Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa

Positive: Communication, Professionalism, QualityI wanted to give a shout out to Hailey McCabe, Esthetician at Hand & Stone. She was very professional and knowledgeable and you can tell she is passionate about her career. My facial was truly a luxurious experience. The head and shoulder massage was great too and my stress melted away! I highly recommend Hailey. The associate manager Paige was courteous and professional and I appreciated the great customer service. Overall, great experience and I felt pampered!I wanted to give a shout out to Hailey McCabe, Esthetician at Hand & Stone. She was very professional and knowledgeable and you can tell she is passionate about her career. My facial was truly a luxurious experience. The head and shoulder …More

I wanted to give a shout out to Hailey McCabe, Esthetician at Hand & Stone. She was very professional and knowledgeable and you can tell she is passionate about her career. My facial was truly a luxurious experience. The head and shoulder massage was great too and my stress melted away! I highly recommend Hailey. The associate manager Paige was courteous and professional and I appreciated the great customer service. Overall, great experience and I felt pampered!

Critical: CommunicationYears ago for Christmas, my husband and I treated ourselves to an annual membership at Hand & Stone. In the beginning, our experience was consistently positive. We felt like we were in good hands and left our appointments feeling like a million bucks. We had our favorite massage therapists but we were flexible if they weren’t available when we made our monthly appointments. We never left the reception desk without locking into an appointment the following month. I even started giving friends gift cards to Hand & Stone so they could enjoy a professional massage in a professional environment. There was a major negative shift when a new franchise owner came onto the scene. After the beginning of the new year 2021, things continued to go down hill. Staffing seemed extremely tight and the weekend appointments (Saturdays or Sundays) that we had always enjoyed were no longer an option. Onsite staff seemed frazzled and stressed. There were so many new faces at the desk that we didn’t recognize staff from one visit to the next. My last visit was June 5th and despite our best efforts to make another appointment for the following month, or the month after that, or even the month after that ~ we weren’t able to get an appointment. Several talented massage therapists had left and their replacements did not stay long. There was simply not enough staff to meet the demand. We reluctantly cancelled our membership and each had 2 additional credits/visits to use based on our credit card being charged those months that they couldn’t fit us in. Today my husband went in to redeem one of those “credits” and at the end of his massage, they asked for $100. According to the receptionist our credits expired on September 9th. To add insult to injury, $100 is the price for a massage if the customer doesn’t have a membership. Membership pricing gives the customer a nice price break and that membership charged our credit card 2 times/month (for years). So…Hand & Stone charged us monthly for services they couldn’t deliver based on their inability to run their business correctly and then eliminated the credits we were owed. Classic bait and switch. A manager was not available today to speak to this issue nor did the receptionist offer to contact anyone to resolve the complaint. Since this happened several hours ago, and there has been no follow up from Hand & Stone, I have no choice but to warn others of their shady practices.UPDATE: I called another spa in the area last night and they were able to offer me an appointment tomorrow! Hallelujah! I will NOT be following up on the “canned response” from Hand & Stone. I would expect full refund for those massages that were prepaid (without staff to fulfill) but based on other reviews here, I am not going to hold my breath that they would simply do the right thing.Years ago for Christmas, my husband and I treated ourselves to an annual membership at Hand & Stone. In the beginning, our experience was consistently positive. We felt like we were in good hands and left our appointments feeling like a …More

