Ren Spa Salon Studio

Ren has since CLOSED. If you purchased a YouSwoop or Groupon, contact the company to get your money back.
I had two experiences with Ren; the first was a hot stone massage I booked with a YouSwoop deal. It took a few tries to get a hold of Patti Navillio, the owner, to schedule. The therapist, Trisha, was fantastic, and the experience was nice enough. Yes, the facility was bare bones, and yes, I was the only person in there on a Sunday afternoon which was odd, but it was an 80-​minute, wonderful massage at a discount, so I enjoyed it. I knew the Unilocal reviews weren’t great, but my experience was nice so I figured I would give it another try when a Groupon came out for a cooking class for two people.
Any positive feelings from the first time around were completely wiped out with this second experience. I purchased a Groupon for a cooking class at Ren. What a disaster! The classes on the website when I purchased the Groupon looked amazing — a great variety of cuisine, flexible days and times, etc. But as I tried to book the deal in late winter and in the spring, there were only a few classes offered, not the type of cuisine I was interested in, at 1pm on Sundays — not the most convenient time. I emailed and called Patti half a dozen times asking about new classes being added as the deal was expiring in June. All in all, I booked a class and it was cancelled at the last minute. Patti promised I could use my voucher in the future, but after no less than one dozen unreturned phone calls and emails, I didn’t know what to do as no more classes were being added on the website.
In August, there were signs in the window of the facility that it was For Rent. Curious, I called the agent and was told yes, it was empty and for rent. I immediately emailed Groupon explaining the business was closed and I could no longer redeem my voucher. They refunded my money soon after.
It’s hard to believe people like Patti still do business this way. Unresponsive to customers, cheating people out of money they’ve paid for services; it’s really terrible. Thank goodness Groupon refunded my money so I never have to try and contact Patti or this business again.

IF YOU BROUGHT A GROUPON, RETURN IT!!!
I had a horrible experience and I didn’t even USE any of the services. Like most, I got a groupon deal for a cooking class for 2 ppl. When I booked, there was no clear instructions on how to use the groupon. I didn’t know if I needed to put my credit card info since I already paid. Do I put two reservations since there are two people or only one b/​c the Groupon is 2 for 1. I didn’t know.
Regardless, I signed up and immediately call. There were 2 numbers on the site. Neither picked up. Tho it was later in the night, it was during their posted business hours. I brushed it off and emailed instead. I emailed Patti and the general email.
5 days went by and NO ONE got back to me.
So finally I called. I called the main number, no one picked up. Then I called another number posted. No one picked up. According to the vm of the second number I was told to call Patti on a THIRD number. Finally I got a hold of Patti. I told her the situation and wanted to make sure I registered properly. I didn’t. And now the class was full and she said there was nothing she could do about it. I told her I was upset because if someone would have gotten back to me 5 days ago when I originally tried contacting them, I wouldn’t be in this mess. She responded «It’s not my fault people don’t register properly.»
This is true. However, it IS your fault that a potential client calls and gets no answer during business. It IS your fault that ppl have to call 3 different numbers to reach someone’s cell phone. It IS your fault that I email two email addresses and don’t hear back from anyone. It IS your fault that when a customer is upset you never once apologize for all the inconvenience that they had to go through and take ownership of your crappy customer service.
LUCKILY, Groupon has decent customer service and my $ 90 was refunded

I purchased a groupon for this place for a massage and they will NOT call me back to schedule the appointment. I have been trying for months. This place is a scam.

