MELT Spa

Made a follow up call to «MELT» and the new owner, Leeann confirmed that they will absolutely not honor any MELT gift certificates. Never mind the fact that they are still answering the phones as MELT. GREAT way to start a business — former MELT customers beware… and Shadow Blade — screw you.

I normally don’t write reviews, mainly b/​c if I’ve had a bad experience I really try to give people the benefit of the doubt and assume they’ve had a bad day. For Melt, however, this was more than a bad day.
I purchased an Eversave voucher for $ 27 that was for an «hour and a half» mani-​pedi valued at $ 83 (it even said «hour and a half» on the voucher but mine couldn’t have been longer than an hour). The confirmation emails I received listed the address as 172 Newbury Street. So I showed up at 172 Newbury, I see the lights on and some salon equipment on the 2^nd floor, and use the instructions to buzz the receiption desk. Nothing. I buzz again and wait. Nothing. So I call the phone number and say I’m at 172 for my appointment but can’t get anyone to buzz me in and I’m told that Melt is now located at 216. I was also told that I should’ve been informed of this when I booked the appointment. What’s funny is that I was actually talking to the person who booked the appointment lol. So, I walk a block over to 216, a little leary as nowhere does it say it is Melt (I found out they merged/​were bought out by a very different style of salon/​spa called Shadwoblade). I’m taken to the 2^nd floor, a very beautifully renovated salon/​spa area. The area where the mani-pedi’s took place, however, was in a cramped corner.
Due to this cramped corner, the two nail technicians kept bumping into eachother and b/​c there was only 1 massage chair and 1 manicure table, I had to have the whole mani-​pedi while I sat in the chair. I’ve done this before and it’s not a huge deal but the technician clipped my nails and cuticles, buffed and painted my nails right over my lap. Clippings were falling all over my outfit and I was just praying that my deep plum nail polish would not drip onto my clothes. At one point the technician clipped a cuticle too close and I started to bleed. I didn’t make a big deal about it but let her know. I don’t think she even knew how to respond as she stared at it for a few moments and then continued with my other nails. She did do a nice job in the end but the cuticle in question is still inflamed.
Overall, the nail technician was very nice and sweet and did try to make me comfortable, even when I thought my back would break in two from the incredibly uncomfortable massage chair. While it wasn’t massaging, the «balls» jutted into my back. Not wanting to bother the technician I put up with it for a while until I couldn’t take it any longer. She tried to get them to go «flat» but couldn’t, so I settled for the incredibly intense massage. At times I would arch my back to make it less intense. But hey, it was better than when it wasn’t moving!
There was also this emphasis on making sales. During the appointment, a salon technician introduced herself to me, and two girls there for a mani-​pedi (they overbooked their appointments and they had to wait), gave us her card, and said to let her know if we ever needed a treatment. This wasn’t a discount. She was interrupting our already frustrating appointments to make a sale. Also, when I was taken to the waiting room, I was offered to peruse the reading material… which consisted only of brochures for salon treatments.
When the appointment was complete, the technician took me to the waiting area. It was very nice, however there were no hand or foot driers so I ended up just blowing on my nails. The technician brought in my flats for me and as I was about to put them on to go I noticed one of them had a sizeable puddle of something in them. I took a paper towel and soaked it up and it was some kind of nail solution, maybe even nailpolish remover. I then thought of how, in the cramped quarters, everyone’s stuff was beneath the manicure table and with little space to work with and the technicians bumping into eachother, someone spilled something in my shoe. Quite a frustrating way to end an appointment.
I wish I had more positive things to say but I don’t. I normally go to another spa/​salon but thought I’d give Melt (or Shadowblade) a try, but after this experience I will definitely not be going back.

