Spa by the Sea

Overall great experience at spa by the sea. Starting off with a deep tissue massage and ending with a chiropractic adjustment, it was a perfect way to start my vacation on Kauai. Highly recommend

This is a beautiful spa! The people that I’ve met that work there are all amazing. Very friendly and knowledgeable. I highly recommend this tranquil setting to get pampered from head to toes… I can’t wait to try the Vichy shower or soak in that killer tub. I love that the Owner is, a Chiropractor. Especially for travelers… What a compliment to the spa. Such an easy access. Great parking too.

I did not feel comfortble or enjoy this massage. I got an 80 minute massage. First off, I should have requested a female since for me it is EXTREMELY uncomfortable to have a male do the massage but I went along with it since this place seemed nice. The guy seemed very nervous and not very welcoming just very matter of fact. Once I changed into my robe and went to the massage room, I noticed there was only a thin bed sheet on the table. I have never been to a place that didn’t have a full blacket to cover you. I could not relax and felt so uncomfortable knowing you could see through the sheet. There was no music for the first 15 minutes which felt awkward and an eternity. The gentleman doing the massage came way to close to my «areas» and I kept tensing up. After the massage I quickly went to change and go pay. At the register I noticed a sign that stated they automatically charge 20% gratuity! I was shocked and the total was $ 250!!I should be able to choose how much I tip. They get 20% when I was not satisfied? There were no amentities besides a quiet room or beverages besides water offered. I have been to cheaper places that have saunas/​larger locker room etc. I don’t think its fair to have such high prices when you have a small, basic spa.

Had a couple’s massage, for out Pre flight back to Seattle.
AMAZING! WONDERFUL, AND GLORIOUS!
HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT!
Our couples masseuses were extraordinary.

Phenomenal post-​Kalalau, pre-​flight massage from Hillary, an ex-​Austinite. Spa treatments include resort pool access which was a fantastic way to kill time before an evening flight!

Excellent service from time of booking to the aloha farewell! Great way to spend the last day on the island by getting delightfully pampered with Spa by the Sea’s Tropical package — one hour Hawaiian massage & one hour tropical facial. Relaxing environment, professional & friendly staff, and wonderful spa treatments. Going back for more on the next island Kauai round! Mahalo to Bianca, Adam and Diana for the Aloha experience!

My massage was good but for the price I paid for the treatment, it was also about what the experience was before and after the massage. Since I was staying at the resort, I did not need to use the pools so I wanted to be able to relax in the waiting room and then use the facility afterwards to shower. But my view while waiting for my massage was of the parking lot and afterwards, there was so much hustle in the restrooms that I just left — they were getting ready to leave for the day and were cleaning up. I respect trying to leave work but as a client they should have scheduled my appointment appropriately. Also the women’s lockers are located right where people come in and out of the restrooms — not exactly private. BEWARE — the gratuity is included when they charge for the massage. GRATUITY is supposed to be given because it is deserved and earned, not required. For $ 196 this was the worst experience I have had and I would never recommend anyone to go here when I believe there are other choices in Kauai.

Treated my sons girlfriend to eyebrow waxing. Took her in and handed over my credit card. I was told it would be $ 25. The cashier handed me back my card and the slip chirping, that is $ 31 (something) including tax and tip. I am perpetually irritated when a gratuity is automatically added. What if the service stinks? What if it is really good and I want to give more?(which is what I usually do) A gratuity is added AFTER a service is received. I next asked for the pool code and was told (contrary to the information on their brochures and website) that I needed to spend a minimum of $ 50 (does that include my mandatory tip?). I gave this… (must be kind)…woman my best mom look and said «you have got to be kidding?» To which she again chirped that they had changed the policy, blah, blah, blah… she would make an exception… blah, blah, blah! Let me begin by saying, what is wrong with these greedy people? The service is OK, but nothing to write home about… come on. There are far better options on Kauai. This place is overpriced even before the mandatory gratuity is added. Trust me, find a different option.

I had the best massage I have ever had, I have a very tight lower back, neck and sholders, and I feel better than I do when I take pain meds. Very friendly staff, and I felt it had a very relaxing environment. I would def reccomend this place!

This is a beautiful spa, clean and really friendly staff. Mt massage was amazing, thank you Shannon. Everyone needs to start a vacation with a massage here.

I personally don’t want to give Spa by the Sea too high of a rating, but if my wife was doing the reviewing, she’d give it a 10 out of 5. She loved it. They set us up 10 yards from the ocean on some grass and we got to hear waves the entire time during our 80 minute couples massage. (Which really was 70 minutes… jipped.)
Here are my thoughts…
— EXPENSIVE! $ 350 for two people for 70 minutes. Yikes!
— They set you up in a public park so for half of our massage we had to deal with screaming kids playing soccer right next to us. At one point my masseuse even stopped and asked the kids to back away.
— I felt good afterward, the service was very attentive and did a good job.
— Great for the novelty of being on/​near a beach, not in a giant resort.

This update is NOT a review for spa services, but rather a review for the customer service/​administrative aspect of the business. More specifically, this is a review in response to owner GS’s actions to rectify what he felt was an unacceptable spa experience. I had previously written a not so spectacular review for the spa/​customer service. I guess the owner read it… he gave me a call a couple of days after we flew out of Kauai and left a voicemail. Hmmm…
Personally, I think that it takes a certain degree of self confidence, determination, and perhaps maybe even a dash of narcissim, to be a successful business owner. With this in my mind, I didn’t know what he wanted when he left the voicemail, and to be honest, I didn’t know if I wanted to return his call. I was expecting a phone call in which he spent the entire time «acknowledging» (sarcasm) my concerns but at the same time justifying the experience we had at his spa. Moreover, I was expecting to be convinced to delete or alter my previous review. Neither of these things happened.
I did end up calling him back, I thought that I’d be bored on the eliptical at the gym, and maybe hearing someone blow smoke would help pass the time. What transpired what completely unexpected. Owner GS was genuinely humble, apologetic, and empathetic. Concerns were acknowledged (remember this word from the 2^nd paragraph? this time with no quotations/​sarcasm) and explanations were thoughtful/​sincere. The low down is that he took over the business from the previous owner about two years ago, and has been in the process of revamping the spa, both ambiance/​décor and customer service/​spa experience. It seemed to me that he took my concerns to heart, and seemed genuinely passionate about the business be runs. The actions he took to rectify the situation was comepletely unexpected, and perhaps even a bit overboard… but I’m not going to complain about good customer service. For those who have the radio turned on while driving around the island, you might have heard the Foodland commercial, the really corny one about never having customers wait in line, and immediately opening up check-​stands because the Foodland founder believed that good customer service would create returning customers (sorry, I digress). Well, owner GS’s actions echoed Foodland’s motto loud and clear… wondering if the spa and foodland has any affiliations? Ha!
Anyways, I am thoroughly pleased with the way that GS handled the situation… I can’t say that if I were him, I’d care that much about one customer’s subjective experience. Will definitely revisit and re-​yelp the next time I’m back on the island.