Arghhh… I’m another YouSwoop victim. But my problem is I never even got to the salon!
I purchased the refloxology/​pedicure one way back when. I tried to schedule my appointment too close to the end of the promotion, and they were booked solid. My bad — I take responsibility for that. But trying to reach them that first time was a nightmare. I called, but never heard back. I sent an email, but never heard back. I called again, and finally reached someone, and was told that while they were booked for that offer, they’d honor my $ 39 toward another service in the future. Totally cool with that.
Well, for the last few weeks, I’ve been trying to schedule something… anything…to use my $ 39 on. Again, I emailed, but didn’t hear back. So a week later, I called, and never heard back. So a few days later, I emailed again, and FINALLY got a response asking when I was available. I sent back some dates, but I guess my email fell into a black hole as I never heard from them again.
Ultimately, I contacted YouSwoop to get my account credited that purchase amount. Ren was so completely unprofessional with their scheduling, I was too nervous about their professionalism to have a service done … if I’d ever been able to get on their books, that is.

So apparently I’m to blame for not reading these reviews before buying the Groupon for the cooking class. What can I say that hasn’t been said? I ditto everyone else’s bad review on here. The only good thing about my class was the chef — he was great, was willing to teach us anything we asked, was friendly and had great cooking skills. He taught us how to improvise on the recipes we were given, how to chop the ingredients and even a little chemistry lesson on cooking. But oh, did I mention he was a sub and doesn’t normally teach there? Yeah, so don’t anticipate that kind of teaching in the future.
The cons: No sign on the bldg (wtf?); no way to get in — I had to call and the woman who is the receptionist? front desk girl? manager? was at Whole Foods getting food for the 6pm class — it was 5:55pm; I had to go upstairs on the outside of the bldg (it was freezing last night!); we couldn’t find the bathroom; the «hands-​on» class had no workspace, no utensils (the chef brought 3 knives — not his fault, he didn’t know since he was a sub) so how was this «hands-​on» for 12 people if there was no way to prep the food? The 3 hour class started (ish) at 6pm, ended at 10pm.
The pros: the chef who normally doesn’t teach there. Thats all folks.
For anyone else who bought the Groupon — don’t bother, get your money back from Groupon. Go to
and register for a $ 30 cooking class that you actually get to cook in! I’ve taken 5 – 6 of their classes now and they are awesome.

First and foremost– pretty much everyone else that Unilocaled this establishment has hit the nail right on the head– horrible service, unreliable management and absolutely no professionalism.
I purchased a YouSwoop for this place, 10 workout classes for $ 20. You’re forced to book the work out classes online using a SpaBooker website– and you also have to give out your credit card information to ‘hold the reservation’ which I wasn’t crazy about. I ended up reserving 6 classes since the calendar only went out 3 weeks in advanced. I received confirmation emails that day, immediately followed with cancellation emails the following day. I had to call Patti (the spa owner) and she supposedly got it straightened out for me.
The building is really hard to find– the only reason i knew where it was was because I looked at a picture of the intersection on mapquest. But, no signs and the place was really dimly lite from the outside. I ended up waiting outside with another girl for 20 minutes before the trainer showed up and unlocked the door to the salon. I have to say the class itself was fantastic– it was just me and one other girl so it was basically like a private one on one session. Rick the instructor was very nice, and I got a great workout. Unfortunately though thats where my good experience ends.
I showed up to the next class and no one ever showed. After waiting for 25 minutes I decided to leave. I called Patti again and left several voice mail messages and also emailed. I called again for about the 5^th time in 2 days and she finally picked up her phone and made some excuse for her delay in responding to me. She was a bit rude on the phone and you can definitely tell she’s never really had to deal with customers before– since it was apparently my fault no one showed up for the class. After a few exchanged words i decided I’d give it another try since I loved the boot camp class so much a few days earlier so I told her to keep my existing registrations. Well today– YET AGAIN– no one shows. I ran into the Bollywood Basics instructor who was using the studio before the 6:30 bootcamp and she seemed nice– explained to me that the previous boot camp instructor had quit– so it was a scramble to get new trainers to replace him. I’m guessing that’s why no one showed up TWICE for the past 2 bootcamp classes.
All in all I was highly disappointed in how I was treated at Ren. I loved the class, the instructor was great– but the owner’s unprofessional approach to how she handled these multiple problems has ultimately forced me to contact YouSwoop to get my money back.

