James Pearson Salon & Day Spa

Terrible! I bought a massage/​facial Groupon, without I’ll admit doing proper research. I figured since it was in Clayton it would be a nice place. Couldn’t have been more wrong! I didn’t have the same appointment making problems as some of the other reviewers. However all their other comments are spot on! Receptionist/​owner was the rudest, most unorganized person I’ve ever met. She had four old school appointment books out and never found my appointment. They were unsure what I’d get first, massage or facial. After I «checked in» she paged the masseuse, I stood in the waiting area. A few minutes pass, she pages him again; a few more minutes pass and she pages him again. I’m wondering if he’s even in the building. After 15 min of waiting I ask how much longer. At this point she says he’s in with another client, who was late so they are running behind. So 1) why didn’t you tell me he was running behind when I first got here? Set some expectation management and 2) if you knew he was with a customer why on earth did you page him THREE TIMES?! He’s finished and comes out to greet me and say he’ll be ready once he’s gotten the room ready. I go across the hall to wait and the previous client comes out. I ask if she heard the pages, she says oh yes multiple times. I apologized but said they didn’t tell me he was with another client or say he was running behind. Massage was MEH, he was really nice but too soft pressure wise and since he was at least 70 yrs old I felt bad to ask for more pressure. Room was atrocious! Just regular flat bed sheet on the table, no extra blanket or anything to keep me warm considering I’m buck naked! He had music playing on a tape that ran out at least three times during the massage so he stopped what he was doing to flip the tape over and hit play. Seriously, in this day and age you can’t upgrade to a CD/​CD player with music that lasts for more than an hour? I did tip him, way less than usual though.
Onto the facial. I go back to reception desk for the lady to tell me to «go over there» and put on a smock and wait for my facial. The facial lady walks by and says she needs to set up the room. So when you know a previous service will take an hour, you still aren’t’ ready when I finish?! So I go into a closet (literally) where I choose from a variety of hairdressing capes/​smocks. Most are missing buttons or something. I put it on and go back out to wait. She’s finally ready and shows me into a slightly larger closet. I go to get into the chair and it’s not bolted down so it slides over a few inches. The arms are practically falling off and it’s covered with a similar flat bedsheet. She does as me a few questions before we start; am I allergic to anything? What’s my skin like normally? How many facials have I had etc. She starts the facial and the ONLY thing she explains is the steam machine. Doesn’t say what other products she’s using or what they are supposed to do for my skin. Maybe she figured since I said I’ve had many facials I knew what was going on. No massage during steam or mask (10 min each) She left the room for the steam and said to yell if I needed anything. For the mask I think she just stood there. Multiple products got in my nose and on my lips. She took no care around the eye area, pulling and stretching the most sensitive skin on my body. The wash cloth used felt like a Brillo pad, assuming it was on sale at Value Village?! I was picking off pieces of the mask from non-​face areas hours after the massage. Worst facial EVER! I actually washed my face a few hours later.
As I’m leaving the rude receptionist has the audacity to remind me that gratuity is not included in the Groupon. I gave her a look I reserve for only the stupidest of people, say I know, and walk out. I wish zero stars were an option… find a better place.

I purchased a living social voucher for this place for a massage and facial. My entire experience was bad. The woman I spoke with on the phone scheduling my services was abrupt and unaccommodating, my massage started 45 minutes late, the spa was hard to find, the whole atmosphere was dingy and dated, the receptionist was too busy to notice someone was at the desk, and they had food out everywhere in the salon (for a holiday party perhaps?). I’m not a fan of spas smelling like meatballs. My massage was a mix of being bruised and not enough pressure. The masseuse was also a bit too comfortable with my upper inner thighs. I have NEVER had a masseuse do that. The massage room made me uncomfortable because it didn’t seem clean and there weren’t enough linens on the table (they’re using torn polka dotted bed sheets, by the way). The woman who gave me a facial was sweet, but it wasn’t a good facial. The chair I sat in was mostly broken and covered in the same torn sheet. While they play «relaxing» music in the spa rooms, they also have a loud speaker in each room that’s playing the radio and paging the workers to come to the front room.
Basically, as soon as I walked in I wanted to leave. I was the youngest person there by probably 40 years. It was just uncomfortable and low-​quality from start to finish. I do not recommend this place.

This is an outdated dump. I bought the groupon for the massage and facial… when I arrived an unprofessional woman was sprawled on a chair in the hallway and said «can I help you?» Was this an employee, a random person… I had no idea. When I walked in there was no receptionist, and an employee was on a personal call on the customer side of the reception desk. Okay. The massage room was outdated and the therapist had to pop open the oil bottle every time she needed it and close it again, then toss it back on the bed. Repeatedly. She never asked me what my problem areas were, what I wanted, how the pressure was, etc. No coffee or water was ever offered. The facial was in a bright room on a chair, not a massage table, and I wore a smock (?) they gave me. No massages during masks, in fact, she just left the room. Both services were average at best and I didn’t even consider the package the owner tried to sell me at the end. Don’t buy a groupon… there is a reason this established «spa» can’t keep customers.

