Amatista Spa at The Westin Bear Mountain Resort & Spa

Disappointed – Didn’t Live Up to Expectations

My wife and I recently visited Amatista Spa for the Indian Scalp Massage, and unfortunately, we both left disappointed. Having had this treatment before elsewhere, I was really excited to share the experience with my wife—but it didn’t live up to the hype I had given it.

The massage lacked the combination of firm and gentle pressure that makes this treatment so therapeutic. Instead, it felt overly light and repetitive, without the deep relaxation or circulation boost we were expecting. To top it off, my wife left the session without any oil in her hair at all, which is a fundamental part of a proper Indian scalp massage.

For the price point, we expected something more authentic, immersive, and restorative. Sadly, it just wasn’t worth the cost.

My husband and I treated ourselves to a day at the spa for our birthdays. We had heard great things about the spa and their mineral pool. We were a little taken aback by the price of the offerings, but decided to treat ourselves and enjoy a day of luxury!

The Good:
Staff were welcoming and informative. The atmosphere was relaxed & friendly and we did not feel rushed. The recent renovation has ‘lifted’ the decor; the space is bright and has a luxury feel. We were able to book our appointments on short notice and our RMT was wonderful.

Treatment rooms are spacious; the beds are comfortable and heated! If you prefer your bed cool, be sure to note that when booking.

Robes, towels & slippers are provided, along with complementary bathroom products (shampoo, conditioner etc). Albeit the products were poor quality and not what one would expect of a premium spa.

The relaxation room is well appointed and the view is wonderful. Complementary snacks (chocolate covered almonds, mixed nuts etc) are available at the weekend. Complementary beverages are self serve too. A menu is available for ordering larger plates, shareables & beverages, for an additional charge.

The food we ordered was delicious and of average cost for hotel food- a little more expensive than normal but the quality made up for the price.

The Bad:
When a place charges TOP prices, one expects TOP services & amenities. This spa is undergoing renovations; which was not expressed to us at any point before arrival. Meaning certain features were unavailable; including the mineral pool that we had been so looking forward to.

The men’s change area is closed for renovations; this means that only the locker room area is accessible to male spa attendees- there was no private space for changing. The men’s toilet was located in another area of the hotel- outside of the spa. There is one shower available to male guests- upon request! It is located in a treatment room with no lock.

If you’re interested in the complementary snacks/beverages be quick! Once they’re gone, they’re gone! This area was not refreshed when items were used up.

The Grotto was not set up or inviting during our visit. Chairs were missing their cushions and when I ventured outside to look at the view, the door locked behind me. I tried knocking on the door to alert staff to no avail. I used my cell to call the front desk, but my call went unanswered. In the end I had to call my husband to come rescue me! So, fair warning, if you do venture outside take your cell phone with you.

The mineral pool was drained and closed during our visit. The signage says it is closed for cleaning, but it seems the pool has been closed for months. As another commenter mentions, the steam room is also unusable; despite our efforts and patience, the room remained cool and unpleasant.The closure of the pool was a real blow to us and it was not brought to our attention at any point during our booking. Perhaps a banner on the website explaining that the pool is closed would save future guests from disappointed.

A sizeable MANDATORY gratuity is automatically added to your bill- which is thrust at you as soon as you arrive for payment. We were charged a $70 gratuity for two, 1 hour RMT treatments ?

$195 + Tax + $70 MANDATORY gratuity = $483.22 for a two massages ?

The Ugly:
The main Spa area was immaculate, the changing area, Grotto, steam room and sauna, not so much ?

We were at the Spa for four hours, in that time we did not witness the common areas being cleaned/swept. Used towels were left in the women’s private change room for the entirety of our visit. The change room floors were dirty and the wet/hot areas need a good scrub! Tiles covered in mildew, shower heads covered in build up/slime(?) and surfaces left with the markings of past guests.

The lock on the women’s private change area did not work and the soap dispensers in the toilet area needed to be refilled. The shower curtains are too small, offering no privacy, and only 1/3 lights work in the shower area.

Oh man, what a disappointment. I was gifted a $150 voucher for the spa last year at my baby shower. Now that my daughter is 10 months old, I was so excited to have my first pedicure in a year, and a swanky one from Bear Mountain to boot!

When I arrived, I was informed I could not have gel polish as I didn’t add in the notes that I wanted gel when I booked online. The receptionist left to go ask the technician if we can fit gel into my 90 minute appointment, and the answer was No. Fair enough. I said I would make do with standard polish as I had already driven half an hour to make the appointment.

Because I was only getting polish, the color choices were very minimal, and the bright turquoise color I had my heart set on wasn’t available. Nor was my back-up color. I decided to just go with bright white as none of the other colors were to my liking.

The pedicure itself was nice and relaxing, and once I was done, I followed instructions to sit in the lounge for 15 minutes to ensure the polish fully dries. By the time I got home and got a good look at my new nails, I was so disappointed. I’m going to have to either buy white polish and go over it myself, or just take it all off and go back to bare toes. Considering the pedicure was $150 (more than double what I normally pay) I had much higher hopes than what I got. My girlfriend came over shortly after I got home and remarked that it’s the worst pedicure she’s ever seen, and I happen to agree. I wish I had used my certificate on a massage or a facial, and I don’t think I will be back for another pedicure. My hopes were very high, and I was so excited to treat myself and I left extremely disappointed with the outcome.