ONZEN The SPA

Lovely place. I especially adore the big pipe that drops a ton of hot water on you. They’re still using chlorine though.

Enju is a gem. She really knows her stuff and I trust her implicitly. She is always traveling to this conference or that, and keeping up on all sort of beauty trends and anti-​aging regimes. So much so that you can just sail into her spa, kick back and just say, «Whatever you think. Just gimme what you got». Trust me, she’ll have an opinion and it will be well informed by both experience and her education while keeping you, your budget and your goals in mind.
Plus she’s friendly and fun, yet very professional. She listens carefully and really knows how to take care of the business and her customers. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to write a review. I’ve been going her for more than five years and have not once had a negative experience.

I’ve been a loyal customer for several years now. I read a review on Unilocal about their services and their prima esthetician, Enju, and can say she has earned every star. I’ve had my eyebrows waxed, wonderful 90 minute facials, fabulous neck back and scalp massages, and never cease to leave their spa fully relaxed and happy. Most recently, I decided to take the plunge and have my eyebrows permanently tattooed. If you want to see the type of work that she does, just look at her face! Enju has done her own eyeliner and brows, which look unbelievably natural. I simply could not believe that it was permanent make up, since it is flawless and subtle. I decided that I would tell no one that I was going to do this, to see what the reaction would be. My husband commented on how nice my makeup looked, and so did my mom. When I told them that it was permanent — they refused to believe me! My mom immediately made an appointment to have her eyebrows done, and my husband scheduled an appointment to have a long, unsightly scar on his scalp colored in.
We are all happy campers. My mom & I celebrate every morning that we do not have to pencil in eyebrows! My husband loves that he can cut his hair really short and not have the scar be visible. A few months ago, I went in and had her do permanent eyeliner, and once again the results are really amazing.

UPDATE: 24 hours after 90 minutes with Abel and I am free of sciatic pain in my low back and legs. I walk, a lot… usually 20 miles a week. I was in so much pain Thursday and Friday I couldn’t sit or lay down without wanting to cry. I was desperate when I tried Onzen, I won’t be waiting so long again.

I have been going to Onzen for 18 months. I love my experience there and look forward to it every time.
Enju gives an excellent facial. She keeps up to date on all of the latest techniques and products and totally customizes the facial to the customer needs. She really cares about her customers looking their best. I get compliments all of the time on my appearance and skin since I have been going regularly.

I had a wonderful experience today at Onzen Spa. A much needed deep facial cleansing that left my face feeling soft and smooth. I’ll be going back for more treatments. Very friendly staff and nice atmophere.
Tx.again
Bb

My sister bought me a gift certificate for a facial here for Christmas, because she raved that it was the best facial ever. «You have to get a facial with Enju» she wrote. My sister and I might disagree on a lot, but this was one thing we agree on. It was seriously the best facial I’ve had in the Bay Area. I was able to book last minute because I was in the East Bay, and Enju (spelling?) was incredible. I got an amazing massage as a bonus on top of the facial– back, neck and arms, finished with hot stones. She’s thorough, hard working, and friendly. The place was clean and relaxing, and the room and table warmed perfectly. It;s a relaxing and soothing atmosphere. I felt amazing afterward. I don’t get hyperbolic often, but I agree with my sister– best facial. Highly recommend her!

Just left Onzen and I am absolutely glad I came here. It was a total last minute thing. I was accommodated in the schedule. I can’t begin to describe how blissful the experience was. I had the $ 90 dollar facial it was about an hour and ten minutes. Which is great! My face feels super radiant and clean! My concerns were asked and definitely met! Thank you Onzen spa! You definitely have to try this place out!

Absolutely WORST massage I have ever had! I’ve had many, both in the US and abroad so I know what’s good, bad, excellent, etc. When I made my appointment with this salon, I specifically requested a 90 minute deep tissue massage. The receptionist via text confirmed my appointment with an «experienced» therapist of 30 years plus. I thought perfect! My first mistake. Second mistake: here I am sitting listening to this «experienced» massage therapist named Abel tell me how he interprets a «deep tissue massage». I’m thinking okay this may be different from what I’m used to but I’ll give anything a try! Third mistake! This dude spent spent 10 minutes «massaging» the cartilage in my flipping ears! Seriously!!! WTF! Needless to say, the rest of the massage was equally awful. I’ve never in my life wanted a massage to end more than this one! I flipping couldn’t wait to get the hell out of this place! If you want an awesome massage worth every penny, I highly advise you NOT to go here! I left there more tense than when I entered. Enough said.

