Watercourse Way – Palo Alto

I booked a one-hour soaking tub experience at Watercourse Way in February, and, as always requested by Spa Index, took another person with me so that we could both review and give input on our Spa Review for their "Best Of" Series. We were mostly delighted with our experience.

THE PROS:

We had a wonderful experience in the facility itself. Very soothing. A nice private room. Clean. The water was nice and warm without being too steamy. The tubs were clean, and our private room had a resting area with towels, a shower on the tiled wall with nice body wash and shampoo, plenty of seating area inside the water, and a nice skylight to stream the sun inside. The décor around the entire spa was lovely. Serene. We found plenty of parking in the area, on the street. We thought the price -- $45 per person for 1 hour (except as noted below, we were shorted) -- was a bargain for a safe, socially distanced experience. My companion was an elderly woman and I asked for a recommendation as to which room would be best, and they suggested Room 4 because she could descend the stairs down into the tub, instead of having to climb OVER short sides in other tubs, and that was a very good suggestion.

THE CONS:

We took away one star and noted the disinterested counter staff. We felt the front desk lacked hospitality for first time guests. We had to ask about every single thing — even drinking water. Pre-pandemic we understood there would be beverages offered, but none were on display and we were offered none -- not until we asked were we given a mini bottle of water.

There seemed to be no interest in welcoming us with details of what we were about to enjoy, or instructions how to use the hot tubs. As if they presumed "we'd figure it out" even though we were first time guests.

The front desk took us back 6 minutes late after our one hour time slot and told us they'd knock on the door 10 minutes before our session was over, but, they did so at 10 minutes before our original stop-time, so we had to exited at 54 minutes. We lost those 6 minutes with no explanation.

At the beginning of our 54 minute session, we used the call button to get help with very lackluster jets in the tub, and a man at the counter told us our options were a) cancel the session because it would take a while for maintenance, or b) come to the desk afterwards for a discount on a future visit. Oddly he didn’t suggest c) offering to send somebody in to make sure we were using the controls correctly. Instead he d) recommended we just “fiddle with it”. I suppose there was no time for someone to offer to come to our tub. As I said. Very disinterested counter staff.

Finally, when we arrived to check in for our experience, we had to pre-pay, which is fine, but they also asked us to consider what tip we wanted to leave -- BEFORE THE EXPERIENCE HAD BEGUN. This perplexed us because how could determine a tip before the experience? We left the standard minimum trusting it would be okay, but had we been able to enjoy the tub and tip afterward, it may have been different. This is more important for service providers like massage therapists or estheticians, so perhaps this was a practice on the tub rooms only, because had it been requested to pre-tip for a personal service, I would have declined to do so, instead waiting for the service to be performed so that we would could tip accordingly.

We would definitely return, but would hope that on our next visit, we'd be greeted and treated more warmly.

This place is by far one of the best spas in the area. I spent one hour in the hot tub & steam room and really enjoyed myself. The staff is very friendly and enthusiastic. I can't wait to book my next appointment for a massage, hot tub and steam room!

Peaceful and relaxing. Love the hot tub rooms.