Shizuka New York Day Spa

I went there for the Classic Men's Facial and also decided to get the Swedish Massage. Total Charge for both of these services was around $240 (about $120 ish each). The facial was just about OK. The massage was absolutely horrible and in no way Swedish or relaxing. I told the masseur very clearly that my end goal was to get rid of the knots in my neck and back and she recommended her Swedish. I asked for the Shiatsu but she insisted the Swedish is good. So I went along. Then, in the allotted 50 mins, she spent upwards of 30 mins rubbing cream or oil on my hands and legs and spent maybe 5 mins on my back.

For the high end price point they charge, I will never go back.

Tons of great places abound for around 60% of their price point.

Overall though - very courteous staff. Neat place. They offer you some tea at the end - which was the best part of my $240 (mis)adventure

Edit: The owner called me and provided a refund. Thank you!

Got the classic facial today with Satoi. It was super relaxing and actually almost fell asleep during the extraction part because she was so gentle. The receptionist was welcoming, I felt super pampered and relaxed. My face glowed afterwards, it was the best facial I've ever gotten. Unfortunately, they told me that they're closing soon, May 12th is their last day so planning to frequent them again very soon. It's so sad to hear after finally finding a gem.

What a way to lose customers.

My colleague likes this spa and has had a handful of services performed here so I thought that purchasing a gift certificate for a swedish massage would be a fantastic gift idea for him for the holidays.

Boy was I wrong!

The process to purchase the gift certificate online was simple enough - pretty seamless however when I attempted to check out, the total price jumped upwards of $6 from $115.00 to about $121.00. I contacted the spa and spoke with a very nice receptionist who attempted to convince me that the $6.00 charge was NYS sales tax although the verbiage on their site clearly reads: GIFT CERTIFICATE PRICES INCLUDE NEW YORK STATE TAX.

I was then advised that I needed to speak with the owner - Shizuka when she got in this afternoon. To her credit, Shizuka did call me back but guess what?! Instead of eating the $6 charge, paying the tax herself and processing my gift certificate, she preferred to attempt to argue the upcharge to me to which I wanted no part. REALLY?! For $6, you certainly cannot keep me on the phone.

Bad business practice will get you nowhere. I would be careful with this one folks. This is a matter of principle. I would think that a business owner would welcome BUSINESS not try to fight with potential customers over such a nominal amount. At the end of the day, if you are willing to go to such lenghts as to cast blame on everyone but yourself, it's clear you'll definitely cut corners and in my opinion cannot be trusted.

I have no intention of ever using Shizuka's services.

You may want to think twice before patroning these folks.

Shizuka is a very nice day spa.

It is clean, relaxing, and the girls working are quite pleasant and accommodating. Shizuka is soft spoken, attentive, and has flawless skin - she must know what she's doing.

I went in for the infrared sauna which I used for an hour, rinsed in the high-tech shower, slipped in a kimono-like bathrobe and comfy slippers, and touched up in the makeup room before heading back out in chilly, hustling-bustling NYC streets.

I intend to frequent Shizuka regularly for the infrared sauna, which is kind of like therapy for me and is supposed to be health-inducing. I think the key to having a good experience at Shizuka is regarding it as more kind of a therapeutic sanctuary than a medical spa.

But that's just my humble opinion.

This place came highly recommended to me. I don't live in the city but I wanted to go to the best. I brought a package of 5 for IPL. Not good....
Place is nice, staff is nice... Treatment is not worth the price tho.

Very disappointed.

This is my 2nd time getting a facial ever and first time at this place and it was during Spa Week so it cost half what it normally cost and I don't know if that was why, but it felt just ok to me. I didn't get any extractions this time since I was afraid I would end up breaking out so it felt like they rubbed some lotion on my face and wiped it off. They put this wasabi mask which makes your skin feel hot, but I didn't feel a thing. They did say for some people they don't feel anything, but I really felt like I paid them to put lotion on my face and wipe it off.

Anyway, I didn't break out this time which was good, but I didn't notice any changes in my skin either. I guess I had too high of an expectation. A friend of mine who went with me had a Japanese masseuse while mine was caucasian and she loved her facial. Maybe that's the difference?

I checked out Shizuka after reading an article in New York magazine online about their LED gel manicure. They are also having a $40 manicure special until Labor Day. This was my first time getting any kid of gel manicure. Kimoko was my manicurist and she was very nice. Heavy accented, but she was very knowledgable and helpful with any questions I had about the manicure. You get to pick from a few color options. I decided on a natural pink with a darker pink/purple gradiation at the tip. She uses the Presto brand LED gels. With each layer that she applys, you stick your hand under the LED light for a few seconds and "presto" it's dry. After a basic manicure, she applies a base coat, two color coats, and then the top coat. I love my manicure (check pic posted). Hopefully it lasts the entire two weeks because I am extremely rough with my hands. I will you guys a status update soon!

OMG! I had one of the best facials ever!!! Not just any facial, An Anti-Ageing Photo Facial. I have Rosacea and my skin is super sensitive. My aesthetician Miss. Takumi, has hands of gold. Very soft spoken and delicate. She made me so relaxed. The laser that was used really took the red and broken capillaries out that are associated with Rosacea. Will totally come back and I highly recommend this spa.
See you soon.
Best
Flor Leopold

UPDATED Review: 3/22/2012

Sadly, for my update, I had to change my rating from 5 stars to just 2 stars.

This used to be my favorite place for facials, but sadly it isn't anymore. They no longer offer the facial that I like (in fact their list for facials changed a bit.) And my favorite aesthetician Lisa is no longer there. I've tried a few of the other aestheticians but the results haven't been as consistent.

It also seems to me that the spa's focus changed a bit. They used to focus a lot more on skin care treatments, but now they are moving into more cosmetic treatments (they have a list of different treatments for eyelashes - tinting, perming, extentions, etc.)

I used to think of this place as the experts of skincare because their skin treatments were wonderful and the whole place was extremely relaxing. The waiting room was nice and quiet and all the clients came out looking refreshed. Now that they focus more on cosmetic treatments, the clientele changed and I no longer get the nice zen feeling while I'm there.

I miss the former Shizuka experience. t I guess all good things come to an end, and I must move on as well.

What a pity. This place COULD work. They have this nice space, and their heart is in the right place, I think. However, their 80 minute facial is actually more like 40 minutes, because they leave you unattended for the 1st 10 minutes during the steam treatment and then, toward the end, w/ the mask on for 30 minutes. But that's not really the worst part. The woman (she appeared to be Russian) was terrible--her fingers felt bony and her touch was harsh. I have received significantly better facials in Chinatown for the 1/5 of the price.

$160 + tip for THAT? I don't think so. They need to hire better arithmeticians and think about the contents of the services they provide.