Avi Day Spa

My husband purchased me a Groupon for a «Signature Massage» and scheduled me for an appointment for the weekend. I arrived to the center and had trouble finding which building to enter. After calling the spa and having them clarify which door to open, I came in and waited for my massage. There was a form to fill out, as most massage places do, but on the bottom it had a part about legal fees and how much you were going to be expected to pay if you took them to court. Red flag. I waited for my massage appointment to start and then waited some more. A few minutes after my appointment time, I saw a lady walk in in a bit of a rush and immediately go in the back. She came back out after a minute to wash her hands before the appointment. I’m pretty sure she was just out for a smoke break because when we was massaging my neck, I could smell the remains of a cigarette. The massage was pretty good, but never felt truly relaxed. I could hear cars going by outside my room and employees talking and working outside the door. Again, the massage was nice, but the atmosphere could definitely use some improving.

This is a no frills place. I had no issues making an appointment like some other reviewers. The establishment itself can use some updating. It seems cramped, has old furniture, fake plastic flowers, and could use a good cleaning. If you are expecting a spa where you get to change into a robe, get offered a drink, and relax a bit before your massage, it’s not going to happen here.
The massage itself was relaxing. My masseuse’s name was Hangemeh and she was very nice, which is why I’m giving this place three stars. If you are coming for a massage here, ask for her!

I’m frustrated before I even step foot into this place!!! Since I haven’t managed to get an appointment yet I cannot comment on service yet!
I bought a Groupon for a massage. It stated a signature massage which isn’t listed on their website. I was told I cannot get a deep tissue and this is a regular massage when I first called. I was also told Monday thru Friday the last appointment is 4pm for a massage and I work full time!
I had hoped to use this before it expires Jan 17 but I’m told now they are booked! I may get a cancellation!
Their website shows they are open Sunday and I’m now told they are not!
I think you need to update your website with all these details to be honest to the client before they buy a Groupon! I was told they cannot put the details of the 4pm last massage time on the Groupon site!
If I ever get the massage I will update this regarding my experience!
Update Jan 7^th: I am changing to three stars. The owner said she would get me in the day I called back but couldn’t any other time. She said she would ask someone to stay late. She stated 530pm. I called to confirm that they had found someone for sure at 415 and was told my appointment was for 5pm and they closed at 6pm! Say what?! So I closed down my computer at work and ran out the door… drove like a maniac and got there in time — only to wait 30 minutes as they were running late! Really!!!
The massage was ok. Not great but I felt relaxed. I’ve had better.
Will not be back!

I received a gift certificate for AVI so gave it another try. I figured a massage was safe since I enjoyed that on my last trip. It was the only thing that stood out. But, I arrived to be told that I would have a student therapist because I’m using a Groupon. I was not using a Groupon. I was paying full price with a gift certificate. I feel terrible for the poor student. She later informed me that regular therapist didn’t show up for work. She was stuck on her own and I must say doing a pretty good job of holding the place together. Apparently, student massages can only include back, shoulders and calves. She did fine. But, I feel like I could have received the same from a chair in the mall. This was not a day spa experience. The poor stranded student did reduce the rate for the massage to a student rate — one saving grace. But I won’t be back.