proceed with caution. or just stay away all together!
youswoop ran a deal — $ 20 for 10 fitness or dance classes at ren spa. while i did read the reviews before hand, i figured it couldn’t possibly be THAT bad. plus, a lot of the complaints were about noise — that doesn’t bother me. especially since i wanted to take zumba classes (which i figured has music to drown most of it out).
in preparation for some school auditons, i figured now would be the perfect time to use my youswoop and get in shape! so i scheduled two classes for this week: 6:30am zumba with jackie on tuesday and thursday. as much as i hate mornings, i was super excited to try this out.
monday night, i received a text message. seriously, at like 11pm. stating that jackie was still recovering and would be canceling the tuesday morning class since i was the only one that was signed up for it.
please note: i am NOT against her recovering. i understand, things happen. you have to recover from them. that’s fine. but. take the class off the website for the time then, yea?
any way around it. i asked if the thursday morning class would be canceled too. which i was told that they «would let me know.» wednesday comes and goes, i didn’t receive any sort of cancellation so i figured everything was good. i drag myself out of bed at 5am to run to the bus and get lost on my way to the hidden studio to find… the lights off. the doors locked. not a single person was there. i tried to call a few times, but it was set to go straight to a voicemail message.
like i said — i’m not a morning person. this was extremely unprofessional, and TERRIBLE customer service on their ends.
i promptly sent them an e-​mail, and patti wrote me back at 10am — apparently she’s the spa owner. her response seemed sarcastic to me, but it was in writing so i can’t be totally sure. she claimed that she was «unaware that anyone was scheduled for the class that morning.» funny, because about 20 minutes after replying to me with that — she then sent me a «class cancellation notice» message. funny, patti, you’re a real joker.
patti explained that jackie was on recovery from surgery. again — i have NO problems with jackie recovering. in fact, i’m sure jackie is a WONDERFUL instructor. i have a problem with advertising classes that are CLEARLY not happening.
youswoop was able to credit my account for this fiasco, and i will never deal with ren spa again. i HIGHLY suggest that you don’t either.

It should be called RUN not REN…
I bought a YouSwoop for this business thinking to myself what a great concept, cooking classes, spa and workout studio. Little did I know how unprofessional this so called establishment was. I had booked a class a week in advance and had planned to go with a friend who also booked the same class with me, for Sunday morning at 9am. Three days before class we received a confirmation telling us we were confirmed for the Sunday morning class. So I got up extra early to dig my car out of the snow and pick up my friend. We arrived 10 mins before class because this would be my first time there just in case I needed to fill anything out. My friend however had gone a few days earlier and said they had no heat in the studio (in January). She told me to dress warm because she was so cold at the last class, and boy I’m glad I did because the studio doors were locked. We even walked around the building to check all the doors. At first I was like hmm OK, that’s weird but then my friend Katie said when she took her class on Thursday evening her instructor was late to class, so maybe they were just running late. Another woman shows up in her SUV, and we thought it might be the instructor but she was another student who had registered and was also waiting to get into the studio to take the same class as us. So we waited a little longer, then it was 9:15… I called the number on their website and a woman answered. I asked when they were going to open the studio? She said oh that class was cancelled and did not apologize for wasting our time or inconveniencing us. She said she sent an email out to everyone who registered, but I told I registered and never received an email. She said «Oh I sent it last night», so I checked my iphone in my hand and was like nope, never got an email about the class being canceled and she said «Well, would you like me to send it to you again?» I responded with «What good would that do since I’m already here and never got the email?», instead of being polite and apologetic she chuckled, as if annoyed I was frustrated, and said well I sent an email out to those that registered, if you want to wait there is a class at 10 am and 11 if you want to take those instead… again no apology for not receiving an email or inconveniencing us and having us wait in the cold. WHAT A WASTE OF TIME on a studio that could care less about their clients. AWFUL! RUN AWAY, you’d get better exercise… unless you find it fun running around a building looking for an open door in the cold.

