Cetina European Skin Spa

Ok, so after reading the other reviews I should have known better. My boyfriend bought me a gift certificate to this place by mistake thinking it was my usual place, and boy a mistake it was. After they cancelled my appt on me twice, I finally had an appt scheduled. So I show up and the place is dark. Finally, they answer and get me started. My appt was for a 75 min blueberry bliss something, it was very unclear. They told my boyfriend it was a facial, but they told me it was a massage. Ok whatever, ill take it. After 20 minutes they got me in a room and ready to go and the massage started. Literally form the moment she (the daughter) put her hands on me I knew it was going to be bad. The entire massage was jerky, fast and unorganized. I truly think my boyfriend would have been better off giving me a free massage himself. Then the «package» also had an eye, foot and back scrub add on… great I thought, not so much. The scrub was the gal vigorously rubbing my back for 30 seconds in the same location, followed by my feet basically getting covered in layer after layer of oil. I skipped the «eye treatment» because I have sensitive skin and I didn’t want to risk it after what I had experienced so far. After 43 minutes, she proclaimed she was done with the treatment. I knew that I had 32 more minutes that I had paid for, but I kept my mouth shut. It was that bad. I left there angry, less relaxed and very confused as to how this place stays in business. Then I walked next door to Touch Institute Massage, which is my usual place that I love and booked an appt them next day to erase the horror that I had just experienced. I’m not usually a review writer, especially with massages because everyone has their own technique, but this was down right unacceptable. Save your money and go somewhere else!

I like the place and Maria, the owner, is very nice and attentive. The big problem with this place however is that they are understaffed. It is very hard to get through to schedule or change an appointment although they do eventually call back. I was very patient about it since I liked the place. I have been there a few times but I don’t think I will want to come back. My last session was for Spiced Cranberry massage and my masseuse was great and everything but at the end I did not receive all things that were listed in the package: eye treatment; complete skin analysis with home­care advice; and
take­home gift bag with spa snacks, fruits, and herbal teas (I did get a complementary bottle of water and a snack bar at check-​in and there were some complementary teas provided so I assume that was it). I asked Maria if I was supposed to receive anything else after my massage but since she was dealing with some aggravated customers in front of her I didn’t have a heart to insist and just let it go. After coming home I went over the description of the package and that’s what made me write the review. Sorry, Maria.

Maria was great ! I had a facial and a mini massage. The best part was the special mask they custom make for you. Great Experience ! Marianna

Had a wonderful experience at Cetina. Mario gives a wonderful massage and Maria gives a spectacular facial! Really surprised to read the negative reviews. I will DEFINITELY be returning. I felt like a brand new person when I left. Staff are very personable.

Mario gives an excellent massage and the overall service is excellent. A great family-​run business that goes above and beyond standard customer service.

This place is the worst, 1^st of all good luck getting an apt. They never answer the phone and you can’t leave a message because their voice mail is full. Oh and their hours. A joke too. No wonder they keep offering Groupons b/​c that the only business they will get.

It was my fist time getting a massage at this location. The experience was great. I will use their services again.

I wish I would have read the reviews. I bought a groupon for a massage and can only come on the weekends. When I called to schedule the phone was answered almost immediately but by the rudest person I have ever experienced. It took several weeks for them to be able to get me in on a Saturday. I understand having a busy schedule but having an attitude because I called to schedule an appointment is just not necessary.
When I showed for my appointment I walked to the desk and told the two women standing there (who turned out to be the owner and her daughter who also happen to be the facilaists) that I had an appointment. I was given paperwork to fill out for a facial. After I had completed the form the women asked if I was there for a facial, I told them no, a massage. I was given another set of forms to fill out and they interrogated me on why I was not there for a facial.
The service started about 15 minutes late with Mario telling me he was a professional and I would be getting a great massage. And for about 10 minutes I did. My overall massage lasted about 30 minutes and that is being generous, I paid for an hour. He left the room several times and for several minutes at a time.
At one point he wrapped me in the blanket I was lying on and told me it was the relaxation portion of the massage and left the room for a little over 10 minutes. The entire time he was gone from the room I could hear him laughing and talking to his wife and daughter (who are the facialists).
Overall the experience was pretty terrible. I left feeling dirty because Mario kept calling me baby and other completely inappropriate terms of endearment and with stiffness in my neck that has not gone away since I left there on Saturday afternoon, it is now Wednesday morning.

