Senses Spa booking

[Truxi]

So my mom and I are talking about doing a Disney trip at the end of January. She's not a huge Disney fan so she's leaving most of the planning to me (beyond deciding that she'd rather stay at BW than Poly, and grumbling that it had better not be cold).

I'm thinking of surprising her with a gift card for Senses Spa so she can get a massage and enjoy the facilities (and, tbh, so I can get a few hours to myself because I love my mom but she is...a bit much in long doses).

I'd like to do that for her Christmas present, but I'm not sure if that will be enough time for her to book a session. Is one month enough advance time?


(Also, are there separate facilities for the men and women? How far does that extend? My mom is pentecostal, so I don't think she'd be willing to enjoy the whirlpool if there were men around)

 

[ErinsMommy]

When I went to the Senses Spa I didn't see any men at all in the waiting area in the back where you wait for whatever service your getting, nor anywhere near the changing room area. And my husband has always been able to reserve a spot for me as late as a couple of weeks before we arrived. Also my husband was never able to pay in advance, they just told him it would be added to the room charge.

 

[cincystamper]

Agreed with ErinsMommy. When I booked massages for my mom and I, they asked if we'd prefer a female therapist or if it mattered. So when you DO book, just make sure they note that you want a female if they don't specifically ask. And when we checked in, they called back and specifically said "we need a female attendant to the desk"...which is what I heard them say for the two other women we saw check in as we were leaving. The whirlpool and sauna are in the changing lounge so it will be women only. There's plenty of space for privacy for changing, too, in case that's a concern. It was a lovely afternoon for my mom and I and we're looking forward to doing it again on our next trip.

I booked our appointments about a month in advance. About a week in advance, I altered them. We were planning on massages and manicures and decided a little late to do them on different days and extend our massage time. They were able to schedule the manicures for later (which is what we wanted) but couldn't extend the massage times because of their schedules being booked already. I would think one month in advance should be okay, especially if she's flexible on the date/time. (We were somewhat locked into our schedule and couldn't really move our appointments around.)

What if you go ahead and book the appointment for her and then at Christmas it could be the gift card and a note with her appointment time and what service(s) she's getting? If she truly objects, you could either take her appointment time and get your 'me time' that way while she stays at the resort or you'd still have plenty of time to cancel the appointment.

 

[Truxi]

I might do that instead!

I'm planning on it just being a Disney gift card so if she decides she doesn't want to do it at all, she can still use it while we're there.

Thank y'all both for the info! That's a really big help!

(This is so much more difficult than planning the disney trip with my bff this past jan. BFF and I like a lot of the same things, and I knew at least a few things that would utterly delight him. Mom is...a tougher customer. Also *sigh* no drinking)

 

[Shellyred8]

One of the things my mom really enjoyed on our last trip was the mini golf. She's not much into the thrill rides either.

Have a great trip and cherish these memories with her...she won't be around forever.

 

[Jadyreen1282]

My wife and I get massages every trip. We need them. We get the couples massage and we get ready in separate rooms. You can use the facilities the whole day so we come early, use the pool, sit in the hot tub, sauna, relax and hydrate then have the massage. We head back to the pool after and hang there. It's an all afternoon affair for us.