Bruce visited this urban hotel spa in Dallas in December of 2008. Here's what he has to say about Bliss Spa, "W" Hotel in Dallas:
"A spa that charges what the Bliss Spa at the "W" Hotel in Dallas charges should have a Spa on the premises. The actual massage treatment was wonderful. The facility is terrible.
"#1 -- There is no spa (Jacuzzi, hot tub, whirlpool) anywhere on the premises. I have never been to a high-end spa that did not have both a spa and a cold plunge. Bliss in Dallas has neither.
"#2 - They will tell you they have a "Steam Room." Well - not exactly. There is one single shower in the men's small locker room. In that shower there is a steam outlet which is basically worthless. If you turned it on today, it might generate enough steam to be useful in about 24 hours. It is not a "Steam Room" like one would expect in a high-end spa.
"#3 - The lounge area, or waiting area where you wait before your massage treatment does not contain a single lounge chair. You are sitting there straight up in chairs facing 12 foot glass windows overlooking West Dallas. Sounds really cool, but when you are trying to get relaxed before a massage it is the last place you want to be - especially after you have just found out they don't even have a spa to soak in!
"OH yeah - and if you are bored, you can read one of the magazines in the HEAVY plastic holders they use to protect them. At $150 for a massage, one would think they could afford to replace the magazines and lose the Doctor's office protectors!!
"In addition, the 'fresh apples' in the lounge area had to be at least a week or two old. They were mushy and inedible. Nobody paid any attention to what you needed or did not need. No nice soft fuzzy robes or lavender scented neck wraps were in sight. (P.S. - go to the Ritz or Crescent Court for these treats!!)
"#4 - The music --- Someone needs to tell the W Management that blues music is NOT spa music. They play the same music everywhere - even in the massage treatment room. You are on the massage table attempting to relax while this female voice is belting out a blues tune!! NOT RELAXING at all. I asked them to just turn it off. Eclectic is one thing - relaxing it is NOT!!
"#5 - The actual massage treatment was excellent. The therapist was very professional and did a fantastic job! I am a licensed massage therapist and I know what constitutes a great massage. Renee did mine and she was excellent!!
"I got a letter from the Manager after I wrote an email to the W Hotel and all he had to say was, 'well, our facilities are not designed to compete with the other spas in the city, because we view our environment as unique.'
"All I can say about that is it is definitely unique if you define unique as sterile, uncomfortable, noisy, and definitely not relaxing - I thought that is what a spa was supposed to be??
"If you go to the Bliss Spa in Dallas -- just be ready. The facilities are just worthless. However, the massage is very very good."
