Montanya Spa

Today was my first time visiting this spa & I’m very impressed. I got a facial and full body massage.
When I called to make my appointment i spoke to a very nice and kind gentleman (I forgot his name) I think he’s the manger or owner?!
My facial was done by Laura, she was amazing and very informative about my skin and addressed all my concerns. She wasn’t pushy with products (even though I ended up buying 2 that she used on me.) She gave me a lot of information and seemed to really know her stuff.
My massage was nice and relaxing, my massage therapist Angela (I believe) was gentle and made me feel VERY comfortable. She asked me twice if the pressure was ok (which I appreciate.)
After my massage was done I felt like all the tension in my shoulders & upper back was gone.
My experience at Montanya spa was wonderful and I definitely will be returning.

I love Montanya Spa. From being able to park in their covered car port, to being served tea in the garden, to the oh-​so-​cozy blankets in the meditation room… and I didn’t even get to the massage! Sheila is the BEST! It is hidden, quiet and cozy. 5 stars every time!

I can’t wait to get my first treatment at Montanya Spa. This place is absolutely gorgeous — literally right next to Bowers Museum. I asked for a tour of the facility (it looks like a pristine California Bungalow home that is totally Zen). They took me right away and gave me VIP treatment. What a hidden gem in Santa Ana.

Great service, great ambiance. Annie was the best massage therapist there. Since I was not in a rush she took her time to give me free orthopedic stretching. I felt great for the next few weeks. Since then I have been there a few more times and will continue to do so regularly. The staff there is very nice and will do anything to make you feel comfortable. ¹⁰⁄₁₀

My husband gifted me a ½ day Spa Experience here. I had been here a number of years ago and enjoyed the services. I was not disappointed ! I had a Sea Salt Body Rub, Signature Facial and Parafin hand treatment with Larisa and a Stress Relief Massage with Annie and it was all great. Very luzurious — very comprable or better than some resort spas I have been to. My only criticism is that the locker room area is a bit small, however, they have absolutely everything you might need.

I came here to get waxed today and was helped by Tanya. She worked quickly and was very friendly; we had a great talk about The Wolf of Wall Street and what a travesty it is that DiCaprio hasn’t won an Oscar, which helped keep my mind off of the pain. She’s great at what she does– very thorough and professional. The spa itself was very pretty and very quiet, a great environment, and the prices are SO reasonable. I will DEFINITELY be coming back.

Fantastic day spa. Great treatment. Never had anything bad here. Always leave looking refreshed, feeling refreshed, and feeling relaxed. Only complaint is regarding the changing room. Has to be a coordinated effort, one in one out. Treat yourself, worth it. 4 stars because it doesn’t have all the amenities of «fancy» day spas. This one is quaint and in a historic, neighborhood typical home.

I’ve been a fan of Montanya for a few years. It’s a beautiful spa located in a lovely home near Santa Ana’s historic floral park (right across the street from Bowers Museum.) It’s very clean, comfortable, with friendly staff (I am particularly fond of Andre). I’ve had a few massages and all of them have been great. I am partial to the hot stone massage. I particularly like the lovely garden and quiet room. It’s a rather small spa and they don’t seem to encourage hanging around too long after your treatment which is fine by me. The only downfall is parking can be challenging — it’s very limited. Be sure to go early to ensure you get a space in time for your appointment.

Overall, I am just not impressed. Street parking or metered parking, neither is convenient. Customer service is lacking. Forget about feeling like a pampered guest. The spa is run in a more disciplinary manner. You will be treated like you’re in the military –they run a tight shift! If you are part of a large party the spa cannot accommodate your group. For the prices you pay here, the amenities should be comparable to a Burke Williams, but this is definitely not the case. The spa only has one shower, a quiet room, a steam room, and an outdoor garden area. The massage was okay and the spa was clean.