My mom had set up an appointment for her and I to get a reflexology and a pedicure, because she received a deal through living social. Through some phone tag in the beginning between the owner and my mom, she finally set up our appointments that were scheduled to be three weeks later. For three weeks we were so excited for our reflexology appointments and when the day finally came, we got stuck in traffic for an hour.
We ended up being a half hour late to our appointments not only due to the awful traffic but because the spa had no sign outside and there were no directions given to my mom ahead of time whom the owner, patti, claimed she had sent. We also called a couple times to let them know the situation, but no one ever answered or called back. When we finally found the building, there were no spots left in the tiny parking lot connected to the building. Even when my mom was trying to find a spot and was filled with anxiety on the phone with the owner, the owner made sure to let my mom know we lost one of our reflexology’s.
Once we entered the «spa,» the owner, PATTI, continued to tell my mom in an aggressive manner that we had lost one of our appointments and that because of us being late, she (Patti) lost money. My mom gave up her appointment and just took the pedicure. My mom and her went at it for some time while I was downstairs in the creepy basement getting my reflexology (which was very relaxing), until I could hear patti yelling upstairs with my mom. I couldn’t relax anymore with hearing that woman’s voice yelling. It was as if the more my reflexology session went on, the louder the shrieking voice got.
After this, I was led to my pedicure where I found my mom in the only other seat available in this tiny room. There were about only ten colors available for me to choose from and the water where I put my feet was almost a little chilly. The pedicurist was very nice and I am shocked she can deal with such a high strong owner.
My mom later told me that when I was getting my reflexology, she asked the pedicurist to fetch the owner so that she could apologize to her for making such a scene earlier because my mom can tend to that sometimes. Instead, the owner came up to her and instead of listening to my mom’s apology, started getting defensive before she could even talk and began arguing with her again.
My mom was depressed after we left the salon and told me she felt like crying by the way she was treated. I felt getting on here would warn others that this spa can cause someone to feel depressed and verbally abused after leaving. — mainly due to Patti.

I had a YouSwoop deal for a hot stone massage. I’ve been drying to try a hot stone massage, so I decided to give it a shot. I made sure to book the appointment well in advance, we are talking almost 2 – 3 full months in advance here so there should have been no issues. For once I was thinking ahead. Silly me. Booking the appointment was easy, and I was relieved that I had my appointment set.
Some time after receiving the appointment confirmation, I received an email from the spa manager asking me if I could switch my upcoming appointment that week. Funny thing was, I didn’t even have an appointment scheduled that week. Clearly she had emailed the wrong person. After an email and phone call, the issue got straightened out. Honest mistake I thought.
A few days later, the spa manager asked me if I could change my appointment time, saying the hot stone therapist was not available. Already annoyed, I agreed to the new time.
On the day of the appointment, I received a frantic call from a massage therapist saying that I was late for my appointment. The time that she was calling me, was approximately the time that my original appointment was booked. I explained to her that my appointment was at 4pm and that it was changed from an early morning appointment. Turns out the spa manager never notified the massage therapist that my appointment time had changed. What a fisaco! The massage therapist told me that the spa manager would call me to straighten it out. Within about 15 minutes I received a phone call and I had to listen to the spa manager try to tell me that it was not an official appointment even though I had received the email confirmation (of which I promptly sent back to her for clarification). Rather than just admit it was a mistake on their part, she felt the need to continue to tell me what she «thought» had happened when she tried changing the appointment time. Bottom line is, they screwed up! I could care less what happened, just get it fixed!
After talking with the spa manager for about 15 minutes or so, she said she could try to have one of the massage therapists come in for the scheduled time, but she wasn’t sure if it would be a hot stone massage. Then she asked if I could come in early. Thankfully my day was not fully packed. She called me back about two hours later saying she was able to find a massage therapist that could do the hot stone massage an hour earlier than my original appointment. Rather than lose the money on the youswoop, I agreed to the appointment.
I arrived about 15 minutes early, pulling into the small parking lot just off the back of the building. No one was at the front desk. I had thought SOMEONE would be there so that I could ask them if parking in the lot was okay for customers (I later found out it was). About 2 minutes before my appointment was to begin, I saw the massage therapist zooming into the parking lot. She had me fill out the standard form while she set up, which was already cutting into my massage time. The massage itself was decent (good pressure and she really worked on the knots), although there were quite a few comedy of errors. At one point a stone rolled off of me, crashed into the wall making a huge «thud» sound. Another one was the noise coming from the main level (massage rooms are basement level). It sounded as if someone was moving furniture and I could hear people talking. So not relaxing. Another oddity was the massage therapist frantically moving around the stones in the hot pot. I don’t know if that is typical of most hot stone massage, but it definitely made it hard to relax.
Needless to say, I won’t be returning.