Years ago for Christmas, my husband and I treated ourselves to an annual membership at Hand & Stone. In the beginning, our experience was consistently positive. We felt like we were in good hands and left our appointments feeling like a million bucks. We had our favorite massage therapists but we were flexible if they weren’t available when we made our monthly appointments. We never left the reception desk without locking into an appointment the following month. I even started giving friends gift cards to Hand & Stone so they could enjoy a professional massage in a professional environment. There was a major negative shift when a new franchise owner came onto the scene. After the beginning of the new year 2021, things continued to go down hill. Staffing seemed extremely tight and the weekend appointments (Saturdays or Sundays) that we had always enjoyed were no longer an option. Onsite staff seemed frazzled and stressed. There were so many new faces at the desk that we didn’t recognize staff from one visit to the next. My last visit was June 5th and despite our best efforts to make another appointment for the following month, or the month after that, or even the month after that ~ we weren’t able to get an appointment. Several talented massage therapists had left and their replacements did not stay long. There was simply not enough staff to meet the demand. We reluctantly cancelled our membership and each had 2 additional credits/visits to use based on our credit card being charged those months that they couldn’t fit us in. Today my husband went in to redeem one of those “credits” and at the end of his massage, they asked for $100. According to the receptionist our credits expired on September 9th. To add insult to injury, $100 is the price for a massage if the customer doesn’t have a membership. Membership pricing gives the customer a nice price break and that membership charged our credit card 2 times/month (for years). So…Hand & Stone charged us monthly for services they couldn’t deliver based on their inability to run their business correctly and then eliminated the credits we were owed. Classic bait and switch. A manager was not available today to speak to this issue nor did the receptionist offer to contact anyone to resolve the complaint. Since this happened several hours ago, and there has been no follow up from Hand & Stone, I have no choice but to warn others of their shady practices.

Critical: QualityI am consistently disappointed with the massages from this place. I signed up for the membership months ago and have found that it is extremely difficult to schedule times for massage here. They told me the earliest available massage I could get last time was a 3 week wait. The day before my massage they cancelled on me. So I had to wait another three weeks. Not only are the wait times insane but the actual masseuse are just bad. I have tried several different people in the NC and NH location and they NEVER do deep tissue though I have paid to upgrade each time. In yesterday’s appointment the masseuse she COULD NOT perform deep tissue and said that I wouldn’t want it anyway because I would be sore though I requested someone who could do a deep tissue and booked the appointment accordingly. I usually go for a sports or deep tissue massage because I’m constantly living heavy weights in the gym and train almost daily so I know what kind of pressure I like and need. Instead of what I wanted the masseuse was basically petting me with oil. It was awkward and I am going to be cancelling my membership because I have been disappointed with each visit.I am consistently disappointed with the massages from this place. I signed up for the membership months ago and have found that it is extremely difficult to schedule times for massage here. They told me the earliest available massage I …More

I am consistently disappointed with the massages from this place. I signed up for the membership months ago and have found that it is extremely difficult to schedule times for massage here. They told me the earliest available massage I could get last time was a 3 week wait. The day before my massage they cancelled on me. So I had to wait another three weeks. Not only are the wait times insane but the actual masseuse are just bad. I have tried several different people in the NC and NH location and they NEVER do deep tissue though I have paid to upgrade each time. In yesterday’s appointment the masseuse she COULD NOT perform deep tissue and said that I wouldn’t want it anyway because I would be sore though I requested someone who could do a deep tissue and booked the appointment accordingly. I usually go for a sports or deep tissue massage because I’m constantly living heavy weights in the gym and train almost daily so I know what kind of pressure I like and need. Instead of what I wanted the masseuse was basically petting me with oil. It was awkward and I am going to be cancelling my membership because I have been disappointed with each visit.

Critical: Communication, Professionalism, QualityHand and Stone needs to make a lot of improvements. Stop trying to sell people a massage after they have come to relax. If you must do it, do it before the massage, not after, literally no one likes that. Explain to your therapists that customers do not want to talk the entire time they are getting a massage. Again, people get massages to relax and most people can’t afford them so this is a luxury, let them relax! I have only been to hand and stone once and it was a below average experience. The past few days I have been getting calls and texts about an appointment under my name in another state. I never made an appointment at this hand and stone in portsmouth. I called to cancal this appointment that I never made because I felt bad that a therapist may lose money from a no show. The manager got on the phone and was less than friendly and stated this happens all the time and tried to sell me a massage. Like I said, Hand and Stone needs to make a lot of improvements.Hand and Stone needs to make a lot of improvements. Stop trying to sell people a massage after they have come to relax. If you must do it, do it before the massage, not after, literally no one likes that. Explain to your therapists that …More