One star seems like too much for this place. First off, the front desk women are incredibly rude and don’t know anything. I went for a Brazilian and barely got a bikini. The woman blamed it on the kind of wax they use not being strong enough for full brazilians. Then why even offer them? I still had to pay full price for the botched up job. I felt really bad for the waxing lady since it seemed like they don’t get that much business and she assured me if I came back to her I wouldn’t be so disappointed. I figured I would try to give her a second chance and I booked a follow up. No one there told me that 1) they would store my credit card information or 2) they have a 24 hour cancellation policy. (I go to spas often and I’m always always made aware of both these things each time I make an appointment) I was never reminded of my follow up and ended up missing the appointment due to a schedule change. Melt called me way after the appointment to see where I was and at that point mentioned the cancellation policy but never said what would happen. The following day I had an 85 dollar charge to my credit card that I was never told about. Each time I call they say they will have to call me back and haven’t.
THIS PLACE IS AWFUL! WORST SPA ON NEWBURY!
STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!!!

I’ve been to Melt twice, both with discount coupons from deal sites. Both times were wonderfully relaxing. The first time I went I had a pedicure and my first-​ever massage. It was lovely. The second time, which was this weekend, I went in for a hot stone massage. The massage itself was great. Sarah, the massage therapist, was awesome. There were two small problems. One — they appeared to be using Pandora or some other ad-​based music service, because twice during my 50-​minute massage an ad interrupted the water sounds or wind chimes or whatever was playing at the time. Two — the room I was in was right off the waiting area and I could hear the phone ringing and the door buzzer ringing, and for the last half of my massage I could hear whole conversations going on. Not the most pleasant way to experience a massage.
Despite that, the staff is always wonderful and welcoming. They were very accommodating when I had to change my appointment, and they’ve never treated me like less of a customer for having deal site coupons.
I’ll definitely go back, but I would request not to be in that room again. And maybe to put my own iPhone on the speaker dock instead.

I was really dissapointed with my experience at Melt.
A girlfriend and I bought the Eversave deals — $ 27 for a mani and pedi. An $ 83 dollar value!
The spa is pretty enough, small but cute. The polish selection wasn’t the greatest I’ve seen and I was dissapointed they didn’t offer gel polish, like Shellac, Gelish, etc. No big deal. And they gave us a huge glass of champagne.
The pedicure started out nicely. A good scrub and Lana filed all the dead skin off throughly. But what really got me was that my friend had the best foot massage of her life, it lasted a good 5 minutes per foot. But mine? Measly. No better than a cheap pedicure anywhere else. My pedicure did start about 10 minutes after my friend’s, so I don’t know if Lana felt like she had to catch up… anyway it was a major dissapointment.
The manicure was a major disaster. First of all, the floors are uneven and my chair kept rolling sideways! They put towels down but I kept sliding around. it was just really ackward and uncomforble to sit there.
The manicure lasted 15 minutes and was no better than one you pay $ 11 for. Barely a massage. Lana’s style of polishing is basically like painting a house. She was not precise at all, she sped through it, getting polish everywhere. I didn’t notice until this morning how sloppy it looks. The color is so uneven, not covering the entire nail. I’m sorry, but Lana did a horrible job.
My friend really did enjoy her experience with Trang, but I really thought Lana gave me a horrible rush job. If I had paid $ 83 for that I would have been really pissed. Maybe it’s because we had a night time appointment and she wanted to leave early? Bad.
Melt says that the experience should have lasted 1.5 hours but we were finished in about an hour and 5 minutes.

The front desk staff at Melt Spa is completely incompetent.
Why should that make a difference in the quality of a massage? The women who made my appointment neglected to note that I wanted a hot stone massage. Therefore, when I arrived for my hot stone massage the stones were not hot (and were going to need 30 min to heat). I was livid.
Both times I’ve come here the front desk staff’s sloppiness has ruined my experience. People don’t book massages so you can piss us off with your incompetence.
Luckily the masseur didn’t have a client after me so gave me a complimentary Swedish massage until the stones were hot but clearly had he had a client after me this couldn’t have been the solution.
Go somewhere else that can actually write down the details of your appointment.

Not worth the $. I bought the Eversave for $ 39 (valued at $ 83) for a mani/​pedi. Nothing at all special about the mani/​pedi. Cara P. and I struggled to pick out a color in the dim lights and prepared for indulgence. But it never came, it was your normal, typical, couldgetitforhalfthepricesomewhereelse mani/​pedi. No mud mask on my legs. No specially scented lotion. No extra long massage. Sure they have water and coffee and tea, but who cares? I want pretty feet, not caffeine. Also, there are only 2 pedi basins and 2 manicure chairs, so we couldn’t get a third person in with us.
I can’t imagine coming back, not even with another coupon.