Literally the strangest spa experience I have ever had… almost a comedy of errors, but since it was a Groupon I guess I can’t expect much? First of all, they called the morning of my massage to cancel because the therapist was sick, but agreed to find a replacement since I had the day off. I waited 2 hours, and no call back… so I called to check in, explaining I needed advance notice since I was almost an hour away. Whereupon I was told the therapist was already there, so I should come on over! I rushed out to take 2 buses, expecting to at least be able to relax once I got there. After walking the wrong way around the side of the building (there was no sign or label on the door or anywhere), I finally found it. Immediately, a woman who didn’t speak the best English thrust some health history papers and a waiver at me, which she didn’t even bother to read as she was too busy rushing me along. I was kind of stunned by this, after I high-​tailed it all the way there because THEY rescheduled me at the last minute! She hurried me downstairs, not bothering to tell me her name. Then she switched on a random boombox with New Agey music and told me the stones were too hot to handle and that she needed to cool them down first. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking away and I’m feeling about as far from relaxed as possible. Finally, she starts the massage, and though there’s nothing wrong with her technique per se, I’m distracted by the sound of people talking upstairs (the boombox is doing little to disguise it through the thin walls) and every time she goes over to the stones there’s this really loud clanking. Near the end, she dropped one of the stones, which clattered against the wall… and then she PICKED IT UP AND MASSAGED ME WITH IT! At this point, I just wanted the whole thing to be over, so when she finished and I checked my watch to see that she had only done a 60-​minute massage (instead of the 80-​minute I was supposed to get), I didn’t even care. But it gets stranger… A couple minutes after she took my groupon and left me to change, she burst back in, apparently surprised that I was still there! «Oh there’s an inspector upstairs,» she explains. Wtf?! I was so stunned I didn’t even know what to say. So much for taking a moment to relax after the massage! So I ask if I can just use the restroom. Of course, there’s no toilet paper, though I did manage to find a spare roll near the sink. I stumbled my way back upstairs and showed myself out, speechless from the whole awkward experience. To be fair, I’d give more stars because the therapist seemed to be trying her best, but I just can’t recommend Ren based on this odd experience.

Three stars for the service itself, an 80 minute hot stone massage. Rob, you can manipulate my chakra any old time.
Zero to one star for everything else. I so wanted to like a salon named after Kevin Bacon’s greatest movie role. Unfortunately it was an all around bad experience. Like other Unilocalers, it took many, many phone calls and MONTHS from the purchase of my Youswoop to actually book the appointment. I even tried an email and it bounced back to me. Whoever was responding to my calls was very abrupt on the phone. I finally was able to make my appointment through the website. When I showed up, I had to drive around the block before I figured out where the salon was. I guess they are doing construction, although the inside looked finished, there was nothing on the outside to indicate that I was in the right place, you can’t even see the address from the street. One plus is that they have a parking lot, so that when you finally find the place, you don’t have to feed a meter.
The woman behind the desk did not even say hello to me. My masseur came to greet me and after the usual routine paperwork led me to a massage room. As I stated above, the massage was great. Rob even went outside to pick fresh lavender which he somehow included in the massage. This place doesn’t even have a sign outside but they have fresh lavender? Hmmm. Priorities, people.
I seemed to be the only customer in the place and when I left the same woman behind the desk could barely be bothered with me. She looked up long enough to run my credit card for the tip and have me fill out a survey, and she did not even say thank you to me. Hmph.
This is my second bad experience with a Youswoop — see my review for Big Girl Salon — I was so frustrated after months of not being able to book an appointment and not having my phone calls returned that I ended up getting a refund from Youswoop. I think they need to be a bit more discerning about who they choose to do business with, because at this point I’m not sure that I want to give them any more of my business.
I also don’t think I’ll be going back to Ren, it’s just not worth it.

