Essence MedSpa & Wellness Center

I can’t say enough about this place. I’ve been going to Marilyn for a couple of years now to have my eyebrows shaped, enjoy her amazing facials, and get some laser hair removal done. Every time I found myself relaxing in the steam room, sauna, or relaxation room, I kept thinking about how fun it would be to host a gathering of girlfriends for a spa day. I ran it by Miriam at the front desk and she made it happen. This past Saturday, me and 6 of my girlfriends took over the whole place and got various massages, facials, and treatments. We had an absolute blast and thoroughly enjoyed the facilities. Miriam and the rest of the staff took such great care of us. Miriam even made a cupcake run when she found out it was my birthday! Totally above and beyond. I still can’t believe how special and relaxed they made us feel. Don’t hesitate to make any kind of appointment here. Just go. Parking is free and super easy. And leave extra time to enjoy the steam room, sauna, relaxation room, and awesome rain showers. You won’t regret it and you’ll be back time and time again.

I’ve been here a handful of times, always for a massage, so I can’t speak to the other services they offer, but the massages here are amazing and the place is just beautiful and relaxing. All of the employees I have encountered have been very nice and welcoming.
When you first arrive, park on the side of the building and not in-​front so you do not have to pay a meter. You can arrive a bit early before your massage to use the sauna or relax in the Oasis room. You will be asked if you’d like a beverage or you can visit Café Cleo which is attached for a freshly made juice or smoothie. You will then be taken to the locker room, where you can change into your robe and slippers and either use the sauna or wait in the Oasis relaxation room.
I have paid $ 25 dollars just to be able to come and use the saunas, Oasis room and showers all day, which is really nice when you want to just get away for a few hours. I grabbed a fresh juice and rotated between the saunas and the Oasis room before showering for a few hours. Don’t bother bringing a book though, the Oasis room is much to dark to be able to read in.
The massage rooms are very lovely and always smell nice and the beds are heated. I have always had Julianna for a masseuse and she’s wonderful. She listens to you and will actually pay more attention to areas you tell her to, not like other masseuses that will ask if there are any areas you’d like to focus on and then just give you the normal massage without focusing on those areas. That happens a lot for some reason.
Once your massage is done, I would recommend the sauna and also the shower with the nozzles on the side of the walls (it’s closest to the sinks). The shower has stone floors that massage your feet as you step around and the nozzles on the sides are like an extra little massage.
They have toothbrushes, mouthwash, deodorant, razors, and Q-​tips for you to use when getting ready to head out. I always leave feeling so relaxed and refreshed.

The smoothie place is closed but I was able to walk into the door so I stood at the café waiting to get someones attention. It took awhile but I found out it was no longer in business:(

This is for the Café Cleo which I believe is closed on Tuesday’s. They have a great selection of smoothies and juices. I’ve had the Berry, green machine and the Buko with cocoa added. All were amazing and this is my go to place for smoothies/​juices in the area.

Essence spa was by far the best spa I have been to in a long time. Once you arrive their is a parking lot on the side of the building. Which is even a plus.
When entering the building you are greeted by the front desk team. The lady at the front desk was so sweet. She even asked if I parked in the lot because she didn’t want me to have to worry about getting a ticket. After feeling on a small amount of paperwork. She then gave me a tour of the facility.
The facility is beyond beautiful and very clean. I was given a locker with a key it had a fresh towel and robe in it with flip flops. I was also informed to have a seat in the sauna to relax before my message.
I decided to opt out on the sauna, when entering the relaxation room it was so peaceful you could fall asleep in it. I was greeted by my masseuse and she escorted me to the room. I received the hot stone massage and it was amazing. I only get the massage for 50 minutes but the 50 minutes were just what I needed. Once the massage was over I was exported to the relaxation room so further relax for however long I need it.
Overall I give this entire spot in the facility and staff a five star rating it was more than I expected and I am truly relaxed. I definitely will be going back soon.

