapist but I’ve really had better. Also, they added an 18% gratuity on my services and did not tell my until I was checking out. A little heads up would have been nice. I’m pretty generous and usually always leave 20% or more but the fact that they were sly about adding in the gratuity for me was not favorable to me. I’d go back to the hotel and stay but not the spa. Too overpriced for the services received.

Friendly, yes
Very overpriced! $ 105 for a regular mani/​pedi and the paint lasted less than 24 hours… while I was on vacation.
I have had a $ 30 pedi before that included sea scrub and hot wrap. I get that spas cost more no matter what, but over $ 100 for a regular… really?
18% tip is added on at the end; I was going to do 20% because that’s what I always do, but since it was already added, I just left it alone.

The Boarshead’s spa service fees are that of a 5 star facility (actually that’s not entirely true as 5 star facilities offer 120 minute messages for the price of an 80 minute message here), but the experience delivered is sub-​par. I vowed to treat myself to one spa service a month this year — as a small business owner I work 70 – 80 hours a week and needed a treat to look forward to — my plan was to rotate facial, pedicure and message each month and a friend was joining me on the adventure. It took a number of months of trial and error to find the most competent staff members for each service. The errors included: a hot rock message with luke warm rocks, a 80 minute pedicure where the pedicurist was gone 20 for minutes, phone reminders to the wrong person (my spa buddy’s mom was called twice about our apts.), general chaos at the front desk when trying to book the next appointment. My friend’s mishaps included scalding hot rocks and a facialist that insisted on waxing her eyebrows — despite her protests — that resulted in burned skin. Interestingly enough, another friend was staying at the Inn on business and suffered the same burn during a facial — at least she had requested the waxing. Today, my final day as a patron, my appointment got dropped from their books and they could have cared less. As a Spa aficionado I tried to make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear due to location convenience. A spa should make you feel pampered and tended to. At best, this place makes you feel like they are doing you a favor when they provide adequate service for exorbitant prices. More typically, they make you feel like an inconvenience.

Okay, let’s begin with the good. Won’t take long.
1. The actual therapists were good.
The bad:
1. My aesthetician apparently got sick 30 minutes before my facial appointment. They called and left me a voicemail and offered me an appointment 2 hours later. If I was alone I could have accommodated the change but my wife and I had massage and body scrub appointments booked so it would have thrown off the entire afternoon. They had no other solution. No manicures or anything else were available. Fine. Illnesses happen. But we’ve been all over the world getting massages and if there’s ever been an issue (rarely happens tho) the spa has rolled out the red carpet to fix it. Not here. We had to ask for a discount on the remaining appointments! No offer of it. No offer of a discount at the restaurant. No offer of a service at another time. In fact, the girl checking me in said «the therapist got sick in her earlier appointment and THAT guest was understandable!» Umm, k. Rude.
2. The rooms were freezing
3. No sauna. Small steam room only.
4. It appeared that no one had cleaned up the tiny women’s changing room in awhile. The laundry bins were overflowing, dirty showers, clogged hair dryers.
No need to come here when there’s other choices in town.

spent time at Boar’s Head in July 2013 and had the couples massage. About the equivalent of my kids rubbing my shoulders and walking on my back. Spend your money elsewhere as the price charged by this spa and what you receive are not in sync.

I got a good massage, but my pedicure was pathetic. I warned her about my callouses, and walked away with lotioned up feet, yeah, but still the same roughness. My manicure left me with callouses on my hands, too. Didn’t notice until a few hours later when the lotion wore off.
Disappointing.

I entered the spa to schedule a massage and no one was at the counter. I waited for awhile and nobody came. I grabbed a brochure and left. Read the brochure later and found out that they charge more than average for a massage. Prices were very high.

While our room was large, the Boar’s Head website is more than misleading, promising views of a lake and woods. In fact, there is a man-​made lake but no wooded areas. Any views from our room were boring. More than that, our dining experience was horrible — steaks ordered medium-​rare were burned to a crisp. I recommend avoiding the dining room. It is my impression that the Boar’s Head lacks either good management and/​or adequate funds (it’s owned by a foundation of the University of Virginia) to update the look and feel of the resort which has a 1970s appearance about it. Air conditioning units are old and very noisy. Some carpets are threadbare. Daily room make-​up is late, about 5 pm. And, bed turn-​down service is as late at 9:35 pm! My advice is to not believe the Boar’s Head website and look elsewhere.

We live close by and are members at the sports club, so we can use the spa at a discount. It is hit or miss. They lost a very good masseuse recently, and their replacement is not up to par. Their facials are good. Their pedicures are ok. The overall service is not good-​I recently had a bad experience there, was told i wouldn’t be charged until I spoke with manager. I was charged the full amount. She called me back 4 days after incident, then told me she’d give me a 15% discount because I left (I was nicked by the pedicurist). I told her I’d pay half since I did receive a portion of the service. But they had no band aids or first aid cream available for me, so I left to get some-​the manager complained that I had left the service, that it was my fault for leaving. Really? I wouldn’t have left if you had some sort of first aid cream to alleviate the injury (which was minor, but still) and prevent an infection.
The manager is new, but with the attitude she showed towards me, I don’t think things will improve anytime soon. It is a lovely setting, but if you are doing a full day thing and want food brought over to you, room service does not deliver there. Makes no sense. I will not return, just not worth the hassle.

My husband and I were in Charlottesville for the marathon and our anniversary, and decided to go here to get couples massages, and boy was this a great idea! The staff was very courteous, and the facilities were very nice, clean, and relaxing. The resort as a whole is beautiful!
The prices were very good in my opinion since I’m from the DC area, it was a lot cheaper. We got the 90 minute massages, I wish I remembered the names of our massage therapists. I got the deep tissue and my husband got the swedish massage. The therapists made sure we were really comfortable, and the music in the room was really soothing. I thoroughly enjoyed it and wouldn’t mind going back for another. If you’re in Charlottesville, stop by this spa!