I had my eyebrows waxed and I had the spa manicure and spa pedicure. The people are lovely, friendly and professional. It's clean, well laid out with a beautiful ambiance. They gave me water flavored with lemon and cucumber (delicious!) and the pedicure and manicure were the best I've had in Toronto. My feet and hands were so soft and looked great by the end. Once you're done they put you in a relaxation room to recline on a chaise lounge to wait for your nails to dry. The only drawback is the eyebrows weren't shaped exactly how I would have liked but I may not have explained what I wanted properly. The waxer was skilled because it was super quick and pretty painless. I'd definitely go again (and again and again and again).

I discovered this hidden gem in Yorkville last year, and since then have become a regular.
It's hard to find a place that you can go and unwind, have a great service at an affordable price.
I really recommend it!

spa fail

:Yorkville:

I pride myself on reporting on the good, the good-er, and the best. Of course, we all know that there is also the ugly and bad.

In my search for a new place to get RMTs, my dearest friend suggested Novo. This "premier spa in Yorkville" had so much promise. They even recommended we come early to take advantage of their "Aroma Color Therapy Sauna". Cool right? So not.

Our massages were booked for Sunday afternoon and save and except the treatment, it was disappointing.

I took issue with their "Aroma Color Therapy Sauna". Talk about false advertising, this complimentary service is a 3' x 2' box with coloured christmas lights. Huh.

Upon check-out the RMTs mixed my friend and I up and we consequently didn't have the right therapist on our receipts. The receptionist tried to rectify the mistake by whiting out the first name (because she somehow concluded my friend and I had the same last name?!?!). When I advised her that an insurer would not accept a whited out receipt, she seemed confused. After a brief pause, she told me that my therapist was in tomorrow and they would mail me a correct receipt. I told her that I would just pick it up that afternoon. She then asked me to call and ask them to do that. Ask who? Didn't I just ask her?

This painstackingly annoying exchange could have been avoided if staff communicated. I saw my RMT head out as I came up to the counter. Mistakes happen, but it's how they're handled that determines the professionalism of any establishment.

I called today to confirm my receipt was ready - that's how much faith I had in the comptency of the staff. And my doubt was correctly placed. The guy had no idea what I was talking about. He put me on hold only to come back and tell me that there was no record of me having seen the massage therapist I indicated. I told him that the mistake had obviously not been rectified but that I would leave it to him to figure it out. He told me I could pick my receipt up tomorrow. How much would you like to bet that when I go in tomorrow, it won't be ready. Fooey!

Facility: My friend and I both liked the facility itself. The big changing room, the sauna, and the waiting area are quite relaxing and have a great ambience. I found the staff nice and friendly. The receptionist made sure that we arrived 1/2 hour earlier than our appointment to fully enjoy the facility.

Massage: My friend and I both booked a 45-min Therapeutic Massage appointment. We had quite a different experience. While my therapist Alissa(?) was amazing, my friend was complaining that she couldn't feel anything. Her therapist was 'touching' rather than 'massaging' her. I see that there are few complaints below regarding the service, which I think is due to their inconsistency of the provided service. There was another lady when I was paying who was complaining about how they didn't note clearly on the phone the difference between aromatherapy & therapeutic massage. It might be a good idea to clarify what service you are expecting as soon as you arrive there to avoid conflict. I would definitely go back to get another session with Alissa.

I've had so many treatments at this spa, and each one has been fabulous! From body wraps, to scrubs, to massages, and even a wash & blowdry for my hair have all been amazing.

Regardless of what you go in for, you have unlimited access to the sauna, the themed relaxation rooms that have candles, soft music, etc. all the herbal teas and fruits available there.

The staff are very friendly and professional. The atmosphere is extremely relaxing, you really can't tell that you're in downtown Toronto!!

They even have an in-house salon - Domenico & Drea - again staff there are very friendly, upbeat and really know their stuff. You go in, and they really listen. You can tell they are doing their best to make it special for you. You even get gourmet tea/coffee during the service! I got my wash & blow dry done here and everyone complimented me on my hair! I even overheard some commenting to eachother how it's so shiny they were wondering if it was real ..lol

You can see their available services and prices on their website: http://www.novospa.ca/

I highly recommend this to everyone...its an unbeatable experience.

Went for my anniversary and had the "taste of heaven".
The massage was great, the staff was friendly and helpful.
I will surely come back!