I wished I had read some real reviews before going to this place. The only positive thing I can say is that the staff was friendly. The salon/​spa is completely outdated and has the ambiance of a nursing home. I had a mani/​pedi in a small room across from the salon/​spa. The room is not equipped for pedicures at all. The nail technician poured hot water from plastic bottle into one of those old foot bath things that wasn’t even plugged in. My feet sat in about an inch of water while I had a manicure. Small assortment of polish colors to choose from. In the end my nails and toes were polished so I wasn’t totally disappointed… until I had my next appointment which was a facial. First I waited for the esthetician for 30 minutes. Then I had the most disappointing facial ever. No massage and products were just smeared on and barely wiped off with a cool wash cloth. It was supposed to be an aromatherapy facial but I did not smell anything other than regular product. She tapped on my face a bit and said she was doing acupressure. It felt clumsy and not at all relaxing. The final «mask» felt like paraffin wax. When I left and looked in the mirror I had huge chunks of wax around my hairline, ears and on my neck. I sat in my car and used several baby wipes to get the gunk off. Not my idea of a beautifying treatment. I won’t be back (not even with a groupon) and I don’t recommend this place for anyone under 80 years old.

Given the location, I expected better quality services… I can’t begin to express how disappointed I was that every service I received was sub-​par to terrible at best. My first encounter with James Pearson occurred after I had received a groupon for a manicure/​pedicure as a present. When I think of a salon and day spa, I think of a nice, clean, relaxing ambiance. That is not James Pearson. Everything about the place was, in a word, dated. The lady who did my manicure/​pedicure was extremely sweet. However, the manicure/​pedicure was definitely not. I ended up removing the cheap nail polish the next day. I returned another time for a facial (they had a special, and I always give a place at least two chances), and that was the final nail in the coffin. I’ve had many facials in my time, and this had to be the absolute worst one I ever received. The lady who did my facial was the receptionist at the salon and spa. Although she was extremely nice and sweet, she definitely was not qualified to give facials. It literally felt like a chimp clumsily and messily patting my face… she couldn’t even wipe off all the gunk from my face after all was said and done, and I had to leave the salon and spa with dried white goo on my face and in my hair… completely unprofessional! When everything was finished, the receptionist (and person who did my facial) reminded me about gratuity (awkward and wrong), which I now feel sorry for even giving since it definitely was not deserved. I looked on the website at the actual prices for the services and was completely appalled at what was being charged for services of that quality. If you’re looking for a good salon/​spa, look elsewhere. James Pearson was a complete disappointment.

I bought a groupon for a massage (1 hour) and aromatherapy facial, only to be severely disappointed with the services I received. I indulge in massages about once every other month or when I’m particularly stressed, which made this groupon purchase very useful, or so I thought. Scheduling was no problem, on the day of my appointment I got slightly lost as the salon is in a building with multiple suites and signs are not common. My first glance inside was a strange one, walls were a dark green marble looking material, with lots of gold plated/​colored borders. I really thought I had stepped into a Matlock rerun (not that Andy Griffith was there solving yet another crime), from the walls to the multi-​colored couches with the plastic coverings around the back, it was a sight. When I walked up to the desk, I was not greeted with a simple eye contact or smile, rather I waited about 2 minutes before being acknowledged. Filled out some minor paperwork and then saw, who I assumed was my masseuse, out of the corner of my eye waiting for me to be done. There was a quick intro, then he led me back through to the room so I could prep for the massage. During the session, no music besides for the faint sounds of the radio pop station in the other room and his (the masseuse’s) constant sniffling. Every time he pushed hard enough to make my body move or shift, there was a (don’t know what else to call it) farting type noise because I was laying on a plastic bed with a thin fitted sheet on it. So then of course I couldn’t relax with that because I would try to brace myself to prevent myself from moving and making the loud noise. Oh so relaxing. Not.
The massage itself was so-​so, definitely nothing I would recommend or do again. It was near impossible to relax and not worth even half of what I paid. He had a microwave timer on the entire time so when it buzzed at the end, he just said okay the session is over and left the room. I don’t know, maybe I expect too much but even at the generic/​non-​exclusive massage places do their best to give you a relaxing experience. They offer water, let you know what’s going on, ask if there’s anything else that can be done, etc. This was nowhere close. I figured a salon in Frontenac would be a special treat, but I was completely wrong and should have put that money towards services at massage envy or luxe.
Per the facial–
That was a much better experience. If I would have that type or service/​specialist the entire time, I might have a more positive review. The facialist (?) walked me through the experience, explaining each process and asking if I needed anything/​had questions. It was a very relaxing experience during that process.