I had come to AVI a few years ago and had a great experience with Shalah. Recently I returned to AVI for some electrolysis treatments but Shalah no longer works there and Naheed, the owner, became my esthetician. From our first appointment, she was pushy and began asking me to write her a five star review on Unilocal — she was more concerned about convincing me to rate her highly than the actual treatment she was performing. She kept going on and on about how evil competitors were trying to sabotage her and how so many negative reviews were ruining her business. I told her if she gave me five star service I would give her a five star rating. Evening while knowing that I was planning on evaluating her, she still gave me terrible service, intact the worst I’ve ever had.
I am not sure whether Naheed is a good esthetician, I only lasted three appointments with her. Of the three she cancelled on me every single time, once within an hour of the appointment and upon cancelation the receptionist couldn’t even reschedule me. Naheed was never in when I would call back later to make a different appointment and scheduling became so tricky that the receptionist eventually just left a note for Naheed to call me so we could communicate directly.
I thought this would be the end of our problems because I was able to get a hold of her and make an appointment for that same day. It was a real squeeze into my schedule but I jumped on the opportunity. I made sure I was clear that the appointment would have to take place immediately at the scheduled time because I was in a rush. She promised she would begin on time (my previous appointments she had always run about 20 minutes late). I showed up a few minutes early and prepaid the appointment. The receptionist was new and overcharged me for the appointment. I explained the error to her and she said she would have to confirm with Naheed what the correct price of the treatment was so she went to the back room the get her and tell her I had arrived, but Naheed was talking on her cell phone (I had a view of the back room and I could hear through the door she was on a personal call). My appointment time came and went and then so did another 15 minutes. Naheed was still on her call, the receptionist still had my card because she didn’t know how much to charge me, and at this point I was going to be very late for work and had to leave. I asked for a refund of my money and told the receptionist I had to go. She ran back to get Naheed and told her again I had been waiting and now wanted to leave. Naheed ended her call and came out and reprimanded the receptionist in front of me for not having alerted her of my arrival. I couldn’t believe how rude she was and right in front of a customer. Not only had the receptionist informed her of my arrival but Naheed had made the appointment directly with me only hours before and I wasn’t even in the scheduling book.
Anyways, I never went back. It wasn’t really the lateness or the scheduling issues that turned me off, but rather her attitude, her pushiness and the fact that I felt like I had to time my appointments in order for her to give me the full 15 minutes I was paying for.

Epiphany (yup) gave a very good deep tissue massage. She’s a student, which wasn’t specified on the groupon. They’re in a strange little location and it was empty and chilly = 4 stars not 5.

My first and only visit. Had a 10:00 appointment, had to wait 45 minutes after that. I counted 4 large bugs on the floor and walls while waiting. Staff very rude, acted like they were doing me a favor. Overpriced for what you get, maybe it’s the neighborhood but I felt they were ripping me off. As in a previous Unilocal review, I too found the owner to be filthy, unethical and someone who should not be in business. Do yourself a favor and avoid this scum ridden hole in the wall.

The technician I saw was very sweet, but the spa’s policies seem focused on minimizing cost at the expense of service. The products on display looked very old and I would not be surprised if expired. The owner was very non specific about ingredients in the scrub they used for my body wrap even though I asked for clarification which did not sit well with me. I was in my body wrap for only 15 minutes when other places will keep you in a wrap for 3 times as long and wrap you in a more thorough way. When I asked the technician if I could remain In the wrap for longer, she insisted she could not allow more time because that was the spa’s policy. I shared my wrap time concerns with the owner On the way out and she reiterated their policy but said they would have let me stay in the wrap longer if I asked. I did but got turned down! Also, I barely got warm in the wrap which defeats the purpose. I spent an equal amount of time just sitting in the waiting room waiting for the owner to check me in which probably ate into my appointment time because it seemed like they were trying to get me out of that room by a certain time. All in, I would not go back.

WOW! Where do I start. I’m still shocked something as filthy as this place can operate in America! What a filthy place and even filthier owner.
Of the few «therapists» in this place, only two are licensed. The rest are random students (not even massage therapy students) the owner drags in and talks them into giving unsuspecting clients massages. Same is the case with facials and every other service she offers. She has students doing them while the client is unaware. Oh and the students never get paid for those services. She blackmails them by making it sound mandatory to do services in her spa for them to complete their program. The sheets, towels, and face rest covers are washed after at least every 5^th client, in order to save on the costs. The therapists are harassed and threatened to have their pay cut if they throw something in the washer when the owner isn’t around.
The owner is a pure evil psycho who cheats everyone out of their pay. If you forget to keep track of your services or hours she will definitely take half of your paycheck. When you ask for your pay she literally cries about the spa not making much and calls you selfish for demanding your pay for the work you have done.
Owner treats clients and and her employees like trash. Workers are told to try and book as little Groupons as possible even though those poor suckers have already paid for their deals.
The illegal things she does in her school is a whole another story for another day. The only reason I haven’t alerted the DPOR about everything I have on her is because a few good people are still stuck working for this piece of trash Nahid. Please stay the hell away!

I came here a few years ago and was pleased with my experience with Shalah. She no longer works at AVI and I was very displeased with the recent service. I am taking my business elsewhere.