«Melt» is quite an appropriate name for this business. If you’re all coiled up from life, you can come here and let the staff help you melt. Unfortunately, for me it felt as though they had left a piece of chocolate on the counter to soften and forgot about it, letting it drip onto the floor.
The services themselves were great and the staff did a good job. The basic pedicure is quite heavenly as well as the deep tissue massage. The massage itself was very thorough and I felt very comfortable. However, there were a couple of occasions where I felt like I was forgotten about — particularly when I was left for over 25 minutes for my pedicure to dry with no direction about who to see next. The girl who had done my previous service had left to tend to her next client and I had no idea who to see next. I was a little bothered, but I tried to make the best of it (the glass tray of truffles on the table beside me helped shut me up).
They get very busy on a Saturday, understandably, but it’s enough to make me change my mind about coming here on a weekend. Kind of a sacrifice, since weekends are when most people seek to unwind. I’d come back here again, but only on a weekday when the staff isn’t too busy.
Side tip: Cash only for tips!

Ah to be pampered. We run around entirely too much in our lives, always trying to get from one place to another, jam packing our schedules and rarely giving ourselves just some quiet time to rest — and yes to be pampered. So I try and take out at least a few hours every month to do exactly that. Whereas before this proposed to be a fairly expensive endeavour, with the price/​value competition reaching Newbury spas/​salons, it is benefitting the customer more and more these days.
Enter Melt Spa. Dim lights, warm staff, calming music, beautiful sayings on the wall evoking an Eat, Pray, Love zen type feeling and some green tea later, I’m in heaven.
I rushed here after work to make my appointment. It took me a little bit of time to give up my blackberry/​iphone/​book and just focus on relaxing. But the spa made it fairly easy. The person doing my mani/​pedi (I forget her name, but she’s new to the establishment) was great. She let me relax, didn’t excessively talk, and thoroughly took her time. To help dry my nails she also used this instant dropper on my nails which made my nails dry in half the amount of time and it proved helpful as I needed to get out of there at a certain time. Additionally, the place is very neat and clean, a bit on the smaller side, but I like that anyway. I was constantly asked if I was comfortable and I needed more tea, coffee, wine or champagne. *Sigh* Bliss!
My only complaint here would be that the water could have been a bit warmer for the pedicure. Though I asked her about it, it seemed the water just couldn’t turn hotter than what it was at. Lastly, while doing my mani, my chair kept rolling down as the table where they do their pedis are on a slant. That posed a problem and I had to give up my comfy chair for one that really wasn’t all that great. They should do something about this.
They are doing a promotion right now where if you go in, they’ll give you 5 referral cards that you can distribute to friends interested and they’ll get a discount. Plus if you distribute enough (I believe it’s 2 – 4 cards) with your names on it and if they get those back, then you get a free mani/​pedi as well. Great deal I think. (And if anybody wants one, message me!)
Great place all in all and I’ll certainly be back.

Time for an update. I went back to Melt with my mother for a massage and pedicure. We were immediately offered a seat and a glass of champagne before heading back for our massages. They kept topping up our glasses too, which was amusing and awesome.
The massage was outstanding — a complete 180 compared to the last time I was there. I believe the massuse was named Mia. Very strong, steady hands and she did a great leg-​pull thing at the end. I will come back to Melt and book a massage with her again. She’s even strong enough to handle my husband’s knotty, grizzled chef’s back.
The pedicure was also great, but pricey. I picked a ghastly, pale color that made my feet look like bloated corpse feet.
****UPDATE: I went back a few months after this experience for another massage, and it was just ok. She spent (wasted?) a lot of time puttering around the room and not massaging. Massage me, damnit. That’s what I’m paying for! I noticed lonnnnng pauses where nothing was happening but I didn’t open my eyes. This happened MANY TIMES throughout the massage. Lame.
Is it just me or have their prices gone way up? Blah.

