Essentials Massage & Facials of Brandon

Place is nice and clean. Signed up for one girl she was too busy got another who was awful. Never have had a great massage. You get what you pay for.

I highly recommend this place. I got a massage from John today and it was fantastic! The atmosphere is calm and relaxing. I will certainly be back soon!

They have no idea what the free gift is when you check in so it’s basically a waste of a few seconds to do it. When I asked the front desk about this they said there is no free gift Anyhow my massage was good! Colin concentrated on my problem areas. I think the value is good since the price is excellent. I typically always visit when I’m in the Tampa area. I will be back. My sister had Jorge and she didn’t like him… she had the worst massage ever it was rushed/​-​/​-​could easily be compared to what you get at a cheap nail salon.

I’ve come here a few times to get a massage and a facial. I have been satisfied all times. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They try to accommodate your schedule. The facials are excellent and are very relaxing. The esthetician takes her time to examine your skin and see what is the best products for your skin. I recommend this place. The prices are excellent.

The new location is beautiful, very clean and modern ! The owner definitely takes pride in her business and her customers and goes above and beyond to ensure her guest leave happy. I receive a deep tissue with Lindsey, would recommend her to anyone (in fact did the second I left) !By far the best massage I have ever had. Lindsey was very knowledgable and was able to target my key problem areas. I left feeling extremely relaxed and relieved of the pain I was experiencing.

I had a massage and Colin was awesome for a deep tissue. I highly recommend him. Great personality and perfectly strong hands
I also got a pedicure with my mother and grandmother. It was a very well done and relaxing. I don’t like their pedicure chairs but other than that it was wonderful!

Given the price point and some of the reviews I found online, my expectations for my facial and massage at essential’s were very low. However, I was pleasantly surprised. The spa itself is clean and well decorated and the front desk staff were very welcoming and polite. The services were slightly above average, but surpassed my expectations based on the price point. The esthetician upgraded my facial to the deep cleansing facial and I was very thankful for her suggestion, as I don’t feel I would have been satisfied with the essential facial. The massage therapist did a pretty good job. Not the best deep tissue massage I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst. If you want a luxurious 5 star spa experience, this place is not for you. If you want good services and a very affordable cost in a clean and professional environment, then definitely book a service here. Although the services weren’t 5 star quality, I give the total experience 5 stars based on the value. I’ll definitely book with them again.

Highly recommend Johnny if you’re looking for an amazing deep tissue massage. Excellent customer service and we loved the tea in the waiting area. 5 stars for sure.

Where to begin? I
have never experienced such a lack of professionalism and competency in my
life. Let me start by drawing your
attention to my fiancé’s face at 24 hours post facial. For someone who has
clear and even skin complexion, you can see why it is alarming to have this
type of result from a facial. The blisters and sores were both painful and
unsightly. She was asked by multiple employees in her workplace, «what
happened to your skin?» Mind you,
this is after she put on every possible makeup product to cover it up that was
available. Thank God we have medical professionals in my family that instructed her to put hydro-​cortisone cream on it.
Fast forward to the interaction that her and I both had
with the office staff, manager, and owners of Essentials. I have no idea where
this rag tag team of misfits was assembled, but it wasn’t at a customer service
skill building workshop. The office staff is rude, unwelcoming, and unprofessional in appearance. When she called to voice her concerns at the hack job facial, she was told that the «manager», Melissa would return her call shortly. Melissa instructed her to drive to the salon (one hour away) and let the same cosmetologist who botched her facial, examine her and prescribe a course of action. What kind of sense does that make? When she expressed her inability and unwillingness to drive in person to the salon, Melissa requested that she email pictures of her face, which my fiancé gladly did. She was told an owner would get back to her at some point, but was out of town that day. The simple solution would have been to offer a refund of the cost of the facial, and ask what could be done to keep us as customers. That did not happen.
Kim Didona, half of the ownership of Essentials Brandon, did end up calling my fiancé at 430 later that day. This is where my warning to all considering services at Essentials comes into focus. She started the phone call by telling my fiancé that her face looked perfectly normal. She then said that she would absolutely not refund any of her money. She then offered to, «make it right» by requiring my fiancé to come in person and have yet another treatment on her blistered, broken out, and damaged skin. She then raised her voice and yelled at my fiancé when she requested that she just wanted a refund and an apology. Rightfully upset, I then called Kim myself to clear up some things from the formerly mentioned conversation. I have dealt with a lot of people who are rough around the edges and difficult, but Kim sets herself apart. I have never had anyone, much less the owner of a business, speak in a manner in which Kim spoke to me. She argued with me over the legitimacy of our concerns, said that she would not consider a refund, said that there was absolutely nothing wrong with my fiancé’s skin, nothing wrong with the way we were treated by her office staff, and that it was us who were being unreasonable. Mind you, the entire conversation, she was yelling and talking over me. As a customer, it should not matter how justified a concern is… it should be handled with the age old adage of a «customer is always right». She ended the conversation by telling me that we were obviously not able to be made happy, that she was not going to tolerate my attitude, and that there was nothing else she had to say in the matter.
Later that day, Kim’s husband, Joe Didona did reach out and leave a voice message on my fiancé’s phone. While I am sure it is an olive branch extended upon his knowledge of how his wife mishandled the situation, it came too late. The damage had been done both literally and figuratively and as I promised to Kim, I will make it a point to inform everyone that I can of the experience that we had at her place of business.
I am writing this review with 100% accuracy and utter honesty. I hope that I can spare someone the waste of time, pain, skin damage, and stress of interacting with these people. I have rarely found the notion of «you get what you pay for» to be false, and I can attest to its relevance in this situation. Essentials of Brandon is a discount spa and it is more than evident that the discount is passed on to customers in both lack of service and incompetency of employees/​owners. TAKE YOUR BUSINESS ELSEWHERE!