I was looking forward to spending Christmas at Sanctuary. I had heard good things about the location and service level. Their spa offered some unique treatments and their restaurant, Elements, was supposed to have great food and views. My 26-year old daughter joined me for a few treatments. We both had wraps and facials. The women's area was smaller than I expected. There was a small jacuzzi and a eucalyptus steam room. There were plenty of showers and restrooms. They only had one private dressing room which I would be using because I am a modest person and don't typically walk around naked in public with strangers. Anyway, the facial (the Vie age concept) was one of the best I ever had (not cheap, though). My daughter and I wanted to eat at Elements but were told not to shower for a while after our two treatments so we had lunch brought to us in the women's lounge area. The food was only so-so and not exactly what was ordered. Either they need to fix the menu or stick to it.
Then it was time to get ready for afternoon Christmas festivities with the rest of the family. I tried using the single dressing room but was rudely infringed upon by a local spa member who moved my things out of her way and barged in when I was dressing with the door closed. Apparently the staff tells me that they cannot fix the lock because there is a storage closet in there that they must have access to. When I pointed out to the lady that this was a private dressing room, she told me that was tough and that she was in there too. It descended from there into her insulting me and calling me a freak. Needless to say, this ruined my relaxing morning in the spa. What a waste of money for the treatments. There was an employee in the lounge but she did nothing. When I checked out, I told the lady at the front desk what had happened and they discounted my services. I am aware that a spa cannot be held responsible for the conduct of the persons using their facilities, but some simple changes would have avoided the entire encounter. They need to either move their storage closet and put a lock on that door, provide more private dressing rooms or put a sign on that door that says please knock when closed or do not disturb, etc. The overt meanness and lack of consideration of that spa member still haunts me two days later (probably because I have never experienced such a things in my 40+ years of my life). Perhaps the other answer is to not go to a spa that can have local members. This probably changes the atmosphere of the place and makes them think they "own" it and can be rude to guests. Unfortunately I will not be back which is sad because while the treatment was great, I don't want to risk another stressful experience.
