Five Star Spa

My husband and I bought a Groupon for a couples massage. The spa is located in a busy plaza in Hillsborough. Easy to find, easy parking. The place is clean and peaceful. Must remove shoes before going into the hallway leading to the private rooms. Very little English spoken; only the young lady behind the front desk and my masseuse spoke decent English. The other two ladies spoke almost nothing.
Despite our appointment, when we arrived, the «couples room» was not available, so we were split into two individual rooms. My masseuse was Kenny (I think that’s what his name was) and he was good! He knows what he’s doing. One hour massage was good; it was full body, front and back. Head, face, neck, shoulders, buttocks, hands, feet, everything. Sometimes with blanket, sometimes not. Oil used. Pressure. Light pounding. Slight stretching. It was good and I left feeling much better. It was the first time I had a male masseuse which was a surprise to me, but there was nothing I could do about once he suddenly walked in. It turned out fine!
My husband’s masseuse was TERRIBLE! She turned out to be the mother of the young lady behind the front desk. The woman spoke no English. She didn’t know what she was doing; it was obviously her first time. In the beginning, the other ladies ushered her to LEAVE the room so that my husband could take off his clothing in order to start the session! Then, throughout the hour, she was rubbing, rubbing, rubbing vigorously. My husband told her to slow down. He said it kind of hurt and was unproductive. She used too much oil, he asked her to use less. Her hands were cold and rough. She focused on the back, but never did arms, feet, hands, etc. At one point, my husband was trying to tell her how to make it feel better, to press and rub, and so on. He was trying to indicate what he likes, since he has massages done every so often, and is familiar with good quality massages. So the woman got ANOTHER lady to help out with the English. It didn’t help, no one understood my husband. I don’t know how my husband stayed in the room — I would have LEFT! I think he came out worse than when he walked in.
Do NOT recommend UNLESS you ask for «Kenny.» Otherwise, I wouldn’t trust any of their services. Not worth it.

I went here on a Groupon. I got a really good massage here, much firmer pressure than I expected but I really needed it so it was fine with me. As another reviewer mentioned, English is limited, but it turned out ok. 99% of the hour was face down, maybe this was because my back needed some knots worked on — again it was ok with me because she did work on my arms and legs from the back. She was very polite and professional. I have another masseuse who I go to on a more regular basis, but I will go here occasionally when I need a really firm massage. Be aware they will try to sell you a package, but are fine with it if you say no. I ended up getting a gift certificate for a one-​hour massage for a good price, so will go back.

I had a fantastic massage and facial from Hippi today. She did not try to charge me extra for a certain type of pressure which I have had at other places. She got a lot of knots out of my back and shoulders, and massaged me as a professional should. The atmosphere was very tranquil, and we chatted a bit as she was massaging. As I relaxed and calm down I didn’t feel as chatty, and she went along with my program and stop talking. The facial was also excellent. She used very gentle smelling cleansers and toners, and gave me a 15 minute mask. She did some extractions that were not painful and overall I felt very pampered. After a terrible experience at the different chain spa, I would definitely come back here again. She did mention a membership, and try to upsell me on a gift card which I declined, but she was very easy to deal with and I did not feel any pressure. Everything was very clean as well. Overall I had an excellent experience and would definitely recommend.

Okay so I gave this place another shot since they are so close to my house. Last time I will ever set foot there again. Got a one hour massage and this time directed the woman to focus on my back only since thats where I need it the most. English was extremely limited. It was def not a Swedish massage. I dunno exactly what that technique was. At the end, I left a tip on the table next to the bed. Came out to the front desk and they told me I owed money for the taxes. Ok fine. I went and grabbed some money from the car and paid. Exited the building and the masseuse chases me out and is banging like anything on my car window. «Miss Miss!!! You should leave a tip! You are SUPPOSED to leave a tip!!!» I rolled down my window and said I left a tip what are you talking about. Its on the table. Go look. She keeps saying no. So now I’m in disbelief and pissed off and say let’s go… I’ll show you. As soon as we get to the room, there’s the damn ten dollar bill on the table. «Oh, so sorry».
Yes thanks for ruining whatever small amount of relaxation I had from the lackluster massage you gave me. Awesome.
You can give this place a shot if you really want to, but good luck. I won’t be back.

Used a Groupon for a half hour reflexology foot massage. The facility is very clean and nice. Staff speaks very little, if any, English. My masseuse spoke none hence there was no conversation and no one asked (interpreted) if there were any areas to focus on.
The session began by placing my feet in a way too hot bucket of tea water. It took adding several quarts of cold water to bring the temperature down. Surprisingly, the session began with a deep tissue neck and shoulder massage while my feet were soaking. I’m used to deep tissue massages so this was tolerable but not at all relaxing. I’ve never had a reflexology foot massage so I have nothing to compare this to. Like the shoulder massage, it was pretty intense, parts of which were uncomfortable, but maybe that’s the case with reflexology? Even though the foot soaking and shoulder massage took time, I still got a full half hour foot massage. It’s now an hour later and my feet are still tingling, but not in a bad way. Would I go back? I’m not sure. Think I might try other places first.