Excellent!
My boyfriend and I were celebrating our 2year anniversary and I knew we wanted to get a couples massage. I last minute looked up local spa’s and found this hidden gem!
We had scheduled for 2:30 on a Friday– we got there a little early to check in, it is in a super hidden spot that you would of never guessed there was a spa there! The male receptionists was great and he showed us where to change and then to head into the meditation area while we wait for our therapists. They got us in a timely manner and we headed up stairs for our massages.
Massages– we had two female therapists and they were great! I wish I remembered their names but I can’t! We got a one hour message, and we didn’t want to get up!
After out massage we were served some delicious cold blackberry (or something) tea! We changed, headed out to pay and then were treated with 2 mimosas and macaroons for our anniversary. It was such a sweet ending to our massages! We will definitely be back!

I really wanted to give this place 5 stars, but my massage was REALLY bad!
This is beautiful spa hidden away on a small street in Santa Ana. When you first walk in you are welcomed by a beautiful fountain and quite sitting area. I was greeted by the man in the front (I didn’t catch his name, but he was very helpful). I filled out my paper work before my massage outside so I could enjoy the meditation garden.
After I filled out my paper work he showed me around the facilities and let me go relax. I arrived 1 hour before my appointment to take time to relax, use the steam room and sit in the meditation room. The man at the front brought me some really nice tea with a cracked and about 10 minutes before my massage started he came in and placed a warm pack over my neck and shoulders. It was so nice and peaceful and I was excited to get my massage now that I was feeling relaxed already.
My massage therapist came, got me and took me in the room and explained to me that I would be receiving a 85 minute deep tissue massage and proceeded to explain to me what a deep tissue massage was.
Let me just say I have been a massage therapist for 4 years and specialize in deep tissue massage. I have worked in spas, chiropractor offices and for physical therapist. I have also been a physical therapy Aide for 6 years. When I called to make the appointment I explained to the woman on the phone that I was a massage therapist and I was particular with my massages and wanted someone who had a good touch, understood the human body, and did good deep tissue. She told me that the woman I would be getting a massage from specialized in deep tissue and had a very good touch. She was very, very wrong…
She started off the massage by vigorously tugging on the sheets and then sorta of scratched roughly at my head, not even a scalp massage, just scratch at my head and flung my hair around. She never once asked me how the pressure was as she dug her boney feeling fingers and knuckles into my body. I had to asked her several times to give less pressure. I will never understand why deep tissue massage therapist make very deep and quick strokes when working with the muscles. Deep tissue should be slow and melt (slowly and deeply) into the persons muscles instead of fighting them. It is more beneficial to both the client and the therapist to work in this manner. She made the quickest movements and seem to put all the pressure she could. Sometimes her movements were so quick I didn’t even have time to tell her the pressure was too much. At one point she even dug her elbow into the back of my head!!! I would never as a massage therapist use my elbow to the back of the soft spot of a persons head where their spine inserts.
She was not listening to my body (or my words) at all. My muscles kept pushing her out, she would dig harder. I was biting my lip and pulled away from her at times and she didn’t even notice. I could not wait for my massage to be over. I woke up this morning with visible bruised all over my body, and I DO NOT bruise easily. YOU SHOULD NEVER BRUISE SOMEONE WHEN GIVING THEM A MASSAGE!!! The management really needs to watch out to make sure someone is not seriously hurt and have better trained staff.
I walked out feeling worse than I did going into the massage. My neck and shoulders were soooooo tense from her hurting me for 85 minutes.
Yes the facility was very nice and relaxing, but I’m not sure I should bother going back and paying $ 150 plus tip to be greatly disappointed by the massage. A massage therapist that the woman in the front said was going to be a good one… Not sure I trust their judgement in massage therapists.

Wow! I’m so impressed and grateful to Andre at Montanya Spa. He called me last Friday and I returned his call today and we chatted about my review. First he thanked me for giving an honest review and updated me on the status if the massage therapist (she is no longer working there). Andre stated her comments are not the reflection of the spa’s values towards employees and clients. Andre explained their therapists are independent contractors, which is okay to with me as it keeps prices lower, and he was glad to have the feedback.
To make up for my strange experience with the therapist, he offered me a refund which I accepted. Needless to say, I feel much more comfortable wih updating this review to a solid 4 stars. It’s great to know that a locally-​owned business appreciates customers’ input and I’m happy to support such a place. Additionally, it’s given me some courage to contact business owners first to discuss not-​so-​great experiences to reach a solution before Unilocaling.
Thank you Montanya and I will be making an appointment soon!!!

