Renew Spa

What a great experience all around! From the call to make the reservation, to the checking out! Sabine did my facial, and wow!!! Prices were great!!! Thank you Thank you!

I first visited Renew Spa because someone was kind enough to give me a giftcard. Since that time in early summer, I make it a point to visit every month. Victor is excellent — easy to talk to, professional, quick and always helpful. Tanya, the esthetician is FANTASTIC. I return every month because she does a great job and because I’ve learned a great deal about skin care from her — a well of knowledge. If you’re looking for a relaxing spa with knowledgeable and welcoming professionals, go here.

I’m a guy, so this review is for other guys wondering if this place works for them too.
Whenever I’m on vacation, I totally go off my skincare track, so I usually get back in gear by getting a facial. Found Renew online and booked an appointment 2 hours after my call. Went in, told the esthetician to do whatever she needed to do to get me in gear, and 1 hour and 2 days later, I was bright and happy again and chicks were all over me (kinda).
Can’t remember the esthetician’ name, but I’m going back again this week, so hopefully I get her again!

Based on an overall 4-​star rating of this place, I went ahead and booked a massage and mani/​pedi here. I did not have a 4-​star experience.
PROS
–Price. The price for a massage/​mani/​pedi was pretty reasonable. But don’t expect top notch quality.
–Friendly staff. While they were a little passive, I can say that when we did talk, they were cordial.
CONS
–Atmosphere. I felt like this place did not have a spa-​like feel. It was actually pretty bare, but not in that cool, minimalistic way. When I went into the room for my massage, I felt like I was walking into a doctor’s appointment. The room was completely lit the entire massage and my masseuse sat on a rolling chair to perform my massage.
–Quality. The majority of my massage was okay, but there were a few times when the masseuse didn’t use enough lotion and I felt like my skin was going to rub right off. And then as far as my mani/​pedi goes, I am furious that my gel manicure had already chipped less than 48 hours after my mani. Unacceptable.
BOTTOM LINE
–I’ll be finding a better spa next time I am in Chicago!

Mani-​Pedi: mediocre; Massage: Average; Reception: Excellent
My best friend came to visit from DC, and we decided to kick off our vacation with a morning at the spa. We were both running 5 minutes late due to bridge lifts downtown, but were greeted warmly by reception. My experience from there was downhill. While my friend’s manicurist grabbed her at the door and took her belongings, I was left to my own devices. I wasn’t even sure whom I was with. Eventually, my manicurist put down her catalog and pointed me in the direction of her station.
I had CND Vinyl nail polish on my toes that was a bit stubborn. My regular manicurist can get it off with a little elbow grease. I could tell this lady was super frustrated. She eventually got up and soaked off my toe polish. I’m not a fan of how that feels. The soak was ineffective. Instead of getting the rest of the polish off, she just painted over it. The polish is dark, so you can’t see the existing pale pink color; but the paint isn’t smooth. When I looked over at my friend, her pedicure included a pretty extensive foot massage, and some moisturizing oil. I got neither of those. Although my services started about 5 – 7 minutes after my friend’s, I wound up waiting for her for 15 minutes. It was evident that her manicurist took time on her hands and feet. Mine was pretty concerned with getting back to her catalog. On the bright side, the shape of my nails is nice. They’re even and square.
After the main-​pedis, we went back for massages. My friend enjoyed hers! Which is good. Mine was OK. I get massages regularly, and this one felt incomplete. I asked him to concentrate on upper body, and he never rubbed my arms and hands. I had an elbow injury that could have used some attention. Guess the lesson here is to be really directive. Also, while I enjoyed the conversation, I don’t like swear words. I expect a little more professionalism in that regard.
My massage therapist was super helpful from a customer service standpoint. One of my nails got smudged while I was changing. He was able to flag down my previous manicurist. Instead of re-​painting my nail, she painted over the mistake. It’s a mess. I’ll have to see my regular manicurist later this week for a polish change.
Overall, my experience wasn’t that great; however, my friend had a wonderful time. You can obviously have a good experience. There are great reviews. But it was hit or miss for us. A hit for my friend, and a miss for me. As a local, I won’t be returning to Renew.

Very good experience — warm reception– professional staff– relaxed atmosphere– skilled therapists & estheticians. High quality products used. Enjoyed a quality facial & massage — great package offers!

Great spa and facial combo for our mum and girls weekend– what a delightful treat. My face is glowing and my body is stretched and rubbed down!

Lisa is amazing for facials. I’ve been going to her for a year now, and just invited my sister. She loved it also. My skin feels fresh, clean and NOT red after. She’s very careful about her techniques, and is def an expert. She’s also very pleasant and funny!

We had run a half marathon, rode bikes for an hour and felt exhausted. We went to Renew for massage, mani/​pedi and came out new people. We love the service and staff. Thank you!

My mom and I had a spa day at Renew and loved every minute of it. We both had facials with Lisa and she was wonderful. She knows skin and offers the very best services for your individual skin needs. My mom and I left glowing, rejuvenated, and impressed with Lisa’s skills. We definitely plan to return.
My mom also had a mani/​pedi with Tina (I believe that was her name), who was so great as well. The mani/​pedi was relaxing and perfect. Tina was very detail oriented and offered a super nice foot massage.
Everyone at Renew was so welcoming and friendly. Thank you, ladies for making our spa day so blissful.