I bought the Groupon for Melt almost a year ago… time was running out! I originally made a hair appointment here a month in advance, but then the stylist (Javier?) left unexpectedly and the spa canceled my hair appointment forever! The owner called me about this and was apologetic, offering to refer me elsewhere and extend the ‘end-​date’ of my Groupon if I had trouble scheduling something else. So I had to decide what else I wanted to spend my $ 125 on, and I decided to go for a 50 minute hot stone massage (my first) for $ 130.
MIa was great great great at making me feel super comfortable, taking me in the massage room first and showing me how she heats up the stones, how the bed works, where to put my clothes, etc. Once she got started, she told me that she was having a little bit of trouble regulating the stone temperature but that she was willing to stay a little longer to make up for some massage time I lost while she was cooling the stones in the sink, as long as I was able to hang around. Fine with me! While some of the stuff she was doing fooling around with the hot stones was a bit distracting, but the (1 hour, 10 minute) massage was perfect! She worked a lot on my lower back in response to my complaint about back pain.
Anyway, I really loved my experience at Melt. The place is adorable and really relaxed and everyone seems nice. Sometimes at a super high end place they can be snooty, but the girl at the front desk at Melt was sweet and chatty, laughing with me about how busy she was making appointments because the Groupon was about to expire.
Unfortunately, my poverty will not likely permit me a return visit anytime soon. The one thing that bothered me about Melt – I was reading a brochure about their ear-​candling services while I waited for Mia. Hasn’t ear-​candling been widely proven to produce absolutely NO beneficial results? That sucks that Melt is trying to sell it to people. I considered taking away one star for that, but I liked Mia so much I decided to stick with 4… but cut out the sketchiness, Melt.

I went to Melt for the first time during spa week last week for a 50 min massage. When I called for the appointment, they were accomodating and scheduled me for an extended week at spa week prices as the original week was booked during the times I wanted. I also received an email confirmation and reminder which was nice.
Reception was great, polite and brought me out a nice glass of water for my short wait. I thought the reception area looked nice but I did overhear that another customer couldn’t pay the tip on her card (she was paying the bill on her card) but they ultimately did it for her and it was no prob.
Sadly I don’t remember the name of my masseuse but she was great, real down to earth (can be hard to find in spas on Newbury) and joked around with me which was appreciated as she gave just the extra effort to make a personal connection.
I agree with Unilocaler Grace who mentioned the soft satin sheets — they were awesome. It was suprisingly nicer than expected and one of the only spas I’ve been to that has this. For the massage, pressure was good, hard but not too hard and I think I also fell asleep at one point.
I had a great experience and left feeling relaxed. Too bad it started raining really hard when I was leaving with no umbrella but I still enjoyed my mini retreat at Melt.

I’m surprised they didn’t blacklist me after the million scheduling issues my friend and I had. First my friend had a family emergency (understandable but I had already moved around the appts once). then I realized I had a volunteer thing too close to the rescheduled time. then I cancelled one of my treatments, a pedicure, because it seemed pointless (was doing a 60 mile walk at the end of this week).
But they didn’t. And my shoulders and back were very happy they didn’t. :)
On a Sunday afternoon the place was quite quiet. My friend had her massage first so I hung out for about a half hour in the waiting area reading a magazine. It was raining so I figured I’d stay inside. Plus I had a 15 hour day on Saturday, so I was feeling just fine staying in one place. I was offered a few different beverages (they have all kinds of tea and different coffee) but I went with water.
My massage was really great. One of the better ones I’ve had in the city. I think I may have even fallen asleep at one point. I had talked to the massage therapist in the beginning. expressing that I had some shoulder, back, and some foot aches because of training/​work. She originally told me that she’d go for a more therapeutic massage as opposed to a relaxing massage because of what I’d told her. In the end she went for the relaxing massage though because that’s what she felt I needed. Her pressure was perfect and my back felt terrific afterwards. She also gave me a little lecture on my posture. It’s horrible. haha. On top of that she wasn’t intense with the massage oil so I didn’t feel like a mess when I left.
On Sundays they only have a few people on staff. So the way our appointments were originally scheduled had my friend and I not really seeing each other. So if you’re looking for a girly hang outy kinda day with your friends, it won’t happen on a Sunday. This place is super low key so don’t expect too many amenities although I did notice a menu for Bouchee on the counter with the teas. Everyone is incredibly nice (and this is coming from someone with some Newbury St. complexes) and the place just had a really good vibe.
My friend and I used a Groupon ($ 50 for $ 125 in services — restrictions applied — ask all the questions you have up front so you won’t be surprised) but I’d definitely come back to treat myself in the future.