My boyfriend booked us a couples massage treatment, named "taste of heaven." Unfortunately, it was no such thing. We were not given the steam colour therapy sauna, yet were still charged for it. We were supposed to have an aromatherapy massage, and somehow that meant slathering more oil than I've eaten in the past 10 years on us while we could see nothing due to the foul-smelling eye covers. To top it off, the esthetician did NOT wash her hands before moving to massage my scalp. This resulted in a lot of oil in my hair, which completely ruined my night. I cancelled my birthday dinner as I was not expecting to have to wash my hair again and did not bring anything with me to make me look acceptable at a fancy place. The receptionist also refused to let me use a straightener from their salon to try and fix the situation. The shower in the couple's suite is also ridiculously not user-friendly. We also were only offered water, and were not offered any of the teas or snacks that are supposed to be complimentary with the services.

Much like the user below, we had no idea about the policies, and I sent an email complaint and was sent a "your esthetician washed her hands and you looked great when you left!" email from the owner of the spa. I also have no idea of what kind of oil or scrub was used on me, or what kind of bath gel and shampoo they provide which is very disconcerting for someone like myself who makes a conscious decision to use natural and organic products.

Since this massage was booked as a suprise for me, I was unaware of what to expect, and so this was $300 wasted. Horrible.

Novo Summary - They didn’t book the massage type we asked for, and they blamed us for their mistake. They expected us to know about the policies they have that are not posted in the salon or on their website and are not told to you before you receive their service. They tried to make us pay for their mistake, and we may still get charged on our card for it. If you go to this salon, do NOT make your appointment with Giovanna and don’t expect help from the manager Shannon. Also, if you are not happy with your massage, walk out within 15 minutes to avoid payment.

Details:

On Saturday, February 7 my husband and I called Novo and booked two 60-minute therapeutic massages with two requests: a woman masseuse for my husband and a person who could do strong pressure for me. The salon receptionist said no problem.

We got our massages on Sunday the 8th. During my massage, I asked the woman to apply more pressure for my massage. She said she couldn’t. She also did not massage my feet, and massaged me with almost no pressure. I was very dissatisfied with my massage. My husband had the same pressure problem. Our massages only lasted 45 minutes, but we paid for 60 minutes.

The receptionist asked me if we enjoyed our spa experience. I said my husband had a decent massage, but I did not enjoy mine. The spa coordinator, Maryelle, asked me what happened. I explained to her we booked two therapeutic massages, what the masseuse said, and our dissatisfaction with the services. Maryelle looked at me oddly, and then looked at our booking. She said, “No, therapeutic massages can have pressure. But you had aromatherapy massages, so that’s why you couldn’t get more pressure.” We didn’t book aromatherapy massages, we booked therapeutic massages.

I refused to pay for the massages and asked for a solution to the problem. She said, “Well, you already received the service. If you were not happy with your massage within the first 15 minutes, you could have called it quits and you would not have been charged for the massage.” They never told us that information when we arrived, and it is not on their website. I thought I was receiving the service I booked. I just thought the therapeutic massages were not the same as other spas. I said, “You just told me that I received a different kind of massage than what I requested. I didn’t receive the massage I asked for, and I will not pay for it. Please call your manager so we can find a solution to this problem.” Maryelle kept repeating over and over that we received the service, and that “your service was written in the book, and we need to do an investigation on what happened.” We realize what was written in the book, but the book did not have the service we requested.

Maryelle called Shannon, one of the managers, and she said the manager repeated the same things Maryelle already told us. We asked her to call back the manager so we could speak to her, and she did. The manager, Shannon, refused to speak with us when Maryelle called back. The salon owner, Gabriel, is in Mexico and isn’t going to be back until Tuesday.

In the end, Maryelle said she would not charge us for the massages for now, and that the owner, Gabriel, would call my husband on Tuesday to further discuss the charges. We asked for the name of the woman who booked our appointment that she needed to investigate. Maryelle said her name was Giovanna. We will wait to see what happens next……if the owner Gabriel bothers to call us and if they charge our credit card for the service we didn’t request.

I had the wellbeing steam bed treatment. So good, the bed has steam; it is worth every penny, you get a body scrub, a body mud under the steam bed and at the end a relaxing massage with hot stones in the back. There is sauna, tea, apples, a lovely relaxing lounge. I will be back for sure !!!