Kimochi Body N Sole Sanctuary

From customer service making the appointment to bad directions and THE WORST MASSAGE EVER… Was bad all around. Sorry:-/

I have had massages all over the country and in Atlanta. This was by far THE WORST massage EVER. After about 15 minutes (in which I prayed it would get better) I should have simply left. She also was at least 15 minutes late. She entered the building, perhaps coming from across the street. Even with the coupon I had this was no deal. I was more stressed after the massage than before… how does that happen?

My voucher was for a massage at Kimochi and she has not returned my calls from December 2012 to schedule an appointment. Do not waste your time buying a voucher from half off for a massage. Kimochi does not return calls. I should have known something was going to happen since I only paid $ 17.50 for the voucher which was originally $ 35. So I cant rate her massage but her professional behavior is awful.

Horrible experience, stay away — very unprofessional and rude. Makes it almost impossible to make an appointment and redeem voucher. Did not make me feel welcome, and explicitly told me she is waiting for her next client, so I have to fill out some useless paperwork, otherwise Im losing massage time. I left without redeeming the voucher, do not buy.

I had a wonderful experience! The therapist was amazing and the overall energy in the place was peaceful. I walked in tense and walked out relaxed, clear, and focused on getting my body in optimum condition.
Here are the highlights:
— Very friendly
— The therapist tended to my body’s needs and not only what I paid for. I truly felt cared for.
I would definitely come back because the massage and therapist were on point. Ambiance is important, but what I find essential are good chi + talented work. Give them a try + open your mind/​body to the blessing

UNPROFESSIONAL!!! DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!!!
LONG REVIEW BUT WORTH THE READ.
I went to Kimochi and received a pretty good massage about year or so ago. So, I bought a gift certificate for my Mother shortly thereafter so we could get our massages together. However, we always had trouble getting scheduled because both of us wanted two hour massages. Understandable because I know this is not a big operation like Spa Sydell. I FINALLY get the massages booked earlier this month for tomorrow 3÷31÷2012. The scheduling conversation was a bit weird because whoever answered the phone (she never gave her name) seemed extremely distracted and I wasn’t given a definite time for our appointments. I was told that the appointment would be 2pm or 2:30pm and that someone would call me back closer to the appointment date to confirm. Well, today when I did not receive a call for our appointments tomorrow, I called in. I spoke with Fred who advised that our appointment time had been changed to 6:00pm. I told Fred that originally I was told 2pm or 2:30pm and did not believe that we could accept an appointment at that time and may need to reschedule. I advised my Mother of the new appointment time and she attempted to call in to find out about getting a refund since the gift certificate will be expiring in a little over a week. Fred advised that he would have a «supervisor» call my Mother back. Instead I received a call from a very flustered Kim who EVENTUALLY identified herself as the owner of Kimochi. She very angrily explained that SHE had been trying to call me for three days but had been unable to reach me because SHE wrote my number down incorrectly — definitely seems like I’m not in the wrong here, right? I explained to Kim that 6pm would not work for us on such short notice. Again, with a lot of attitude, Kim goes on to explain that a workshop is scheduled between 9am and 5pm, which is why our appointments were moved to 6pm. I told Kim I can appreciate that, but on short notice, it just wasn’t possible. I asked Kim about my Mother’s gift certificate and whether we could be accommodated beyond the expiration date which is a little over a week away. This began a debate of whether I had purchased a voucher or a gift certificate. I thought I had purchased a gift certificate, but honesty, it was a year ago and hasn’t been in my possession since that time. I asked if it mattered which one I had as far as honoring it past its expiration date. Kim advised that it did not matter, which begs the question as to why I was asked.
In any event, by this time Kim is growing increasingly more agitated which is curious because everything that has transpired has been a result of something she either did or did not do. All I did, unfortunately, is schedule the appointment at an unprofessional establishment. At this point, I remember my Mother is on my other line and I join her to the call. Kim offered to have my Mother and I come in at 8am on tomorrow for our massages and then said whatever massage therapist we have can go to the workshop late. This made me very uncomfortable. Why would I want a massage from someone who I am aware is missing another engagement because of me? And yet again, not possible for us to do an 8am appointment on such short notice. So I ask again, can we either get a refund for the gift certificate or can we schedule any time past the expiration date. Kim stated that the policy is no refunds and to accommodate us she will JUST cancel her WHOLE WORKSHOP AND EVERYTHING THEY HAVE GOING TO ACCOMMODATE US — The way she said it made me very uncomfortable. Why would I want to get a massage by people or in an establishment where I have clearly caused a workshop to be canceled through no real fault of my own. I told Kim that I just wasn’t comfortable coming in and would prefer to get a refund. Kim advised that the policy was no refunds. I asked that in this case since we are not truly being accommodated if there could be an exception. When Kim hesitated, my Mother asked if she was the owner of the salon and Kim was reluctant to answer which is curious. A very agitated Kim said, I’m canceling everything to accommodate you, I don’t know what else I can do. I tried to explain my discomfort but a very rude Kim cut me off and said let’s both take a moment and I will call you back. I have yet to receive the call, but will update when I do. The call isn’t really necessary because I have made my decision. Kim and Kimochi can keep the money that I spent on the gift certificate because I am sure that money is already spent anyway, but my advice to Kim is to spend the money on a good receptionist or a business etiquette course. You just lost two customers and hopefully any other potential customer who reads this review.