I booked an appt. for a deep tissue massage. I found the spa online through SpaWish, the site looked nice and it’s less than 20 mins from my home, so why not give them a try?! When I booked the appt. the gentleman asked if I was a first time client, «yes I am» was my reply, which meant I would receive a $ 15 discount on any service, so YAY!
I arrived as advised, 15 mins prior to my appt. and there wasn’t anyone at reception, no bell to ding, no chime to let someone know a client has entered or departed. I waited a few minutes and the receptionist came out and said «oh, sorry about that, you must be (insert name)». She handed me some paperwork to complete and asked if I had been there before. I said «no, I’m a first timer». I completed the paperwork, and returned them to her (she wasn’t wearing a name tag so I had no idea what her name was). She then guided me to the locker room — it was quaint. I changed and returned to the reception area as instructed. She guided me into a semi-​dark room w/​reclining chairs and soft music. I waited about 10 mins before the therapist arrived to take me to my massage, again, no name tag or introduction was given.
The massage was excellent! I almost fell asleep I was so relaxed. Once the hour was over, the therapist walked me back to the chair room. But there was no relaxing in there because a couple of women were having an extensive and non-​quiet conversation about children with diseases. So, after a short period of time, I had to remove myself because the talking was none stop and the relaxing part of my massage was QUICKLY wearing off.
I got dressed and returned to the reception area, where there receptionist asked how it was. I advised the massage was lovely but the non-​quietness of the chair room was not so wonderful. She looked puzzled, but there was nothing more for me to say. I had a couple of SpaWish gift certificates to use, but for some reason they would not go through, so I asked her to charge the credit card I had given at the time of my reservation. I assumed that because I had been asked if I was a first time client, that I would receive the $ 15 discount as their website offers. (I asked for the name of the therapist who serviced me because I had no name to leave on the gratuity envelope. It was Erika — she was great!) However that was not the case… I was charged full price and since I couldn’t recall how much the hour long deep tissue massage was, I actually thought I had received the discount. I arrived home and contacted SpaWish to resolve the gift card issue and also checked Montanya’s website to book another massage.
Once I saw that I had not received the discount, I called back — now I had a name for the receptionist as it was on the receipt — I spoke with Jasmine and she stated that because I had not mentioned that I was a new client at the time of check-​in that she couldn’t honor the discount. I chuckled and she said, but if you book another service I will be sure to give you the discount… well that just made all the wonderful feelings from my massage slowly float away… I know $ 15 isn’t a LOT of money, but as I had been asked twice prior to being serviced about being a new client, I thought that meant she KNEW I was a new client AND that their discount policy for would automatically apply.
So with that my 4 star sank to a 3 star review because of the customer service.

The one thing that’s most important when I go to a spa is service. I want to feel like they have my every need taken care of… And that’s exactly how the good people at Montanya made me feel!
This was my first time at the spa, on a girls day with two friends. First of all, April, my masseuse was fantastic! As soon as she came to get me, she wouldn’t let me do a thing — not even put down my own things. Not only did she give a great massage, it was wonderful to feel taken care of (especially as a working Mom).
After the massage, the service was also amazing! My friends and I went out to the beautiful gardens to relax. The awesome guys working there (so sorry I don’t have your names) brought us out mimosas and cookies to enjoy. Every little while they would check on us, even bringing out blankets at one point because they thought we may be cold.
If you are looking for a big facility with a huge locker room, sauna and jacuzzi this is not your place (there is only one bathoom/​locker room/​steam room for everyone to use one person/​group at a time). But, if you are looking for excellent service, a garden for relaxing and fantastic treatments– I highly recommend! I will be back Montanya!