I received the best massage at MELT. I would HIGHLY recommend Angela — she was an excellent massage therapist. I go for Trigger Point Massage and very few places can do it properly. MELT has the expertise and it is worth it.
I have been to MELT several times for a massage and I have also had my hair cut here. All of their services are geared towards papering and total relaxation. It is a wonderful experience to go to MELT. It is hard to leave!
As compared to other spas, I found MELT to be comparably priced. I think what sets MELT apart is the effort that the professionals put into to ensuring your treatments are relaxing, pampering and rejuvenating.
MELT is a wonderful place!

So… I’m a big fan of Groupon. Every now and again it allows me to buy facials for $ 50 at very high end spas. And since I am in a quest to find the best spa facial in Boston, I was psyched when Melt appeared on my Groupon page one morning. Just the name alone makes you wanna go and check it out. I had my first appointment at Melt last night. And I have to say, right from the get-​go when you walk in, you get the legit spa experience. Dim lighting, soft music, friendly service, no straight up crazy ass kids running around. Hell, even the water in a wine glass they served me tasted better (hey, I am a fan of anyplace that serves me damn near anything in a wine glass).
My facial was with Tricia. Can I just say that she is a tiny Kate Winslet look-​a-​like beauty genius? To start, for YEARS I was thinking that I had combination skin and right away so pointed out that I had oily skin… and explained why. No kidding. Other aestheticians would always just agree that it was combo. But that explains why my skin never reacted how I thought it should to the products I was using. Um, duh. She did near painless extractions to boot and I didn’t walk out of there looking like a grease pit from over indulging on fancy facial oils like most other places I’ve been. I mean, I did have to take the T home and there were some hot looking Red Sox fans on the ride back… so yeah… grateful is an understatement. But bless her heart for not passing out from my almost definite coffee breath from earlier in the day (no time to brush… I hauled ass to try and get there on time).
And the girl who greeted me, Karla (also a makeup artist there) and Tricia were both absolute dolls! I heart them. We had so much fun just chatting away… it felt more like girlfriends getting together than an appointment. Needless to say my quest for the best facial and spa experience in Boston is over! Go there. Become a fan of them on Facebook. JUST DO IT PEOPLE!!!

I visited MELT Spa for the first time last week for a massage and manicure. Both were great, especially the massage. My masseuse was Luceli. I went in with pain in my hands and wrists from typing and in my neck and shoulders from sitting at a workstation all day. Despite stretching my hands, arms and neck daily, I could not get any of this tension out. As it turned out, the tension was buried behind my shoulder blades — I would never have known. My hands and arms are now pain-​free, after many months of suffering! Thanks Luceli!
MELT is in a second floor walk-​up in historic Back Bay building. Décor is Edwardian/​modern and atmosphere is very relaxing. The space is well-​used.

Another Groupon user, I came here initally for a facial — and was a little bit nervous given some of the negative reviews from other Groupon-​users — but all in vain! The people at the front desk were very friendly and I even got into my appointment 20 minutes early. I had brought my own coffee, so I didn’t feel like double fisting with their free drinks, but the offer was appreciated.
My appointment was with Tricia, who is awesome. She’s very mellow, doesn’t force the products on you or try and guilt you about your skin (unlike an old Russian woman at a salon in Brookline who acted like I had ripped her heart out of her chest when I told her I didn’t use toner), and is the right amount of chatty. I booked another appointment before I left for the 10% discount.
I really have no complaints about Melt — granted, I’ve only used the facial services, but the atmosphere is really nice and everyone who works there seems top notch.