Hand and Stone needs to make a lot of improvements. Stop trying to sell people a massage after they have come to relax. If you must do it, do it before the massage, not after, literally no one likes that. Explain to your therapists that customers do not want to talk the entire time they are getting a massage. Again, people get massages to relax and most people can’t afford them so this is a luxury, let them relax! I have only been to hand and stone once and it was a below average experience. The past few days I have been getting calls and texts about an appointment under my name in another state. I never made an appointment at this hand and stone in portsmouth. I called to cancal this appointment that I never made because I felt bad that a therapist may lose money from a no show. The manager got on the phone and was less than friendly and stated this happens all the time and tried to sell me a massage. Like I said, Hand and Stone needs to make a lot of improvements.

Critical: Communication, QualityI attempted to cancel my membership via email as I had moved. I was emailing back and forth with someone from H&S and assumed everything was all set. 5 months later I realized they were still charging my credit card automatic payments. They said I never filled out a cancellation form. I was never told via email that I needed to fill out a cancellation form in my correspondence. After a lot of back and forth, much of which was them claiming to not have the emails I was referencing, despite forwarding all of it to them, they still refused to credit me for the 5 months. Also, the first time I visited after COVID restrictions lifted, my masseuse walked out into the waiting room to get me, while rubbing her eyes with her bare hands- not what you want to see with everything going on. I will not be back.I attempted to cancel my membership via email as I had moved. I was emailing back and forth with someone from H&S and assumed everything was all set. 5 months later I realized they were still charging my credit card automatic payments. They …More

I attempted to cancel my membership via email as I had moved. I was emailing back and forth with someone from H&S and assumed everything was all set. 5 months later I realized they were still charging my credit card automatic payments. They said I never filled out a cancellation form. I was never told via email that I needed to fill out a cancellation form in my correspondence. After a lot of back and forth, much of which was them claiming to not have the emails I was referencing, despite forwarding all of it to them, they still refused to credit me for the 5 months. Also, the first time I visited after COVID restrictions lifted, my masseuse walked out into the waiting room to get me, while rubbing her eyes with her bare hands- not what you want to see with everything going on. I will not be back.

Critical: Communication, Professionalism, QualityI went to my appt and tried to check in, they told me I wasn’t on their books. I produced the email that said the correct time, date and location of my appointment. They said, Oh wow. Not sure how you received that. We still can’t accommodate you.”First of all, what a joke! I received that email because your company sent it confirming my appointment. So at that point I should have been seen for my SCHEDULED appointment!Despite wanting to, I grudgingly made another appointment date for my prenatal massage.Then about 20 mins later I get a phone call from the same girl I dealt with in the salon, and she says “I’m sorry that date we picked, we can’t accommodate you. That massage therapist isn’t licensed for prenatal.”Are you kidding me?!?! This lady was aware that a prenatal massage is what we were scheduling for.This whole experience has been completely awful and I am beyond upset. This needs to be made right! I have a $100 gift card that I would not like to use for you all. Today’s experience left an awful taste in my mouth and I don’t wish to return. I need a full refund for this gift card. And I need a manager or owner to contact me. This whole experience was a joke and needs to be made right ASAP!EmilyI went to my appt and tried to check in, they told me I wasn’t on their books. I produced the email that said the correct time, date and location of my appointment. They said, Oh wow. Not sure how you received that. We still can’t …More

I went to my appt and tried to check in, they told me I wasn’t on their books. I produced the email that said the correct time, date and location of my appointment. They said, Oh wow. Not sure how you received that. We still can’t accommodate you.”