You know how you want to like someplace but just can’t bring yourself to do so.
Exactly.
Yes, I am a youswoop victim.
I read all the reviews and thought to myself there is no way this place could be that bad. Until my experience started.
I made an appointment and by no means am I being racist ;however I’m a firm believer if you are going to be dealing in customer service you should at least be able to understand the person on the other end. Lets just say it was very challenging making the appointment.
As the appointment got closer, I needed to change it. I called got some rude lady on the phone told her I needed to see if I could move my appointment. She said she was busy and she’ll call me back. So I waited and waited and nothing. No call back.
I contacted youswoop. They were prompt and had me in contact with the owner. Who then told me my name was in the computer wrong. Then made some comment about having someone speaking English now answering the phones.
And I haven’t even made it to the appointment date yet.
Until Saturday. Pretty much everyone is right. Still construction going on, no sign on the building, seriously, you wouldn’t even know it was there. Actually, I was the only client there!
When I walked in the receptionist was nice and told me they were still working on the building. Now my appointment was for the reflexology and pedicure. J was handling my reflexology — I will say this… he was fantastic. But just when I was starting to relax you were reminded that there was still construction going on because you’d hear banging. So much for relaxing. What I liked was that when I was done, he actually went up to see if they were ready for my pedicure. Before I went back upstairs.
The pedicure was uneventful. Small room, two chairs, very cramped. She did a great job its just that this place could be so much better. The highlight of the pedicure was when the construction workers got the speakers ran, XRT came on and one of them was signing «Devil with the green eyes».
Ren. I want to like you, you have great hours, small parking lot but warm the place up a bit or don’t be open at all until you’re ready.

I only tried this place b/​c of a Lifebooker Loot deal — totally not worth the few bucks I spent just on the coupon. It’s like an abandoned building — totally unfinished, not at all relaxing. The nail tech was super sweet but other than that, the experience was horrible. They literally have like 7 polishes to pick from and no nail drying system at all. My nails are already a mess so I’m heading to my usual place to pay for a real manicure. They have no cash register so you cannot get change to tip. Overall it could not be more unprofessional or uninviting. I have no clue how this place is even in business. Don’t waste the money, not even on a coupon. No deal is worth it.