Very, very disappointed. As a caveat, I have used this spa and its services in the past and have enjoyed my experience. What happened today, however, has totally shaken my confidence in this day spa.
My mother and I each received gift certificates for Mother’s Day to Avi Day Spa. Our desire had always been to schedule our services so that we could enjoy the spa together — not necessarily the same services at the same time, but a relaxing experience that we could start and finish together. My mother spent *endless* time on the phone with Cindy at Avi two weeks ago to get our services scheduled. She had a Personal Indulgence Gift package, and I had a non-​package gift card. My mother scheduled herself for a spa facial, a Swedish massage, and body wrap, with lunch (included in the package). I had scheduled a hot stone massage and spa facial. After spending an inordinate amount of time on the phone, we were scheduled each to start our services at 11am this morning.
At 10:45am, I received a phone call from Avi confirming — 15 minutes prior, mind you — my micro-​dermabrasion appointment. I was pulling into Avi’s parking lot at the time, and I told the young woman who called that I was not scheduled for nor did I want micro-​dermabrasion, that I was scheduled for a hot stone massage and a spa facial. She fumbled around verbally, indicated that she was glad she called and confirmed, and that they would see me at 11am. I took this to mean that whatever mix-​up had occurred in scheduling on their end could be corrected, and that I had been clear in my expectations on the services I was to receive, and it would all work out on their end.
Boy, was I wrong, because I’m sitting at home typing this review instead of spending a much-​needed half day at the day spa.
My mother and I met in the parking lot. I gave her a head’s up about the call from the spa, and told her I was mildly concerned that they didn’t seem to have themselves together. Regardless, we went in, and as we were checking in (note: they only have three chairs in the waiting area, which is small, and those chairs were occupied by a woman and her two young sons) it became clear that not only was I on the schedule for micro-​dermabrasion (and ONLY that service), but that they weren’t going to be able to offer me a hot stone massage because the tech who does hot stone massages wasn’t scheduled for that day and therefore wasn’t there because they had nothing on the schedule for that service. The girl at the desk indicated that they could probably «fit me in» for a Swedish massage and spa facial. Well, a) I don’t want to be «fit in» when I’m supposed to be enjoying a relaxing day, and b) I never wanted a Swedish massage because I don’t enjoy Swedish massages. That is why a hot stone massage had been scheduled.
After declining a Swedish massage, it was suggested to me by the girl at the desk that they could still «fit me in» for a spa facial and I could come back for the massage another day. Uh — no. I don’t want to split up my services because they have (sorry for saying this) a moron scheduling their appointments who didn’t even *approach* doing it correctly.
THEN. They told my mother that while she *was* scheduled for her Personal Indulgence package, she wasn’t scheduled to start until noon. My mother — who doesn’t make scheduling mistakes, trust me on this — flatly indicated that no, she had spent all the time on the phone with Cindy two weeks prior to ensure that both she and I had the same start time for our respective appointments.
My mother did ultimately decide to keep her services after Avi indicated that they could start her appointments at 11am, but I left with nothing.
I have a gift card for this place, from my husband. I am going to try again to get the services I scheduled, but I am wildly disappointed that I haven’t yet been offered some additional services to make up for the inconvenience of having shown up to a totally bungled appointment and then having to leave with no services whatsoever. If they don’t offer me additional services sufficient to what I think is appropriate, we are going to demand our money back that we spent for the gift card.
Very, very disappointing. They should have offered me some kind of consolation on realizing their mistake and sending me away with nothing.

This establishment deserves 0 stars… their only objective is to take your money and provide shitless service… came in for a procedure, the tech was 40 min late… waited additional hours for her to run errands. I was so desperate took an UBER and paid. Never again! Stay away!!! They only make money by training prospective students. I should have known it was a bad place. There were NO CUSTOMERS, just students walking in and out no sense of customer services