I started going to Kim last month, and it’s made a major difference in various areas where I’ve been having issues. I’m very physically active, and do yoga, but there are specific areas where I’m not able to release tension, and working with Kim consistently for over 2 months has made a huge difference.
I think it’s very key to communicate what your issues are so that you can get feedback, which make a major difference in focus.
I’ll be going consistently as long as I can.

This was by far the most uncomfortable and bizarre «swedish» massage I have ever had, and I have had many. (I say «swedish» with quotation marks because I’ve never had one where my stomach and throat were pressed on like they were here. Or one where my toe and finger bones felt dislocated.)
I arrived early for my appt, but b/​c they couldn’t find me on the books at first we started late, so that cut the one-​hour massage I had paid for to 45 minutes intead. I don’t know who the masseuse was since she didn’t even introduce herself — she was very brusque and unfriendly, and the tempo of the massage was fast with such hard and sudden movements that is was the opposite of relaxing. (It was probably better that it was cut short since an hour would have been borderline unbearable.) I have never wanted to say «ouch!» so many times during a massage. Everything was just incredibly uncomfortable, which she blamed on my breathing.
This is the first time I have ever NOT given a tip — usually I tip $ 15 – 20, sometimes more, but she abruptly left the room and I didn’t see her again so I left it at that. I had a discount voucher so maybe that explains the bad service, but even if that were the case that’s a pretty poor business approach.

So apparently, if you get the African-​American man you had an amazing time.
IF YOU HAVE SOME WOMAN named Kim… DO NOT GO…
Right after my massage I told myself I would Unilocal this place right away because I was so upset. The place did not seem that big or that professional. I wanted a Swedish Shiatsu, and I do not know what massage I even got. There was no peaceful music, the woman kept sighing every five minutes, and she went under my time. She was not graceful at all when moving my body parts, and some massages hurt too much, or were not strong enough at all. She never spoke to me once during the massage to ask where I wanted focused spots or if I wanted more pressure.
SO upset after.

I just had the most amazing massage, I felt like I was floating afterwards! Fred was extremely professional, kind, and posses a very therapeutic spirit. I’ve experienced many massages over the past two decades and I have to say this was the very best I’ve ever experienced!
He did a deep tissue as I requested, the environment is very grounding & peaceful, and the colors/​sounds/​scents are all soothing. I highly recommend them!!! The only down fall is phone call returns do fluctuate. I am appreciative that they honored my coupon after having to change my appointment several times! I was very pleased and happy that they were so kind about accommodating my situational needs. Because face it, they could have said sorry you didn’t make your appt so tough shit… that did not happen and I was treated like a Queen!!!

um, no.
first of all, they don’t answer their phone and it took 2 days for them to return my call. then i had to reschedule and it took from friday morning to monday afternoon for a return call for them to confirm my new time. the next day i got a message from someone saying they were waiting for me to arrive. i called back and spoke to a man, explaining i’d rescheduled my appointment for the following day. clearly the change had not been made.
the best thing i can say about kimochi is that it smelled good. but the sketchy just off ponce strip mall nail salon entrance/​location was the first off-​putting observation. i waited for 15 minutes past my appointment time and at which time i was presented with paperwork to complete and presented my Crowdcut voucher. my actual massage started about 25 minutes past the scheduled appointment time.
the room was fine, but the music was not relaxing at all. my massage was not enjoyable or therapeutic in the least. i asked for a swedish massage and i think i got a thai or shiatzu. the therapists movements were jerky and hurried and it reminded me of someone nudging me to wake me up from a nap but with much more force. i felt like i was going to be pushed off the table. there was way too much thumb action. honestly it was a bit painful and not in the hurt so good kinda way i normally get from a massage.
my hour massage was really only 50 minutes, but i was quite happy when it was over anyway.