I bought a lifebooker deal for a mani/​pedi for $ 25 (half off). I went in on a Sunday expecting a normal spa atmosphere and an acceptable service. Boy, I was wrong in both of those expectations.
When I came in on-​time for my appionment, I was directed to a make-​shift waiting area which consisted of a chair on the side of the room (I was the only person in the spa). The spa was clearly very far from finished and the hostess was sitting behind a counter with her laptop. Once I met my nail tech (who only worked 3 days a week), I was taken to a tiny room with two massage chairs for my pedicure.
My chair was very reclined so I politely asked if there was a way to bring it up. I was informed that it was broken but I could switch to the other chair which had its massage mechanism broken. For being a spa-​in-​progress with few clients, I failed to understand how 2 chairs were already broken. I was then told to choose my colors which consisted of ten opi colors in a plastic bin. After a mediocre scrub, the tech applied a few too many coats of polish and directed me to the manicure room.
The other room was actually just part of the lobby/​haircutting area with 2 desks and some chairs. This was definitely not a salon! The window sills were very dusty and there was zero visual stimulation (that paired with no sound or other customers made it an extremely dull experience).
The tech proceeded to soak my hands, apply lotion, and then started to paint my nails. Oh wait– did I fail to mention I was here for a MANICURE, not polish change? Apparently that part was lost in translation as she did not work on my cuticles and barely filed my nails. She took a painstakingly long time to apply the polish (color choices same as above), redoing nails frequently. Due to her clear inexperience, she went over the same nail 4 – 5 times adding more and more polish. By the time she was done, I was sure to have had a ¼ inch coating!
After she finished, she told me to sit and wait (no fan, no UV light) for my nails to dry. Unfortunately, I didn’t expect that to happen in the next hour due the sheer volume of polish. I noticed the same thing with my toes and noticed that they had already dented during my walk over. Hoping to get a fix, I looked around for the tech and/​or front desk person. Well, I was out of luck since neither one was to be found. Seriously, I was sitting completely alone in this facility. I have no idea what was so pressing, but everyone had seemingly left. I stumbled for my keys (smudging at least 4 nails in the process) and left unnoticed.
So one day after, I noticed the unsmudged nails are already chipping and I’ve already had to reapply a top coat (they used sally hansen, I use seche vie). To say my experience was lackluster would be a gross understatement. I cannot see how they’d ever expect someone to pay $ 50 let alone $ 25 for this kind of experience. I hope this place gets their act together or goes out of business soon, either one is inevitable.
Please save your money even if you think you’re getting a $ 20 lifebooker/​youswoop/​groupon deal. Go to the asian place down the street for a $ 30 weekday special. At least you’ll know they’ll be qualified and your nails will look half-​decent.

I was skeptical about this spa. I called and was greeted by a general voicemail box. I left a message into what seemed to be the abyss to redeem my YouSwoop coupon for a massage. I received a call several days later.
I was specific about the time and day I wanted, I have a crazy schedule, so it was important to me to get the time slot. I agree the woman who called was abrupt. I didn’t hear from her again for a couple of days.
I thought «I’ll call one more time, then I’m going to email and ask for my $ back.»
Rob the Therapist called me back directly and left a message with a time and date. I love that kind of efficiency.
I agree with the reviewers here, the salon is under construction. As an entrepreneur myself, I’m OK with that. There was a receptionist when I was there but that was it, not one other client.
This review is more for the therapist and not the salon. Rob Brady is a very gifted massage therapist. He knows the body and has a strong intuitive sense for what’s needed. You can’t go wrong by scheduling a session with Rob. Although the Salon is not conveniently located, I’ll be back.
As far as the Salon itself, it seems like a great concept. I wish them a lot of luck. They’re just starting out and it has a ton of potential.

Two girlfriends and I all purchased a YouSwoop deal which included a one night stay at Ame Boutique Hotel (AWESOME, BTW!) as well as classes and spa services at Ren.
In order to book we had to contact the owner directly so she could coordinate our meals and wine tasting at the hotel, as well as our classes and services at Ren. The owner, Patti, was great to work with!
The Ren space is very interesting, and poised for greatness. There are still some unfinished elements (as previous reviewers have mentioned), but the areas where you receive services are clean and comfortable. My friends and I did a Zumba class and a yoga class with Mari-​Jane, then each had massages by Rob, who was A-​Ma-​Zing!!! The lower level where the massages are done is somewhat cave-​like, so you truly feel like you’re away from all the hustle and bustle of the city. I will definitely go back for another treatment with Rob… he is truly an intuitive healer!
I think what has been confusing for other reviewers is that Ren is not trying to be the Spa at the Peninsula. It’s more of a wellness or lifestyle spa that focuses on the whole health of a person, rather than just providing an hour of relaxation while you get a Swedish massage that you’ll get minimal long-​term benefit from. There are no «employees,» only independent «practitioners» who work designated hours, doing their various specialties.
Having said that, you should understand that the people working there are experts in their respective fields. In addition to the stylists, estheticians and manicurists, they have chiropractors, acupuncturists, Reiki healers, bodyworkers and dietitians to help you be beautiful on the inside as well as the outside. Like I said — Wellness Spa.
Ren does have online appointment scheduling that I used with ease. When I had any questions about my services, I was able to reach Patti who was very helpful. Clearly there are other reviewers who have had less than favorable experiences at Ren, but I think those were due to growing pains. If you look at their website, the vision is clear. It’s just not a well oiled machine yet. If you’re looking for a life changing massage, I can vouch for Ren. They only partner with the best talent.