Here’s tip go find out for yourself. The spa great place family own and everyone very friendly I purchased deal from groupon. That was one best deals I have ever bought my massage and facial were GREAT, AWESOME FANTASTIC, AND IM GOING BACK. I cannot express how fantastic Facial was Lucy GREAT… I meet owner she’s such great person. I love give hugs and i did my experience was worth wait.

A mixed bag For me. I, like many others, had a Groupon. Because of the days/​hours they advertise they are open, the only time I could come was on a Saturday, so I had to wait 2 months for an appointment. The surroundings are pretty and peaceful. The massage therapist was friendly and cheerful and offered me a free mini-​chair massage. There seems to be no effort to stay on time or on a schedule — not good if you have to be somewhere else afterwards or if you are the appointment To Follow. I was left in the middle of the facial for 10 – 12 minutes while she was only going to be gone 2 – 3 minutes, while I could hear laughter and conversation. The facial and Groupon treatments were supposed to be 75 minutes. My facial started about 20 minutes after time, then there was the 10+ «missing» minutes. The package was supposed to include a foot massage. No such thing was offered. I walked out 15 minutes after my appt should technically have been done. I feel as if the foot massage was ignored because it would have put her too far «behind.» I arrived on time. Any delay was her issue. I had to fill out a questionnaire, but nothing was ever said about arriving early to do that. I felt as though I didn’t receive all that was advertised, and my tip was accordingly less. The tip is supposed to be based on the full price of everything offered, but really — $ 10 here and $ 20 there for things to inflate the value? Not that gullible. The facial itself was nice, certainly competent, but I’ve certainly had better massages. The experience wasn’t all that relaxing. She talked during the facial more than I like and pretty much everything was a complaint or downer. As facials go it was fine, but as a total package experience and would I go back — no.

Let me just say this spa gives you a homie feel, peace and serenity. I love the location & I love the customer service. The staff is very knowledgeable with skin products & skin care. I only regret not knowing of this place sooner. SUSIE you rock! the best facial ever, I only look forward to my next visit and I’ll be back with my husband plus a friend. My husband was very satisfied with his Swedish massage. See you sooner than later!!!

I am so happy I booked and went in for a facial after reading the reviews. I had an Amazon Local deal for a Blueberry Bliss facial — what a great experience! I had my facial with Suzy. She was very accommodating with my schedule, the product she used smelled SO amazing (she gave me the leftover eye cream, mask and moisturizer to take home). I got a massage along with the facial. For $ 45, you can NOT beat it — and I consider myself a facial connoisseur. Bottom line — maybe some people had a bad experience, maybe the spa was going through some growing pains. Whatever it was, I saw no traces of bad customer service and the place was clean. People who are griping about rudeness, and the appearance of the owner (didn’t your parents teach you any better?) — GET OVER YOURSELVES! Give this place a chance:)

I too booked my appointment with trepidation. I am so glad I followed up and went in to book my appointment. You see, in this day and age of technology there are still people around who are trying to make a small business work. While Mrs. Cetina is giving fabulous facials and leanring the latest in skincare she is also trying to become tech savvy. There is only one of her. I am actually very thankful that I ended up walking into the spa, meeting Maria Cetina and booking my appointment.
The spa is tiny. It’s relaxing with it’s mood lighting and water running. The facial was lovely and Maria couldn’t have been nicer. She didn’t shove product on me, however she promised that she would be getting my absolute favorite exfoliation product be Paul Scherri. If you’ve used it, you know what I mean. It is impossible to find anywhere in Manhattan Beach and El Segundo!
Maria was booked to the max so my Groupon had to be used after the expiraton date. She was more than happy to let me use it.
I also appreciate that Cetina Day Spa is so generous in their giving to our local schools.
Give her some time with the technology. She really could use a super savvy front office person to handle the computer and appointments.
Bottom line-​Your face is in good hands with Maria Cetina.