I came here yesterday with my sister and cousin for a girl’s day of relaxing. I would have given it a 4 or 5 star, but I just felt rushed after my massage was over. We loved our massage therapist, I had Christinne and she was great and very gentle, I got the stress reliever.
When we came into the spa, the atmosphere was really nice and relaxing. We changed and went into the waiting room where they gave us tea and a biscotti while we waited. Then the massage therapist came to get us from the waiting room.
After our massage was over, we went into the changing room, where there was a small steam room, we sat in there for about 10 min. The manager popped in and asked us if we were done. I said, we were going to shower up first. There was 3 of us and only 1 shower. Then after we all showered and started getting ready, she popped in again and asked us if we were done yet. I said, «Almost, give us 5 min.» She then said that there were some other people waiting to come in and change.
I get that the locker room is small, but there was 3 of us, so it did take us some time to get ready. I really liked the massage and the spa itself, but I didn’t like that fact that we felt rushed. Overall it was an OK experience because of that.

The very nice owner called me to find out what the spa could do better, offer me a refund and a follow-​up facial. She seems to really care about her business and its clients. I feel that they truly want to improve their service.

Getting a massage here us so relaxing, I love it here. Great people, Delicious tea and biscotti. This would be the place to go if ur stressed and need some you time. I like to get the stress relief treatment, it ‘s wonderful. Plus my mom brought me here for my birthday once and she stayed in the resting room while I was getting a wonderful massage. They were so nice about it, they gave her the tea and biscotti and let her take a nap while she waited for me. Usually some place would say u need appointment to stay, but they didn’t.

I usually come here for my Brazilian waxes and have always been pleased with the service. Larissa used to take care of me but in recent times it’s been Tanya (the owner). Tanya is so nice and makes you feel at ease right away without coming off phony or forcing conversation. Even the front desk gentleman (I believe he’s Tanya’s husband/​co-​owner??) is so nice and genuine and always quick to offer water/​tea upon your arrival. I love how Montanya Spa is decorated and the whole ambiance of the place feels like you’re at a far away retreat and nowhere near Orange County, much less downtown Santa Ana! Prices are extremely reasonable, too… $ 35 for a standard bikini, $ 45 for Brazilian, and $ 55 for the Playboy — completely bare (as of May 2012).

Worst Brazilian Wax EVER (and I’ve had plenty). It was so painful, I had to stop mid-​way, with half of my (as Snookie from Jersey Shore calls it) vagine un-​waxed. What a horrible predicament!
I went to Montanya Spa awhile back, looking for a Brazilian wax. I’ve had a full Brazilian before (everything) at different spas, so I figured the more traditional Brazilian would be quicker and less painful. WRONG.
OMG. I don’t know if it was the wax applied, or the technique used, but something was wrong. Brazilians are painful, but it should not be as painful as what I experienced.

So my mom is a massage therapist and aesthetician. As you’d all imagine, I’ve had more than my fair share of spa-​related treatments both from my mother and at various spas throughout the world. When my mom raved recently about her fantastic experiences here, I had to see for myself.
I recently had two treatments back-​to-​back: the cranial massage and the 55-​minute relaxation massage, and the joint experience was excellent. My therapist was Xochitl, and she was really on top of the game; seriously, she has skills, and I will definitely request her again. The pressure was perfect, the experience was relaxing, and the end result was that I felt like a new person when I left there.
In addition to a fabulous set of treatments, which I always think is paramount, the ambiance is also wonderful. You would NEVER expect to find such a relaxing, quiet, and peaceful place in downtown Santa Ana. There is no sense of being rushed either before or after treatments, the reception staff is very accommodating, and even the tea/​biscotti is delicious.
Throughout Southern California, there are a ton of overpriced spas offering subpar services and filling themselves to the brim with too many guests at one time. Then, there is Montanya. Based on my visits here over the past few months, I have been extremely impressed with the quality, value, and professionalism I’ve experienced. I will be back many, many times!