Asha SalonSpa

Booked a Gentleman’s Massage + Prompt Reflexology for the boyfriend and he said his experience was a solid 5 stars. This guy is an athlete with extreme body tightness so him giving 5 stars says a lot about this place. He said his masseuse went above and beyond. They’re very in depth and walked him thru every process. Front staff was very sweet and friendly. Would definitely come back and check out other services they have. Awesome stuff, Asha!

Nice to see the hotel’s spa has re-​vamped their offerings and updated their therapy staff — ask for «Kat», their über-​amazing massage therapist. Hands’down the best massage I’ve had in years — amazingly professional, holistic massage in a gorgeous setting.

Came here when I couldn’t get an appointment at red door spa. I think I’ve found my new go-​to spa for massages! I enjoyed every moment of my massage & the light conversation I had with my therapist (wish I remembered her name!).
Now here’s the thing with me & getting massages at spas… I am a firm believer of getting massages tailored to what my body may need in different areas vs just asking for Swedish, deep tissue. And so forth. My therapist must of read my mind because she literally catered to what my body needed vs sticking to the Swedish massage I had booked! She knew what areas needed more or less pressure, she stretched my limbs (if you’ve never had a massage where a therapist does light stretching you are MISSING OUT!). It was amazing! I also enjoyed the foot bath at the beginning. Very nice touch.
Also love that there was a bathroom connected to the room I was in. Very convenient.
I will definitely be giving Asha spa another visit & hope that I will be scheduled with the same therapist!

Do NOT book a massage here! Wow, I haven’t received such bad service in a LONG time. Where do I start… First, the room was cold. I don’t know about you, but I cannot relax when I am cold. I was there with my husband receiving a couples massage and my massage tech was telling the other one what to do! YIKES, talk about not experienced! We arrived early, but they brought us into the room 10 minuters late and ended 5 minutes early. Also, they up-​charge you on the weekends ($ 20) but don’t tell you until you check out. After all of that I reached out to the manager but apparently does not like to talk to clients on the phone (wrong business lady!) so it was one email after another until I finally reached out to the Regional Manger and what do you know? She does not like to talk on the phone EITHER! I just thought they might credit me the 15 minutes that they cut from our massages but that was way too much to ask for.
Very disappointed and will NEVER visit this or any Asha SalonSpa again!

Groupon shoppers beware: if you bought a Groupon online for a massage or other services at Asha Salon Spa, they won’t let you book it in advance. Everyone is supposed to book it en masse online no earlier than ⁵⁄₂₄. Seems like a recipe for no one getting the appointments they want.
This isn’t listed in the fine print on the Groupon, but seems to be a policy the salon came up with itself. When I called the salon to request an appointment, they were very unhelpful and refused to make one.
I thought Groupons were supposed to make you want to return to a business, but this is having the opposite effect! The staff members were very unfriendly and very unhelpful.

I recently booked a massage at the Asha salon at the James hotel after visiting the gold coast location. There was a huge difference in the whole experience. At the gold coast, some of the employees had a «gold coast» attitude, acting as if they didn’t have time for you. The salon at the James was perfect, I was greeted with a smile by their friendly receptionist, and it was off to my massage. The therapist was very friendly, and was receptive to my problem areas. The massage was great and I was relaxed and refreshed afterward. I was talking with the therapist afterward and inquired about their gratuity policy. I was shocked to find out that the therapists only receive 35% of the massage price and get taxed on their tips! I would strongly recommend the Asha salon at he James hotel to anyone, and to tip cash so the fabulous therapists don’t have to share their tips with uncle Sam.

On my wedding day I scheduled a massage for 10am. I arrived at 9:40, expecting to wait quietly. Wait I did, in the small room off reception with peaceful music and comfy chairs — while listening to someone at reception angrily lecturing another staff member. It was very distracting, not to mention that as someone who’s been in customer service jobs you NEVER deal with personnel issues where clients can hear you.
The massage therapist finally arrived to give me my massage 10:20. She started me with a foot soak, which seemed nice but that the water was so hot I couldn’t put my feet in it. When I told her that she said, «Oh, sorry, we don’t get cold water in this room so I can’t fix it.»
Then she took my foot and without warning started to aggressively massage it — inadvertently aggravating a break in my big toe. I’ve been babying that toe for months trying to avoid surgery, and now it’s back to the podiatrist. I wish she’d given me a chance to explain my injury!
The massage itself was fine after that, but of course since we started late, we ended late and I was at that point VERY late for things related to the wedding. When the bill was $ 105 instead of the $ 85 listed on the spa’s website, I was simply too stressed and tardy to even argue.
I never give one star, and the massage itself was good, but between staff issues being dealt with where customers can hear, «no cold water,» not asking about injuries or sore spots, running late and overcharging, I almost resent having to give even one.

Now, keep in mind that this review doesn’t concern my spa treatment. It has more to do with how Asha dealt with a problem.
Less than one hour before my appointment, I got a call saying that my esthetician has some problems with public transit, and they they don’t know when she’ll be coming in. The person who called me was very polite and apologetic. I was free the whole morning, so it was all right. I said I would just come in as planned and wouldn’t mind waiting for a bit.
I get to the James Hotel, and the spa door can only be opened with a key card. I asked the front desk for a keycard, but the card didn’t work. I went back, asked for another key, and let myself in. No one was there. I hung out for twenty minutes, and then went back to the concierge and asked if I could see anyone. He called someone — I’m not exactly sure whom, who told me that they had been trying to get ahold of me (I had missed the phone call on my cell) and that the person wouldn’t be available until several hours later. They asked if I could reschedule. I said any time before 12 the whole week. But they couldn’t find an appointment for me.
It’s not a huge deal I guess. Stuff happens, and I don’t blame the esthetitican for missing the appointment. But when I made the appointment, they took my credit card number and said I would be charged if I didn’t give them 24 hours notice of cancellation. Why can’t they be held to the same standard? If my train had stopped I would have been charged for the service. The least they could have done was offer me the same discount on a future wax (I was coming in for a limited time promotion that ended at the end of the week), or call the other Asha salons in the area to see if someone else could accommodate my schedule — I said I was available any morning before 12. They also should have told me the spa would be empty if I came at my scheduled time and waited. Come to think of it, I’m completely confused on who it was exactly that I talked to on the phone.
My understanding is that the place is new. I’ve always had good experiences with Asha Gold Coast, as well as Aveda in general — hopefully once they work out the kinks they’ll have better customer service. I’ll be back at other Asha salons, but not this one.

This is a nice little gem of a spa in the downtown rough. I have been to the ASHA location in Bucktown a few times and when I came across this smaller location at the James I decided to give it a try. I went there for an emergency mini facial, and it was great! The treatment was just as good as I have received at the larger locations, but it was walking distance from my office. The only downside is that the location is in a hotel. The spa is situated in the basement next to the gym, so the typical ASHA ambiance isn’t as strong. Overall, if you are in need of a post-​work relaxation treatment ASAP then this is a great option!