This place has gone down dramatically. when they opened their customer service was something that was important to them as they tried to establish themselves in the area. I went to them for 3 years and finally stopped going a year ago because I was tired of either waiting for more than an hour to see the tech for my scheduled botox appointment (my Internist doesn’t even keep me waiting an hour) or tired of the appointment getting cancelled last minute after I took off work to go there. I feel the girls at the front desk, although trying to be accommodating, are being put in a bad position of having to make stories up about where the tech is or why he’s running late. They can only do so much. Something just doesn’t feel right about this place anymore…

This place is beautiful. They have the best zen relax area ever! My gf has rented out the space multiple times for baby showers and jewelry parties and it’s amazing. The massages are great and so is the prenatal yoga. The showers are awesome and they provide all the products you need!
Absolutely the perfect place for the perfect spa day with the girls!

The atmoshere is very serene and calming. Definately a great place to put your mind and body to rest. However, I was not very pleased with there Deep Tissue massage. I have gotten many Deep Tissue massages from other places, and they were really good. I told the Massage Therapist that I want her to work on my shoulders and neck area the most. She did but I was not completely satisfied. She was very soft on my neck, it felt like she was just rubbing my neck and shoulders and not really working on my knotted muscles like I expected. I was definately not satisfied. I feel like I got a Swedish Massage and not a Deep Tissue as I requested.

Terrible customer service!!! I had an appointment for a massage, they left a voice mail one hour before the appointment cancelling. I tried unsuccessfully to reach someone when I tried to call back and reschedule I left a Voice-​mail a week ago and no one has returned my call.. This went on for several days– no one answered their phone from Wednesday — Friday. They mysteriously closed down for those days without explanation– very fishy operation.

Fantastic amenities but could dramatically improve customer service. Twice I’ve had massages cancelled at the last minute. They need to either add more therapists or better manage their bookings.

What a perfect escape from the cold! On a whim I decided to find a spa that offered a day pass as I just wanted to steam. Yelina was so sweet and professional when I arrived (free parking too!) and the space was above my expectations. Without having to go to a hotel downtown, I got the level of service and cleanliness without the hassle.
I ended up deciding after a steam to see if they could fit me in for a massage, and they said of course! Yelina did an excellent deep-​tissue.
I cannot wait to go back again!

I hate to give this place a bad review. the girl that did my microdermabrasion was very nice and friendly, but the procedure itself was done in 15 min… whereas a normal professional micro takes atleast 45 min to an hour. There were no extractions done, no facial mask, i had to wash my own face at the end… MAJOR waste of money and I would never go back there. If you want a real and thorough microdermbrasion, with the extractions, facial mask, etc… go somewhere else! Highly disappointed!!!

My update — I had my second session of facial spider vein «zaps» — I still have some, but there are less of them. That being said, the technician kept on urging me to purchase more sessions. I kind of felt like she could have gotten them all if she tried.
The place was nice, the prices are comparable to other med spas. I may come back for something simpler like a massage, with a girlfriend or two.

Had a great massage, but it’s the atmosphere that is amazing! It is incredibly clean and truly transports you to another place. Staff are gracious and helpful and I I’ll go back to try something else.

I came here for laser hair removal services that I bought on Groupon. The service was quick and I only came here for 5 sessions out of 6. I was tired of driving SO far! I was normally taken cared by one «technician» who happened to have a BSN (it was labeled on her tag). I thought that was peculiar. The laser hair removal worked for my underarms. I definitely brag about it to others.
As for the ambiance, it feels awkward to me – the backroom is way too dark and the there is a Buddhist shrine on the way out of the backroom/​spa area. That’s awkward for me… I feel like I have to bow every time I walk out to the front end of the building.
Something that everyone should know, you don’t have to pay for parking. I paid for the meter the first few times in the Metra parking lot. How did I know? It was right in front of the entrance! Their private lot is on the left of the building.
P.S.
This place is über clean.

Unbelievable space! (nice meditation rooms and rituals). No need to drive to the suburbs for larger spa rooms. Compare to downtown is much spacious and less crowds. (Also, they have a parking lot). I live close by but didn’t even know it existed. I bought the Groupon special for Honey body wrap treatment for my friend and I. We both had a really good experience. The front desk was so nice and respectful. I would go back for sure and would take other friends. What a good discovery today! So happy.

