Departure Spa

I’m glad I went for a pedicure and would do it again, but I can’t whole heartedly recommend it to others.
The staff was incredibly nice. The manicurist was finishing with someone else when I walked in, so I only had to wait 5 minutes until she was ready for me. I recommend, however, stopping by as soon as you’re considering going because the wait time got a bit longer while I was there.
Despite the friendliness, I would have expected better service, especially given the price. Walking in with my carry on and a coat, I wasn’t offered a place to put them, or given any help.
It’s clear that the manicurist isn’t as adept with the tools as you’d find at your typical neighborhood nail salon. I also wasn’t overly impressed with the color options.
With a long layover after a 12 hour flight, the pedicure was a great way to pass time, but I prefer the quality and service of my nothing-​special neighborhood nail place any day.

Easy, nice. More than anything a great manicure. Very pleased. Will gladly return.

Terrible. The staff was extremely friendly but the overall quality was terrible. I got a mani/​pedi (not cheap, but it is the airport) and was seriously disappointed. If I wasn’t there with my boss I would have made a huge deal out of it and asked for my money back.
First thing, The polish was so thick and sticky. I can’ believe she could even get it on my nails. She thinned it down half way through my manicure but alas it was too late. The clear coat left bubbles in the finish and they just would dry. They are still not completely ‘dry’ after 15 hours. I actually went to the restaurant in my flip flops because I was scared to put my socks and shoes back on.
One of my toes didn’t even get a full swipe of color. I also have color on my cuticles. But at least I didn’t look as bad as the girl who painted them. She was covered in the red from my service.
What a waste of (70+15) $ 85.

Who says you can’t have fun at the airport?
Me and my friend had a long delay at Newark airport after a week long business trip. I was not looking forward on spending 7 hours at the airport on Friday!
My friend went to take a walk and came back telling me that she booked us a massage… I was like… what?
At 4:30 we made our way to Departure Spa… what a great experience. My massage was really awesome… he took his time, always making sure I was comfortable with the pressure that was applied.
Once it was over, he went over few things with me that would help me in future as I apparently had many knobs.
Great, great experience… If you are at Newark airport, please check them out. They offer all differnet services. Manicure & Pedicure, massages, hair due…

So happy I booked a massage! It was just what I needed before my flight. Unfortunately, I can’t remember the lady’s name but it started with an «S». She was very polite, used the right amount of pressure and made sure everything was perfect. The prices are a little more than I would normally pay but it is located in the airport.

My fiancé and I both were in desperate need of a quick fix after a crazy couple weeks of travel. The only male masseur took both of us, one after the other for 15-​min massages. The place was clean, bright, friendly and the massages were spot on. My fiancé said, «man, it was like he knew exactly what hurt without me saying anything.» He took the words out of my mouth. Best spent 15 minutes ever.

Got a great 15 minute chair massage by Lennin. Just what I needed during a day of International travel.

This place is great! The items available for purchase are unique and fun for a traveler. The massages are AWESOME. At first you don’t exactly feel anymore welcome than a walk-​in at most spas but after a few minutes of small talk you feel like a regular.
I’ll look for them any time I go through here again.
Also…when the massage therapist noticed I didn’t get the comfy seat I was promised while I waited he gave me a free 5 minute massage. #clientforlife

I stopped for a quick massage before catching my flight and this guy Lenin was just amazing! I asked for a deep tissue massage and he knew exactly the amount of pressure to apply in different places. Made my 6 hr flight so much more comfortable, definitely will go back again.

Don’t waste your time or money with this place! Horrible, Horrible, Horrible! From the overweight and lazy staff to the lack luster service! This is the worst experience I’ve ever had. Be careful… it’s very dirty! I am in surprised that this establishment is open and the health services inspector hasn’t shut it down. Gross!!!

The worst manicure ever. The staff don’t care about their job, the place is not clean and after spending 1.5h and more than 80 dollars for mani/​pedi, I am left with nothing: have to remove the polish because everything is messed up, massage is virtually nonexistent and this is the first time I was asked to do the hand pilling myself…

I’m 7 months pregnant and walked a good hike to get to this spot to get a chair massage before a flight. They wouldn’t do one since I was so pregnant but did say they would do a foot massage and after the walk I was in! Then they made me wait for a woman who arrived after me and had a longer layover. I waited as long as I could and they had to go or miss my plane. Rude! Bad service