3.5 stars
When you are a Groupon addict you sometimes buy things you may not ordinarily buy, like $ 125 worth of girly spa stuff. I’m kind of a tomboy… wtf?
I decided on the three following «services»: pedicure, brow wax, 30 minute massage. Now, reviews of the «services»…
Pedicure: I have never had one so I cannot compare it to any prior experience; however, this one seemed pretty good. It lasted a bit over 50 minutes and included a soak, scrub, polish (sparkly blue!), exfoliation, massage, and lotion. Kerri, the technician, was extremely attentive and explained everything she was doing. We even conversed about Kurt Vonnegut and she gave me some book recommendations. Not bad! A day later my feet are still soft and my nails are pretty. I’d give her five stars for sure.
Brow wax: So I have a lovely natural eyebrow arch but thin eyebrows. Oops! Tricia cleaned them up, filled them in, and gave me tips on how to make my eyebrows emphasize my eyes more. She loves eyebrows. You could tell. She even said so but she also showed it by taking alot of time and care with making sure she didn’t mess up or take too much off. I also appreciated that she asked if I wanted advice before babbling on about what she would do in terms of my eyebrows if she were in my shoes. Four stars for her.
Massage: Biggest mistake ever. I should have known. I read the reviews. I get actual theraputic massages on a semi-​regular basis to keep my back and TMJ issues in line. But no. I thought this would cover it. Why? This was a spa massage. The masseuse (Ashley?), although totally nice, rubbed more of my bone than anything. Massages are for MUSCLES. Ugh. There was so much unnecessary oil. I felt like I was getting the kind of massage a boyfriend of two weeks would give you after you redeem a «good for a free massage! heartyou» coupon he made you-​awkward, but you know he’s trying so you don’t say anything.
Any time a knot was encountered, it was just avoided rather than worked out. That’s not how massages are supposed to work. It felt uncomfortable because no work was being done. I feel less tight today but not great. Two stars.
Overall, the experience was positive. The spa is sort of tricky to find (between Dartmouth and Exeter, inside a brownstone, ring the bell, go upstairs). The staff is all really friendly and strive to make you as comfortable as possible. For a DIY tomboy like me it is almost uncomfortable to have that kind of experience. I would recommend the pedicure and brow wax to others even though the pedicure is regularly a bit pricey, but definitely skip the massage.
FYI-​no tips on cards anymore according to a sign inside.

Like many of the folks who’ve reviewed this place, I came here because of a Groupon I bought for $ 125 worth of services (I only paid $ 60 for the coupon). That was definitely one of the smartest purchases I’ve ever made when it comes to personal care.
Immediately upon entering I was asked if there was anything I would like to drink: water, tea, coffee, red wine, mimosa? Being that it was 10:30am, I said a definite «yes» to the mimosa (and «yes» to a second one). I must have been asked these two questions at least 6 times each during my 2 ½ hour visit: «Are you comfortable?» «Can I get you anything?» It was wonderful, totally pampering!
As for the service, I got a half-​head of foils from Laura, their stylist. She is aces! Laura told me straight up that what I had originally planned for my hair would dry it out horribly and look unnatural. So I bowed to her wisdom and ended up looking way better than I imagined. Laura really cares about the health of your hair, in addition too how it looks, so I highly recommend doing whatever she says! She also understood that I’m tight on money and couldn’t afford a $ 45 blowdry – so she just dried my hair without any styling and didn’t charge me for it. I love it!
The spa itself is lovely. A bit smaller than what I was imagining, but by no means crowded or cramped. All the furniture looks like something out of an Anthropologie catalog, and the style was welcoming and elegant without being overbearing. Everything down to the hand lotion in the bathroom is designed to make you feel glorious!
At the end of my appointment, Laura gave me a coupon for 30% off my next visit with her. You can bet I’ll be coming back!
p. s. Melt also wins for going the extra mile. On my way there I realized that I’d forgotten my Groupon at home. Panicked, I called Melt and explained that I will be late because I had to go somewhere to print it out. They told me not to worry, they will print it out for me at the salon. And here I was thinking they’d tell me to get lost! ;o)

This place is a gem. I have never felt more beautiful leaving a salon than I did today. I received a haircut from Laura. Never before have I loved a haircut, up until now. Extremely sweet and an experience professional with the scissors, I would never go to anyone else to get beautified.
The moment I walked through the door I felt at ease. With extremely personable customer service, everyone at this facility performed above and beyond my expectations. Its nice to see that every once in a while.
I would recommend Melt to everyone and anyone I meet.