I pretty much have the exact same things to say as Tina C without rewriting her entire post. The salon is cold and unfinished, not relaxing, strange that there was no receptionist, the owner is incredibly rude, etc. I cant believe they would run this youswoop deal before finishing a salon, get a receptionist, etc. There isnt even a sign on the building. It was just such an odd experience.
I also had the massage from Tess with the same experience– she was very nice and it was a good, deep massage. But more clinical than relaxing.
It seems like the staff is good and competent, but it appears like this owner is going to run this place into the ground before it is even finished!

I bought the YouSwoop because it was a great deal. First up was my facial. It started a little late due to mis-​communication between the owner and the provider. However, Serena made me feel very comfortable, was easy to talk to, and gave a good facial. On a scale from 1 – 10, I’d give it about a 7 or 8. Not the best facial I’ve ever had, but certainly not the worst!
Next was my massage. I had called and left messages to schedule the facial and massage and just received emails back for scheduling them. I specifically said «Custom massage» because it was a cheaper one-​$ 50 on the website. I figured that’s what I was scheduled for, but when I arrived, it was the more expensive one. I really didn’t want to argue so I just went with it. The massage was pretty good, it was more clinical than relaxing, but it felt good in a way, that I was getting the toxins out of my body. Tess was great in that aspect and I would consider going back to her for a clinical massage like this! If you’re looking to relax, this is not the kind of massage you want, but if you want to feel more energetic and less sluggish after a massage, she’s your girl. I came home and weighed myself and was 2 lbs lighter… I don’t know if she did that, but I wish she could rub me every day!
After the massage and facial I headed back upstairs to the receptionist/​waiting are that is pretty bare and under construction. Everything just seemed so odd and cold, I didn’t feel relaxed or like I was getting a «spa» feeling. I had also scheduled a mani/​pedi so I was excited for that next. As I came up the stairs, the owner told me she was leaving… odd. So she just left, before the person doing my nails even showed up. She had assured me she was on her way. I sat there for FORTY minutes waiting for this lady to come… thankfully, Serena was still there to talk to! Finally I called the owner and said I was still waiting and she still wasn’t there. She asked me to wait for a few more minutes which I found was absurdly rude, I SHOULDN’T HAVE HAD TO WAIT THE PAST 40 MINS LET ALONE ANOTHER FEW MINS!
I left after 2 more minutes and thank god I did because the owner called and said that the girl who was suppose to do nails was tied up at her other job before and now she wasn’t answering her phone. Weird, because you said she was on her way 40 mins ago…
I don’t like being lied to and I really don’t like having my time be wasted. I was going out of town that night for an event so the fact that I didn’t get to have my nails done and wasted 45 minutes really ticked me off. The owner told me she’d have the girl give me a «freebie» but she never followed up via email or phone after that day and I’m certainly not going to make the first move/shouldn’t have to. I would just avoid this place if I were you. The people who work there are obviously skilled, but they do not have their system worked out (which is most likely at fault of the owner) and the poor communication makes it quite stressful for visitors.

I had my teeth whitened by Geralyn Fontana from Windy City Whitening and the job she did was the best. My teeth look simply amazing. She is a true perfectionist and her work speaks for itself. Give it a try and I guarantee you will have a good reason to show those pearly whites.
Thanks again, Geralyn.
Mary