la vita bella day spa & salon

Sybaritic by nature, I enjoy getting SPA treatments when I'm traveling or on vacation. (I invite you to check out my other Spa reviews) Because of the great reviews I saw online and the fact that my family has an oceanfront vaca spot here, I gave this place a shot. We started off on an awkward foot as I walked into the Spa to a tiny reception room where every seat was taken by an employee deep in a conversation which I felt bad to interrupt.---Luxury MassageLed back to the treatment room I found the Tiffany blue & brown color scheme very pleasing but sadly also very bright! We need some room darkening shades here & forgot my sleep mask!Roxanne was the massage therapist & gave me directions to start face up. Things were going well except I got scratched by her nails and I flinched - she said "Oh sorry, I cut my nails this morning but I guess I forgot to file them" Oh dear. It's sorta hard to relax waiting to be scratched again or not flinching when it happens. I asked for a towel or something to put over my eyes because the room was so bright (see picture) and she said in a monotone voice "Oh yeah, I usually offer this" and she went & got a nice lavender bean type pillow. Nice! She also mentioned that light darkening curtains were on their way. Good idea!...OK, now, trying to relax... breathe deep, don't flinch, hard to do when you're waiting for the next scrape, finally after scratching my inner upper arm - I yelped a bit, jerked up a bit, pulled away, & peeked and saw a long red welt! "OW!"- I think she saw it, too because she smacked her gum, sighed, and said in a bit of a desultory tone, "let me go file my nails" I replied, "that's a good idea - I'll just relax here, no worries" a LONG 5-8 min later (while she was gone I counted 3 scratch marks) she comes back in and I can tell she's off her game and really, so was I....but...well, what do you do? Call it all off? Get dressed & storm out? I wasn't raised that way! I guess we were determined to just get through this. I did like the hot stones & steamy towels on feet, though! Honestly, it was one of the worst massages I've ever had -- NOT a great experience. What also bugged me was that she was chewing gum the whole time - snap, snap, chew. Hard to relax when you hear that, right?Now..onto the next treatment (honestly, I really thought of asking to leave by this point but one must persevere on!) Lois, the owner, leads me to another treatment room... a nice dark one! YAY! But sadly, this was also not going to end up being relaxing.---Back TreatmentIt's almost spring & I'm already thinking of strappy sundresses so getting a back cleansing & exfoliating treatment sounded good. Unfortunately the table I was laying upon didn't have a doughnut face cradle so I had to put my head to one side, then the other side, which sort of was uncomfortable. So I scooted up to put my face over the edge at the top, but holding it up was a bit of a pain (in the neck! LOL) - meanwhile my back was buffed, exfoliated, & cleansed - tingly and wonderful! Seeing my discomfiture midway through the treatment, Lois offered me a pillow -- Ahh much better! YAY! At the end of the treatment though I was ready to leave but my back did feel nice & refreshed!----Final ThoughtsWhile I was paying up and checking out, I suggested to the owner she get some white & dark blue felt from the fabric store & tack it up on the inside of the window (white out, of course) to help dampen the street noise & to cheaply cancel the bright light. I didn't mention the scratching or the uncomfortable treatment table, just complimented the pretty paint & colour scheme then beat a quick retreat.I had follow up services scheduled later in the week (mani, pedi, & eyebrow waxing) but had to cancel because of a repair man.... and honestly? I wasn't all that upset.There's a lot of potential here, great location, near Bethany Beach, great parking, & lovely decorations. But a lot of kinks to work out, too....maybe hot stones will help! But no scratching!

This day spa is by far the best in Delaware. i had my nails done here and from start to finish i was pampered. greeted warmly by their receptionist and all their staff was so nice and friendly. i was so relaxed i didn't want to leave. I'm definitely coming back!

Who knew I'd have such a wonderful facial in this little beach town. The lady who did my facial is a former massage therapist and it showes. Great touch with the facial. Highly recommend!!!!