If by relaxed and peaceful you mean stressful, frustrating, horrified, and disgusted, then this is the place for you. DO NOT GO HERE. EVER. This is the absolute worst spa I’ve ever been to, it was the WORST customer service, and it ended by being yelled at by the owners. Not to mention having to put up with the woman crying.
It’s simply the worst run, most stressful environment you could imagine for a spa from beginning to end. Something seriously wrong is going on there. They request late the night before that you show up ½ hour earlier, then don’t have the decency to even be there when you do show up. Then don’t tell you that their other facialist is not coming and let you sit there for a good hour, expecting you to not get frustrated.
I don’t know what else to say. I’m typically a very forgiving and calm person. But I will NEVER go back. This was a birthday groupon for my sister and me… that never actually happened after waiting an HOUR AND A HALF.
Don’t go. Don’t go. Don’t go.

My niece and I have been calling and calling and calling, leaving messages, mailbox full on several occasions and still have not been able to book our Groupon special. We have been working on and off of this for at least 2 months. How unprofessional is this! How annoying! I am going to physically go there to see if I can get an appt. I wish I read the reviews before a booked this on Groupon.

NOTE to Grouponers, Living Social-​ers, and other deal site people — Read this review before deciding to purchase a deal for this place.
I have to say… this is the worst run spa I have ever encountered! They don’t return phone calls, whether you leave messages with a live person or a voicemail, and they completely messed up my appointment, even after I called and confirmed it.
My story begins almost 2 years ago when I first bought a Groupon for a facial. I called and left a message to make an appointment. No response. Left 2 more messages. No response. Finally got a hold of a guy who said he was the owner and they were transferring to an online system. He promised someone would call me back. Nope. I called once again, this time spoke with «Maria» who apologized for not returning my calls (she said they were overwhelmed with the response from Groupon) and booked my appointment.
The day before the appointment, I called them to confirm the appointment (I know this is typically something that the business should do, but given my experience with them something told me that I wouldn’t be getting a call and that I should do it for them).
Yep, it was all booked she said. The next day, I drove the 40 minutes to get there. Traffic was a little heavier than usual, but luckily I gave myself 15 extra minutes in case they needed me to fill out paperwork. I arrived to check in. «Umm, we don’t show an appointment for you in our books.» I glanced over at her appointment book and saw my name written down and said, «That’s me, right there.» I even pointed out that there was a «C» circled next to my name and told her that it must mean «C» for confirmed because I confirmed the appointment the day before. Apparently, she read «C» for CANCEL! She said the esthetician went home already, but promised me that they would call her back because she lives close and it would only be 15 minutes. 15 minutes turned into 20, then into 30, and 35… Guess what? I waited there for 45 minutes before I went to her and said I couldn’t wait any longer because I had to pick up my son from school. 2 hours of my life was wasted. I was so frustrated I cried when I went back to my car. I decided to give them one last chance when they booked my appointment for two weeks later. The facial itself was good (although she got some goop in my eyelashes that I needed to get out afterward). And they felt really bad for messing up so she gave me a gift certificate for a free facial.
So now, I’ve been trying to redeem my so-​called free facial for their prior mess-​up. Called them a couple months ago and was told by the gentlemen who answered that they are [again] overwhelmed by some groupon-​type deal they are offering and my best bet is to call again in a couple of months. Here it is now a couple of months later and guess what??? Left a voicemail — no response. Left a message with a live receptionist who promised someone would call me back to book an appointment — NO RESPONSE! I am not going to go through the frustration again so I am writing off the facial as a loss.
I can’t believe after 2 years, this business still hasn’t gotten their act together. My theory is that they are still offering the Groupon-​type deals so they can get the influx of cash from the mass purchases of these deals, but then taking their time to fulfill their obligations. Or, they could just be the worst customer service oriented and worst run business ever. Either way, it’s not worth your time or money to put up with the frustration and hassle you’re likely to encounter here.