3.5 to 4 stars.
Came here for my bachelorette party and my maid of honor negotiated a good deal for mani/​pedis and facials for myself and my bridesmaids.
We came in and there was no one at the front desk. No one showed up for about ten minutes. To be fair, we were early, but that isn’t really the kind of customer service you want to be projecting. When people did show up they were very friendly and accommodating, however.
The facial was great! Very relaxing and my skin really was glowing afterwards. I was suffering from heat exhaustion at the time and think I might have frightened the facialist with my burning skin, but by the end of it I was feeling much better.
Pedicure: Looks great; toes are still bright and not chipped.
Manicure: I don’t get a lot of manicures, but I know enough to tell a good one from a bad one and I’m sorry to say the manicurist really didn’t do a great job): It was the elderly Russian woman, I don’t remember her name. She took a really long time to do the manicure and she cut the skin off my cuticles in a way so that they look terrible now with no polish. The manicure chipped after four days – usually the manicures I get last at least a week, if not two. My maid of honor had the same experience with her manicure (with the same woman). The woman also did both of our pedicures, so I’m not sure what happened here. But I can’t recommend the manicure. My poor cuticles.

My friend and I booked treatments here, for a recent girls weekend in Chicago. I picked this placed based on Unilocal reviews, and as always… Unilocal didn’t let me down! She booked a 90 minute massage ($ 105) and I booked a 60 minute massage and 60 minute facial ($ 129). I was absolutely pleased with my services. The spa is located in a great location, on North Michigan Avenue and was super clean! Steven did my massage, he was attentive without being overly chatty (which I loved!). He did a great job! Lisa did my facial… once again attentive, without being overbearing. My friend thoroughly enjoyed her massage, as well. I would ABSOLUTELY return to Renew Spa. on my next visit to Chicago.

I broke down and treated myself while in town with the hubby for business. Everyone was so nice and put me right at ease. The massage was a bit tougher than expected but I have no regrets. The facial and body scrub were amazing. I am so thankful I found this gem!

Just what I needed. Excellent service. I had the massage and facial– the technicians were friendly and skilled. I will definitely be back!

Solid work, Renew! We got the package deal, a massage & a facial for $ 129. Pretty good deal, I thought. The guy I had, Rich, was awesome and definitely knew what he was doing in the sports massage area. My boyfriend’s massage was only fine, from a female employee… said it was fairly lotionless and sort of more skin work than muscular (yuck). I have a pretty severe back injury (three ruptured discs), so a lot of my pain manifests in glutes and hamstrings — so I asked for work on those areas and they didn’t go anywhere near the butt, even though I requested muscular work there and usually have that for PT. My boyfriend said also no butt for him. WHERE IS THE BUTT STUFF, RENEW? (Feels fun to write «butt stuff» in a Unilocal review.)
Facial was dope as hell.

Had a really relaxing time here. I was able to get one of their spa packages and got a great facial and massage. Good people and expert at their craft. If anything, I just wish they had a bigger lobby area so you had more room to relax before your appointment began. Recommended!

My husband were taking a few days to decompress after some very trying times recently. I needed some pampering. Renew was close to our hotel and the prices are fantastic. Given the area I was wary because they were so reasonable. I was very pleased. I had an hour massage and then a facial. I’m sorry, I tried to remember the names. I think Rich — tailored massage that worked out knots, soothed and stretched my muscles. The facial completed the pampering. There is a quiet room and water is offered quite often. Not as spa like as other places but the people more than make up for that.

Got the spa package, message and mani & pedi. We were running late but they were very accommodating. The services were good and their prices pretty good. I would recommend.

Customer service (making an appt, dealing with my gift card) was just awesome. My facial was lovely and calming. They did a really nice job on extractions and making my skin dewy and wonderful afterwards. It was a treat during my Chicago visit. I’ve been to several spas and I really trusted my esthetician (whose name I am forgetting) to treat my skin carefully and gently.

This place, wow. Hidden gem is such a perfect description.
It was Sunday morning and after a long weekend of boozing and eating I needed to detox. I sat on Unilocal for over an hour looking up places I might like to spend my money at to pamper me. After most places looked lackluster or could not fit me in, I found Renew. I saw on their website that they have an amazing deal for a 60 min massage, facial, mani/​pedi for $ 179. Excuse? I called and they could fit me in an hour later for 4.5 hours worth of services… I was psyched!
I walked in and was greeted and filled out a short form then brought back by my massage therapist (Lorena). They don’t have locker rooms (sigh) but I changed in the room and got under the covers. Lorena was very skilled and I can say after having received plenty of massages that this was one of the best. She did some very different things, almost stretching movements at some points that felt AMAZING. I felt like she went way over time and was lost in her movements but she kept to the 60 minutes, it felt like 2 hours! Two things that could have made it better: 1. not using pandora on an ipad for the music in the room, as it sometimes was not tranquil enough. 2. I should have had the massage last, or at least after the facial bc it was so relaxing I didn’t want to do anything else.
Next up was the facial (forgive me I forget the lady’s name) she was much louder/​more casual than Lorena which was a bit jarring after my amazing massage. She talked about having a lot of appts that day and that she was sweaty (um, TMI) She got right into the facial, it was good– not great however. I asked for her to add a chemical peel as that is often helpful for my skin (this was a $ 20 up-​charge, and I did not see the effects at all). I also added on an eyebrow wax– this was great! She recommended some products for me but did not write anything down so…
Lastly, I went outside the «spa» area for the mani/​pedi. This was pretty standard. The pedi was quite nice and I liked the girl that did it. The nail polish selection however leaved little to be desired and they all looked old (the colors were separating)… my manicure chipped the next day…
Overall, I would go back, certainly– for the price– it was perfect! Maybe skip the chemical peel and go for a no-​chip mani (since most people were getting those)