Critical: Communication, Professionalism, QualityNot worth the money. I booked a facial and was incredibly disappointed by what they consider their “base” facial which is $99 (non member). It was basically 2 lotions, 1 exfoliate and a mask with face + sight shoulder upper arm massage. Massage did not include lower arms or hands. When I asked I was told that was an extra $10 add on. Also no feet, that was another $10. No extractions. No neck or head massage. While the mask “set” she did dishes until I finally requested the $10 add-on massage since I didn’t wish to sit there while she did the dishes. I’ve never had a facial that didn’t include a full shoulder, neck, head and arm massage. I’ve only ever seen a variance in whether places do feet and whether places do extractions and they tell you all this in advance. It’s insane to charge $100 to have someone apply lotion and a mask to your face. They also wear gloves which is weird and annoying since it is squeaky and you feel the glove vs the location. I’ll give this up for COVID and assume it’s a health requirement but I’ve been to several other spas during COVID and none used gloves. It’s fine if Covid-required, but they should tell you in advance. When I voiced this they just said “sorry- we can tell management” but had little concern for remedying the poor experience I had and my surprise at the high price tag.I should note when I booked I caught-luckily- that she booked me in the wrong month too. She said it back to me before hanging up and I quickly said, “which month?” And luckily they had an opening on the same day in the correct month (just different time).Save your money and your time and go to a real spa.Not worth the money. I booked a facial and was incredibly disappointed by what they consider their “base” facial which is $99 (non member). It was basically 2 lotions, 1 exfoliate and a mask with face + sight shoulder upper arm massage. …More

Not worth the money. I booked a facial and was incredibly disappointed by what they consider their “base” facial which is $99 (non member). It was basically 2 lotions, 1 exfoliate and a mask with face + sight shoulder upper arm massage. Massage did not include lower arms or hands. When I asked I was told that was an extra $10 add on. Also no feet, that was another $10. No extractions. No neck or head massage. While the mask “set” she did dishes until I finally requested the $10 add-on massage since I didn’t wish to sit there while she did the dishes. I’ve never had a facial that didn’t include a full shoulder, neck, head and arm massage. I’ve only ever seen a variance in whether places do feet and whether places do extractions and they tell you all this in advance. It’s insane to charge $100 to have someone apply lotion and a mask to your face. They also wear gloves which is weird and annoying since it is squeaky and you feel the glove vs the location. I’ll give this up for COVID and assume it’s a health requirement but I’ve been to several other spas during COVID and none used gloves. It’s fine if Covid-required, but they should tell you in advance. When I voiced this they just said “sorry- we can tell management” but had little concern for remedying the poor experience I had and my surprise at the high price tag.

Critical: QualityOh gosh, the joke is on me for not having read the poor reviews from this place before having had two disappointing experiences (a massage and a facial) this week at this place! I wasn’t expecting the masseuse would be using his forearms to massage, not my preference. And I wish I knew before I was prepped and ready for a facial that the aesthetician would be wearing gloves (that don’t fit and are very squeaky) to perform a facial! Which wasn’t much of a deep cleansing but rather a slather of lotion on my face. I asked her if she had to wear them and she said yes but now that I’m looking at their website, it says “gloves during services upon clients request”. I definitely don’t look or feel my best this week after having spent time and lots of money at this place. I’m so glad I didn’t sign up for their membership!Oh gosh, the joke is on me for not having read the poor reviews from this place before having had two disappointing experiences (a massage and a facial) this week at this place! I wasn’t expecting the masseuse would be using his forearms to …More

Oh gosh, the joke is on me for not having read the poor reviews from this place before having had two disappointing experiences (a massage and a facial) this week at this place! I wasn’t expecting the masseuse would be using his forearms to massage, not my preference. And I wish I knew before I was prepped and ready for a facial that the aesthetician would be wearing gloves (that don’t fit and are very squeaky) to perform a facial! Which wasn’t much of a deep cleansing but rather a slather of lotion on my face. I asked her if she had to wear them and she said yes but now that I’m looking at their website, it says “gloves during services upon clients request”. I definitely don’t look or feel my best this week after having spent time and lots of money at this place. I’m so glad I didn’t sign up for their membership!