This place manages to keep up the gold standard of hideous customer service that the Bay Area prides itself on.
I had a 90 minute appointment booked for Saturday, that was then pushed to Sunday by the Spa (three times) and then pushed for Monday (again, by the spa) or «we could do it next weekend». I had to re-​arrange my schedule and had an appointment for today at 4:30pm.
At 4:20pm I pulled up in front and was called by the spa telling me that the therapist was late «due to traffic» and could we re-​schedule my 90 minute appointment for 5pm. And here’s the icing on the cake: my 90 minute appointment has now morphed into a 60 minute appointment.
I’ve seen Adrian here before and all three times he’s walked in late, complained about his previous customers to me, and is perpetually stressed out so that it leeches over onto you.
He’s good at what he does, which is why I’ve come back, but this is grade A crap service. My time and money are both worthless to this spa.
The young lady at the front desk even had the audacity to say «I’m mad too!» like she was the one who drove an hour to get to an appointment only to be turned away at the door with no apology or any attempt to resurrect the situation.

Abel is a GOD! No really! Best massage ever!!! He sits and talks to you about your challenges and customizes the massage to your needs! I have fibromyalgia and usually massage is not my friend… BUT his technique and «gift» of touch was truly a miracle!!! He said I would feel fabulous in 2 days and I do!!! I will be back again and again! Thank you Abel.

I have had the best experience at this spa. I have tried several other spas; this is the best one.
I have done my research about what treatments have shown results, what is working and what is not. They have it all, machines and products. They have tailored my treatment according to my type of skin, and what do I look forward to get from the treatments.
Results from a facial are not immediate. Nowhere, from nobody. Maintenance is important, with a guided care from the professionals. I have tried big, common, expensive, all natural, «in» places and given them few months under their care to see results. This is the one I have sticked to. the one I have seen great results from.
I love the location, the ambiance and the people there. As I mentioned I have noticeable results; smooth, clean, even and younger looking face, hands and body skin. I have gotten only two of their products; she has offered to me but I feel she offers them with the best intentions of keeping up my results and not just to sell a product. I am very happy with these products as well.
I can’t wait to get the body wraps with infrared treatment, I will update this review with those results. I have tried one similar treatment in Vancouver at the most luxurious spa in a hotel, and one other in a very luxurious spa in Berkeley also attached to a big white hotel and one other treatment in another spa on the same street where Onzen is. We will see.

Had the best massage of my life here back in 2012. The spa was inviting, warm, and easy to schedule two massages for my friend and I at the same time. It was super easy to make an appointment online, and the staff called me back almost right away to confirm the time I wanted.
My masseuse was unbelievably attentive to what I needed/​wanted in my massage. I told him I wanted to focus on my neck, shoulders, and back, and we spent 60 of our 80 minutes doing just that. I always prefer deep tissue, but this was a whole other level. It was almost as if we were working together to relax and de-​stress my entire body!
The entire experience at Onzen was incredible from start to finish, and I only wish I lived in Berkeley to make it back!

I received a gift certificate from a friend for a massage, but instead used it for a facial as I was in dire need of one. While the esthetician was friendly, I thought she did a very poor job. Since my review is a negative one, I prefer not to use her name, but will just write that it started with a «T». I don’t like to hurt anyone with a bad review, but I want to be honest about how disappointed I was in the service.
Again, she was a nice person, but I was very unimpressed with the facial. Although the facial is listed as a 60 minute treatment, the esthetician only worked on me for 50 minutes (including the getting on the table, etc.). When it came time for the extractions, the part I probably needed the most, she went through it quickly. When I asked her to do more work on certain problem areas, she said she couldn’t see any more. Without me turning on the lights and pulling out a mirror, I couldn’t show her. When I came home I looked in my regular mirror with regular lights and saw exactly what I had described to her and she didn’t work on it at all. She hardly did any extractions at all. So really it was a glorified mask treatment that I could have done myself, and saved the gift certificate for a relaxing massage.
I am very unimpressed and will not go back again, or certainly not to her. Unfortunately, I cannot recommend this place.