I would give less than one star if I could!
I called the spa at 1:20 PM to request detailed information about the location since the specific address did not register in my GPS. I left a message with my phone number and drove toward Monroe expecting to receive a call from a spa representative to direct me to the business. I never received a return call and arrived at the spa at 2:10 PM (for a 2:00 appointment) because I started my quest at the wrong end of Monroe. The reception area was vacant when I arrived and one other customer waited. A women came out to greet everyone and asked who arrived first. When we explained our arrival order, she escorted the other client to a service room. After the client finished her service, the women returned to the reception area and asked what services I needed. When I explained I was here for a massage, she said she needed to go in the back to inform the therapist. Another woman (I can only refer to her as ‘the woman’, ‘she’, or ‘her’ because she never introduced herself) came to the reception area and asked if I wanted a 30 minute massage (no greeting, introduction, or water offered). I said no and explained that I had a Half Off Depot voucher for a 60 minute massage, arrived 15 minutes ago, and would have arrived earlier if she returned my phone call. The women huffed off as she said she needed to have me complete a document. She returned with a clip board and asked to see my voucher. I explained that my voucher was stored on my i-​phone and the woman refused to accept it. When I asked the women if she had a printer, she said no and told me to leave to get it printed and re-​schedule my appointment. At this point I told her I was no longer interested in receiving services here and would request a refund. She said that was fine and she was sorry I did not come to my appointment prepared.
This was the WORSE and most unprofessional spa experience EVER! The customer service left must to be desired.

Ok so my review will be a bit skewed because I used to be a massage therapist for 10 years. I walk in and a woman in the middle of a service comes out hands covered in product to ask me what service I was there for I say massage. I had gotten a coupon on line. I ask her if I could fill out some paper work to move things along and she shows me her hands and is pretty rude. She goes back to her work, then comes back out again to inform me my therapist is running late and the clock on the wall is not right, I check my phone which is off too, I wait for 15 minutes after my massage is scheduled and the therapist comes out, she is very nice. She gets me some paperwork and about 5 minutes later she is walking me to a room. She also asks me to change into some slippers, I understand they want to you to feel like you are coming into a relaxed atmosphere, but these slippers were gross. We get into the room and I notice its a bit snug. She starts the massage, which is ok but she is having to pull me on the table and push me back when she is done to do her work, this doesnt work. Not to mention I am hearing everything from the lobby sounds from other customers and workers, to a drilling sound that made me think I was in a dentist office, to someone microwaving their lunch. She also leaves the room 3 times which in my book is not a good habit to have, this means you arent important enough for me to give you my full attention. Not to mention they dont take credit card what business would do this, I know times are hard but if you dont take credit card this means sometimes your people dont get tips and this is unacceptable. I had only a credit card and decided to mail her a check an innconvience to me but to not get a tip at all is wrong! I had a hard time finding the place too because unlike the other reviewer it was not in the old place on Ponce it was on Monroe in another spa, again I know times are hard. I really dont understand why spas think it is ok not to sound proof rooms that need to be tranquil. Over all not good even if there was a coupon wouldnt go back.

Even though we all know massage is good for you, I am not Ed McMahon, so I don’t get one as often as I should.
I live with daily tension and knots within my shoulders/​neck, but some days are so terrible, only a sleep-​a-​thon (lying on my back, which um, I’m sure could be a good thing) will relieve the pressure.
Yesterday, after work and looking forward to even more work, the tension was killing me. I drive by Kimochi, behind MJQ, to and from home. They’ve had a sign up advertising three 45 minute massages for $ 99.
So I walked in at around 4pm, and it was pretty dead. The place is small, and surprisingly clean and has a pleasant, earthy, Sevenanda-​ish herbal smell to it. There were no other customers, and one employee. He was very professional and super chill. They have about six beds lined up, separated by cloth dividers; it reminded me of how massage parlors are set up in Asia.
I had told the masseuse exactly where I was hurting, and that I liked hard pressure. He could sense exactly what I needed, and spent a huge chunk of time on my neck/​shoulders/​back; exactly as I had requested. I was surprised that we had enough time to make it a full body massage, despite the focus on my neck/​shoulders. It didn’t seem rushed at all for a 45 minute massage.
This place is really good on several levels: 1) Great Price 2) Intimate Atmosphere so you don’t feel like you’re at a Spa Sydell or Massage Envy or any other massage factory 3) Natural oils like Sesame, Lavender Rosemary 4) Their philosophy about massage is that it’s «healing» and that the masseuse should have a mental awareness of the client’s body and what it’s feeling. Yeah, kind of a crunchy hippy attitude, but it’s always nicer when someone says they have an active interest in how you’re feeling while giving you a massage. Better that then some bored college drop out finding a way to earn a buck.
I think they have a membership aspect as well, so that if you are the type of person that gets ‘x’ number of massages a month, it’s cheaper to be a member and pay monthly, like a gym membership.
Oh, one thing to know: They do not take credit cards. Cash or check.