I wish I could rate this place «zero stars.»
I purchased a groupon for $ 400.00 for 4 large area laser sessions.
When I called I specified I wanted laser hair removal from my belly to my mid thigh. They said this qualified as a large area.
When I arrived the owner «Naheed» was there and she wouldn’t leave me and the technician alone.
She told me that my groupon only covered me for ONE session for the specified area. I told her that isn’t what the advertisement said and that I had already confirmed my sessions and area before I arrived.
She began to prattle on about cost and expense of the machines and how much she has to pay her technicians etc.
My technician (who shall remain nameless because she tried to work a deal for me but wasn’t able to in the long run — because she quit due to Naheed’s false advertising.)
Naheed had me undress and looked over my body while the technician was there.
I should have told her I didn’t want more than one person in the room.
I think I was dumfounded.
I was partially naked when Naheed left the door partially open saying that she wanted to «air» out the room from whatever fumes the machines put out.
My technician finally closed the door.
The actual laser work by my technician turned out great. I have much less hair. It was painful but worth it.
Naheed KEPT COMING BACK IN!!! She said I could endure a higher laser intensity and turned it up.
Then she checked out my body and made me stand up to look at my backside.
She said their laser was very effective and she pulled down her pants and put my hand on her pubic bone so I could feel how smooth she is.
She kept coming back in to check out my body. I am CERTAIN it was because she wanted to make sure my technician wasn’t covering more than the area I had specified.
She followed me to check out to make sure I redeemed my entire groupon.
This is a very manipulative person. Her technicians apologize for her and can’t stand her.
My experience was completely uncomfortable, unprofessional and unsettling.
I wasn’t relaxed, I felt violated and I was ripped off to boot.
Beware their false advertising.

Slave Labor!!!
I can’t believe how this place has any ratings above a zero,
OH thats because we CAN’T rate lower than a «one», but
what about the rest of the reviews? People must not be
aware that the owner is PURE EVIL. «Ana» is her name,
but no it isn’t, it’s «Nahid» and she named herself «A»
for the purpose that it’d show up first among yellow
pages and Unilocal type alphabetical advertising. What
ever you do, do NOT patronize this evil person. Ok
so there are groupons — the nice people who work
there also wonder wtf you’re doing patronizing her
Just stay out. Workers are TRICKED to work there

I bought a Groupon for a hour massage and hour facial. The massage was amazing and I felt totally relaxed. The facial… that’s another story. The lady was very rough! I also felt as if she had better things to do with her time than my facial. I was not impressed at all and I do not feel as if I got a very thorough cleaning. I might go back for a massage someday… but never a facial!

It was meh, I went for a facial that I got on Groupon, the details included deep pore extractions, which I made clear was main purpose for the facial. It was comfortable and my skin was glowing afterwards but it’s only because the esthetician spent 90 percent of the time rubbing moisturizer on my face while getting a couple blackheads out and leaving me with a half ass facial. Ugh.

A really great find! The ambiance is nice, my massage therapist was amazing. I had the aroma therapy massage and it was the best massage I’ve had since coming to the DC/​VA area.

I received a gift card from my sister for my birthday for a full day spa package and these guys gave me the works! I don’t know where to begin! I got a facial that I ended up upgrading to a microdermabrasion because the esthetician I had did a thorough analysis of my skin and recommended that. 2 days later my skin feels great!
I enjoyed their lounge area where I had my lunch, it was quiet and relaxing.
The massage was just heavenly! I also got a body treatment which was my first time but the therapist made sure to keep me comfortable and relaxed I really appreciated that.
This was the best gift ever. I will definitely recommend and go back there myself!

I made an appointment for a massage and 3 hours later they called to cancel and asked if I could come in the morning (of a Wednesday) instead of the evening. Uh, no. I work. That’s why I asked for an evening appointment to begin with. Don’t schedule appointments you can’t keep. So
rude to cancel on a first time client.

I went here thanks to a Groupon for an hour-​long Signature Massage. I had no problem making an appointment and they even allowed me to extend the validity of my Groupon by three days. The receptionist was kind and was anticipating my arrival. The restroom was clean and well-​stocked. I didn’t have to wait more than 1 minute to see Kwan, my masseuse. She was friendly and introduced herself and led me to the massage room.
Kwan asked me what area I wanted her to focus on, and even though I told her upper body, she didn’t neglect my legs or feet… ahhhhhh. Pressure was good, massage bed was heated and clean, music was relaxing, lighting was nice. Kwan didn’t make small talk, just allowed me to relax and enjoy the massage.
The room was nice, as I mentioned, but only gets downgraded because there was some audible door-​slamming presumably by other Spa employees and for the last portion of my massage, I could hear high-​pitched machinery, like that of a laser hair removal or something. It didn’t ruin the experience, but I certainly wish the sound-​proofing in the massage room had a been more present.
Side note — I came here with VERY low expectations based on the previous reviews, but even so, I walked away happy and relaxed. Receptionist and masseuse were great, offered me water, allowed me to relax. Maybe they’re reading the Unilocal!reviews and making improvements…