Joseph Anthony Retreat Spa and Dry Bar

I have been to this spa (and location) twice. Mostly, because I have received gift cards and it is close to my home but I am done with this place. I will have to tell my Mother In Law to find a new spa to get me gift cards from! A couple of things to note… I recently went into the spa for a deep tissue massage. When I booked the appointment I was told that my therapist was a ‘Level 1′ therapist, which based on the their website would cost $ 115 for the 50 minute massage. When I was checking out I was charged $ 125 and told she was a ‘Level 2′ therapist. Now it is only $ 10 dollars so not that big of a deal but when I mentioned to the girl that was checking me out that I had been told this would be a Level 1 massage she didn’t even offer to just charge me the Level 1 pricing. I think this method is messy — just charge one price for the services and be done with it.
My second issue was that when I met my therapist and we discussed my massage I told her that my neck and shoulders were in agony and that I just wanted her to focus on getting the knots out of that area b/​c I was in pain. She said ‘Well I am a head to toe therapist so i will go over your legs and arms briefly just to get your relaxed’. I was okay with that but during the massage she seriously spent like 10 minutes on each arm and leg and barely any time on my back/​neck/​shoulders. When we finished up she said ‘I hope you don’t mind I did the full body massage… next time you come in we can really focus on those knots in your neck’. NO, that is NOT okay!!! I left there with the knots still causing me pain and got a massage that was not beneficial at all. Don’t get me wrong, this was a nice massage and if I had not had areas of specific pain and was just looking for something relaxing it would have been fine but I specifically requested attention on my problem areas and didn’t get that. Since when is what the customer asks for just a suggestion that you can take or leave? I was furious. Then you add in my issue listed above and I was just over this place — big time.
I travel often for work and I have been to all sorts of spas — high end (top 5 rated in the country), standard and some that are even considered low end. Generally I don’t care about the fancy frills if I get relief from the massage. At this place I didn’t get the relief from the massage and there are zero frills. A few other things that will keep me from coming back:
1. The signage outside is horrible. The first time I went I drove by it twice and then stopped at two other buildings before I found the entrance.
2. The locker room is super small and if you are there on a crowded Saturday you are on top of each other.
3. The designated changing room does not have a door just a SEE THROUGH curtain. Why??? If I chose to go into the changing room it is because I want some privacy. How can I be descreet with a curtain that everyone can see right through.
4. There are only two showers to clean off in after your treatment — they are not separated from the changing area and the curtains don’t close all the way — again I felt like the whole room could see me naked.
5. The products in the shower were half used up and looked like no one had checked on them or cleaned them up in forever — also, I only had one towel in my locker and there are no extra towels in the locker room (at least none that I could find)
6. THERE IS NO STEAM ROOM OR SAUNA. This is a huge problem for me… this is something I think is mandatory in even the most basic of spas as it helps the customer to use it before/​after the treatment. The only thing they have is that Turkish bath room which you can only use if you book a specific treatment.
7. The ‘transition room’ is super small and super dark. It doesn’t have lounge chairs for your to lay down and relax.
Basically, if you want a relaxing spa day that feels luxurious go somewhere else. Sorry to say but this place needs so work.

My wife loves this place. We visit regularly from Massachusetts, and the first thing she likes to do is get a massage or relax in their weightless pool. It works out even better if you are staying at the Courtyard Hotel.
The people are really nice, and they seem committed to providing excellent customer service.

I took my daughter to this location for a mother daughter facial day on her 20^th bday. I’d never been to Joseph Anthony but heard raves about their glen mills location. This new location is attached to the Marriott Courtyard and did not feel as luxe as I expected — and if I had not had the 20% off Unilocal checkin, I would have regretted not going to the other bigger location. We arrived ½ hour early to take advantage of the relaxing Transition Room, where we enjoyed soaking our feet in a basin of hot bath-​oiled water listening to soothing music. Next were our facials, which were in separate rooms similar to every other facial I’ve had. The facial itself was fine — not the best I’ve had but included massaging hands and arms and neck, as well as face. My esthetician did not volunteer any information about my skin, but just asked if I had any questions. After the facial we relaxed in the «Brine Room.» The centerpiece of this spa seems to be a beautifully tiled Turkish bath room — which we were shown but is only available for that service. Things that felt less than luxe were the poorly ventilated bathroom area off the women’s locker room. We visited on a Thursday mid afternoon and were lucky to have the place mostly to ourselves, but because of the smallish space I think it would feel crowded on a busy day. Also– I had called to ask if there was any difference between the 2 locations– no one told me that Glen mills offers complimentary wine but Springfield is byob– this was disappointing! Overall a nice day but I think I’ll give the bigger Glen Mills a try next time!

A glorious experience was had as we celebrated our 10^th anniversary at Joseph Anthony Day Spa & Dry Bar. We thoroughly enjoyed a couple’s stone massage as well as the Turkish steam bath.
The spa was immaculate and the fine folks of JA could not have been more pleasant. The stress of finding my wife a gift for Christmas or a birthday may also have been solved!
FYI — Unilocal presented us with a 20% discount upon check-​in.