I got the 1.5 hour facial special for $ 99 and it was fantastic! I can’t WAIT to go back here.
PROS:
— The lady (so sorry I forgot your name! :(:() walked me through each step saying that as a first time customer she wanted me to know what she was doing. I loved that because if she didn’t do it then i would of had to ask her. She said she would only do it the first time and the times after will not involve so much talking.
— The red acne spots on my cheeks faded after just ONE facial with her! Wow. I think 2 – 3 more facials and I’ll have clear skin again! :)
— My skin felt and looked amazing after the facial. It’s been a week and it still looks great! There’s some peeling but nothing that I can’t handle.
CONS:
— She tried selling me on some products. I had to finally say let’s see how it goes after my first facial and decide when i have a second facial in a month.
— The little eye pads that are supposed to protect you from the very bright light during extractions isn’t the best. I wish they were thicker. They didn’t really seem to block out a lot of the light. Oh well.
I can’t wait to go back! YAY!

I’m a drummer into activities such as mountain biking and resistance training who had never had any bodywork done. Needless to say I was a mess. After a couple extremely uncomfortable gigs my shoulder and neck pain was starting to affect my sleep. I realized that I needed to address the issue so I scheduled an appointment with Abel at Onzen. After so many years of neglecting my body I wasn’t expecting much after the first visit but to my surprise the symptoms of pain and tightness were dramatically reduced. I must say that Ablel’s techniques were not what I expected but quite effective and I especially appreciated his individually tailored approach. I fully intend to make this a part of my personal wellness plan. Thank you Abel. I appreciate you.
Miguel

Eunju made a few attempts to contact me.
I finally answered (maybe she called from her cell phone). She apologized and wanted to correct the issues from my first experience. I really appreciated that. I’m glad she was nice-​especially because some business owners are very rude (and I’ve encountered several mad business owners-​lame!) I admire business owners who want to fix issues. So, she definitely has her heart in the right place.

I brought a friend here for her b-​day to get all relaxed and pampered. They were nice and did offer a little bit of a discount since we had a few services between us.
What we liked:
1) The Infrared Body Wrap was a very interesting experience. I would definitely try it again. I didn’t measure myself before/​after but I did feel better. Also the lady that was helping me was very good at making me feel comfortable despite the fact that I was basically nude and wearing disposable underwear, haha!
2) It was actually a little bit hard finding a day spa that did nails, massage, body wrap, etc. Nice & clean all in one stop shop.
What we didn’t like:
1) The Eyelash extensions! It looked ok the first day but it was all down hill after that. The actually eyelashes looked very plastic like and were glued together and very painful. I had to go to another shop to have them removed. I would not recommend it, even with the discount of $ 100.

I came here on a whim to try out eyelash extensions since they were having a special for $ 100.
The lady that did it (I forget her name) was really nice, but her technique was super weird. She put a little bit of masking tape on my forehead where she poured out some glue so that it’s easier for her to access it. The result looked pretty the same day, but starting the next, I realized what a botched job she had done. It turns out she glued about 4 – 5 of my real lashes onto an extension. So first of all, she gypped me on paying a full set, when it was really a half set. And all my real eyelashes were fucked up. It was incredibly messy, and my eyelashes grew out horrendously, with all the extensions pointing every which way.
I got it corrected when I got back to Orange County, but it was incredibly painful as I sat there for two hours getting all my lashes pulled apart. I haven’t tried any of their other services, but I wouldn’t recommend eyelash extensions here because they don’t do them right.

Just so you know, I don’t patronize spa type places very often. I can count on both hands the number of times I’ve gotten a pedicure done professionally. I rarely get massages, since I usually end up feeling like I’ve been run over by a truck the next day, probably because the uncompensate all the compensating my body has been doing. I will not get a facial because of how sensitive my skin is because I have really bad eczema… really, I don’t need more red splotches on my face.
However, I had Spafinder gift certificates that I received, so of course I’m going to use them. So, I decided I’d use them for some brow grooming & pedicures. I cross referenced the Spafinder site & Unilocal,& this is what I came up with that had good reviews & pricing & not too horribly far away from where I live. Granted, it’s not that close either.
Anyway, I had nice, quiet relaxing experiences the few times that I’ve been. Service is nice & friendly.
The space is small… pedicures are done in the 2 chairs across from the waiting area.
Making appointments was easy on the phone. Looks like they also take walk-​ins.
Oh, that reminds me, I should go back & get my brows done again, since I can’t find my tweezers to pluck the stray hairs.
I’ve always found free parking without time limits on the side streets.
Located on the north side of Solano between Ramona & Carmel.