Let me start by saying that I went here for the first time ever just before an international flight in January. And I got a really great pedicure. Super well done, and it lasted for a super long time. The woman who did it was really friendly and really thorough.
But the stars drop in the appearaces and cleanliness department. Nowhere near as clean-​looking as I would have expected, particularly for an airport location.
Towel — the woman who did my pedicure was using an old wet stained t-​shirt in place of what is usually the towel that you rest your feet on. As I had waited in my chair a few minutes while she finished up with someone else, I realized that she was using the same stained wet t-​shirt for me that she used for the women before me. Really? It was super gross. Inexpensive hand towels are just that — inexpensive. Buy a whole bunch of them and treat each customer to a clean one. Then put them in the washing machine at the end of the day or the week. I just bought a 100-​pack of washable dust cloths at Home Depot for cleaning my house, for about $ 15.
Tools — they were all sort of just lying on the small table with the supplies, and she used the exact same ones on me that had been used for the person before, no new tools, no cleaning. At minimum they could have sprayed alcohol on them and rubbed clean, which is what I have seen elsewhere, if they didn’t have sufficient time or machines to auto-​clave in between.
In «real life», I would never go to a place that had these sorts of cleanliness issues. And in something like the international terminal of Newark Airport, I would have expected a higher-​end cleanliness approach, particularly given the $ 45 price point. I pass through EWR often, but just thinking about getting another pedicure there kind of grosses me out a little bit.

I wish I never found this place.
Save your money — you can do a better pedicure at home. Spent $ 40 on a cheap pedicure. :(

Went in for a emergency polish change after a flight, I guess they were very slow because I did not have to wait. Picked a color and started right away. Job was efficient and done nicely, a bit pricey. The one thing that bothered me the most was how cold and unfriendly the staff was. Im from the south and I’m used to everyone being so friendly. Like I said job was done nice and fast, just lacked any smiles from these ladies.

Stopped in at gate C110 location for a 20 minute chair massage during my layover. The woman with green hair (I didn’t get her name) gave an excellent massage, good pressure, found and focused on tension spots. Very pleased with the decision, though probably should have gone for longer.
It was a bit expensive at $ 2/​minute (though not unusual for an airport) but well worth it.

Popped in for a quick foot massage after a flight. Worth it.
The staff was fun and outgoing. The foot scrub was pretty awesome. I’m glad when airports have places like this. Why doesn’t every airport?
Don’t half step. You can call ahead and make an appointment.

As a self-​described risk taker I get a real kick out of doing seemingly stupid things such as getting a haircut in an airport while waiting for a flight. To my surprise, things turned out alright at Departure Spa. The digs are bare bones for haircuts — crammed into the corner to make room for the other things. I think most people visit for spa services. The staff was friendly, spoke mostly only Spanish, and they seemed to know what they were doing. Very efficient and conscious of time. I was impressed with the service and the haircut. Only one experience of course, but I must say I would go back if ever caught in a similar pinch.

Though extremely overprice (think double the cost of what you normally pay), that is to be expected at an airport spa. I had the loveliest lady, Lysa (sp?) who gave me a great manicure and was as sweet as can be. The entire staff was friendly even when I messed up my nail while drying and another lady kindly fixed it. Definitely a good spot for some pampering pre-​flight, especially when you’re in dire need of a mani.

Walked in where a person immediately greeted me. You have to make an appointment which is a good way to kill time if you have a 5 – 7 hour layover. I was able to get a massage pretty quickly. I signed up for a 30 mins chair massage, but the therapist said I was only slotted for 15 mins. Bummer… She was really working out my muscle kinks. My massage therapist was a little lacking in customer service skills, but she did a great job with my massage. I didn’t even realize she was done because she just walked away and I was sitting there wondering if she was done until she looked at me from the register. Also, I noticed she didn’t ask about pressure preference or remind me to drink water afterwards like the other therapist. I give her 3 stars.
I came back an hour later for my pedi/​mani. She did a great job on mani and an ok job with my pedi since I asked for a harder design. She accommodated the designed I showed her and was very motivated to do it! I think she should’ve mentioned she didn’t know how to do the design, though. I give her a 4.5 stars because she had great customer service skills.
This place gets BUSY. In 15 mins, about 7 people walked in to make appts or try to make an appt. They were so busy and a lady was left without a massage therapist since that person went to go talk to the owner. So my massage therapist had her wait 15 mins until she was done with my appt and she took her. They are unorganized with their appts, but maybe that particular day was extra busy for them since it was a Saturday.
Not much of a nail polish selection. They also do feet massage, hair, waxing, and facial services.
The place looks pretty clean despite them using old t-​shirts as towels. Never seen that before. And they are Eco friendly.