One word: incompetent!
Honestly, one full star is way too much to describe how horrible this establishment employees attitude and incompetence is.
I purchased a Groupon back in March for my mother and I for a facial and massage. Since, March I been having trouble scheduling the appointment since they need a «two week» notice for appointment.
I finally make an appointment for a Wednesday. I call Monday to verify my time and never hear back. I call Tuesday again and leave two messages and I never get a response. Finally, Wednesday morning before my appointment «Maria» calls me back and informs that there «system» is down. I tell her I have my original text message with appointment date and she doesn’t tell me anything only that her system is down.
Finally I arrive at my appointment time and she’s on the phone screaming like a mad woman on another client over the phone. After a good 15 minutes of me waiting and hearing her argue with another individual she finally gets to me. I show her my text and tell her I have an appointment at that time she keeps going on and on about her system and computer being down. I tell her what does that have to do with my my services. I have proof and there’s employees. She then tells me two of her employees are out sick. At this point I’m extremely irritated. Not only have I been trying to book an appointment since March (it’s now June) but I also took a day off from work! She apologizes and says I can come in Sunday for a facial, massage and lunch.
The night before Saturday she calls me and tell me that her physical therapist is still out sick so she offers two facials. Problem is I paid for 1 facial and massage for two persons not 2 facial each. She then tells me she will call me in the morning to see what can be done. Not once do I cancel neither does she. I get a call Sunday when I’m driving to my appointment to reschedule apparently she was under the impression it had been cancelled. This is the second time I take time off… She then starts getting loud and not letting me speak. At this point, «Mario» takes over the call and tries to make things better.
Bottom line this woman named «Maria» is completely incompetent. Not only can she not work efficiently but she has no patience. I’m not a business owner but I darn well know that you NEVER scream or loose your cool with a client. Completely unprofessional. I tried giving this business the benefit of the doubt but at this point I’m afraid all the reviews are correct. Sad, that this entire review is not on the actual services but an actual employee… Never again! I will be demanding a full refund from Groupon.

Please don’t go here! Their service is terrible! Never again! Don’t buy a living social deal nor groupon!

This five stars is from my husband for his Deep Tissue Massage with Mario. When I asked what gift he would want for Father’s Day this is what he picked. When he called me to come pick him up he honestly sounded drunk! That’s how relaxed he was! He said that Mario targeted all his trouble spots and he wasn’t at all sore like he’s been with other masseuses. He left not only feeling great but also with a gift for me from the spa owner… a bottle of lavender bath wash… I sure appreciated that!
As for me, I am still annoyed that appointments never start on time… this one was 20 minutes late and that they usually call to change the time on you several times beforehand. For a Type A planner like me that drives me nuts… but it helps to keep in mind that this is a family run business and they are very nice people. I think I will get a facial from Suzy next time they have a special and update my review again.

I bought a Groupon deal here and wasn’t really satisfied with what I got. For $ 39, I got a 75-​minute Be My Valentine spa package for one (an $ 85 total value), which includes:
— A back scrub with massage
— A facial with organic chocolate truffle masque
— A hydrating hand treatment
— A spa snack
Sounded like a great deal but this is actually what went down:
The facial was just ok, but the esthetician kept leaving to get water but it would take her forever to come back. The extraction part of the facial was pretty quick usually they’d spend a little more time on that. Also right on the spot she recommended an upgrade on the facial to improve my skin, I tend not to do this but since it’s been awhile since I had my last facial, I succumbed. Bad idea on my part because I don’t really know if she did what she really said she would? She charged me $ 15 for the «extra.» Also, she wasn’t very gentle with the whole facial experience, not as soothing as other places I’ve been to. We also started about 15 minutes late because she was lagging and the 75-​minute session turned out to be over 90-​minutes. Usually, I don’t mind but I had plans after and I felt really bad for the appointment after me.
There wasn’t really a «massage» with the back scrub, more like the lady just rubbing the scrub into my back. I don’t think she knows how to properly give a massage. That was very unsatisfying, she also didn’t spend much time rinsing off the scrub so I had to use a towel to wipe myself down after.
The hydrating hand treatment was just my hands rubbed with lotion, wrapped in a plastic bag, then put into some heating mitts for about 15 minutes. It wasn’t anything special.
Finally, the spa snack I was supposed to receive was no where to be found! I didn’t even realize it until I left. Such a let down.
I would never pay the full $ 85 for the treatments I got here, I’m glad I didn’t spend that much. There are plenty of other places to get better experience and pay a decent amount.
Groupon you have failed me this time.