I started going here for laser hair removal. Despite the removal working not 100%, the spa is quite clean and well kept. The friendly staff will get you free coffee or tea from their shop when you arrive. The service is quick despite painful.
The downside for me is that it is a far drive from where I live in Lakeview East. It can take up to 45+ minutes to get to the spa. I wouldn’t say that this place is in Chicago at all because you have to drive through some suburbs to get there!

Forget the Gold Coast or the Four Seasons~ this is a hidden secret up here on the far northside but so easy to get to and there is parking! Really this place is like no other yet to be found in Chicago, the space is huge and all the intricate details are really amazing. It is beautiful, the entire design of the place has very specific components chosen from around the world and you can really escape and believe you have traveled far for this getaway. I had a body wrap that was just out of this world. The details and the courtesy of the entire staff really are so welcoming, so unlike your snobby downtown spas! It is an amazing oasis on the inside and there is an endless menu of services.
Love it, cannot wait to return!

Ok so I had a relative from out of town who had never been to a SPA, yes– that alone is a crime. so of course while she was visiting I made it my job to get her to one ASAP. I wanted her first experience to be good so being that I’ve been to plenty of spas I was really conflicted in narrowing it down to the best one to take her to. While doing a quick search on Unilocal I noticed one spa that I hadn’t been to– Essence. I checked out the website and it looked beautiful but everywhere I looked for reviews there wasn’t any. there was 2 in Unilocal but I thought that’s too little for it to be any good I mean there must be a reason why there’s no reviews but I kept replaying the images I’ve seen on the web and thought I would chance it and I’m so happy I did. When you get there the outside is well not what you would imagine would be a place of relaxation but as soon as we opened the doors you could smell the candles and sense how relaxed it was going to be. I was super excited. We were escorted to the changing room and while walking there everything was visually beautiful. the lockers were roomy and nice and had a robe, towel and slippers. We were asked if we wanted anything to drink, I asked for water and my guest asked for tea. I got my water but they forgot the tea. after we changed into our robes we were told we could either take advantage of the Steam room, Sauna or relaxation room. We went to relax and it was beautiful, peaceful and just what you would want a spa to be like. Unfortunately the person that was going to give us a massage was not there due to a family emergency so I had to wait but there was no complaining on my end– I completely fell asleep and that never happens to me. It was my turn for my massage and the rooms were designed beautifully. My massage was great– perfect! After, my masseuse gave me a quick tour of the other rooms and treatments they offer– very nice. I then went to the steam room for a while and then took a shower in their spacious 5 jets shower– all was provided. shower caps. shampoo, conditioner, body soap, tooth paste, toothbrush, lotion, mouth wash, makeup removers, combs, I can’t think of all but they put thought into it. I really enjoyed my time and recommend it to anyone– surprised we haven’t heard more of this place.

A huge and beautiful facility, offering everything from chemical peels, to microdermabrasion, to stone massages. I went for the Pretty in Pink special, which was laser hair treatment. The girl who did the treatment on me went a little overboard in describing what was going to happen. She made it out to be like there was going to be an extreme amount of pain (maybe I just have a high pain tolerance?) and it really just felt like a slightly more painful tweeze. My chin looked and felt great for the day or two after, but now the area is rough and looks like nothing has changed — amount of hair-​wise that is. I realize they said you should expect to come back more than once, but I thought for certain I would be able to see a noticeable difference right off the bat. Oh well, thats why I bought the discounted package, to see if it was worth it or not.
And another irritating thing, they offer all these other things, like mesotherapy, yoga, nutritional planning and martial arts, but neither on the website or the brochure they gave me had any indication of price. This leaves me with two impressions: 1) if you have to ask you can’t afford it or 2) they do this on purpose so when you do inquire you get the hard sell. Both of which stink!
I would like to frequent the Essence Med Spa, especially to take advantage of the great rain showers and lounge area, but there are some definite kinks in the information relay that need to be worked out first.