Angela "I eat to Yelp!" C.'s Profile

Came here for Hawt on Yelp.  I actually came here twice in one week because I had such a great experience the first time around!

The first time I came I got a waxing, and was taken care of by Marissa.  She was amazing - so gentle and kind - very easy to talk to even in awkward positions (if you know what I mean).  She first put a little bit of wax on my skin and asked me if it was too hot - thank you for asking, a lot of places don't!  Luckily it was just right so she proceeded to do her thing.  I always pop in 2 advil and put on some "don't scream cream" before I go in for a wax so it makes this bearable.  I left feeling completely satisfied and decided to take advantage of the Hawt on Yelp deals by booking a 2nd appointment for their Organic Facial (regularly priced at $110).  

The organic facial experience was wonderful.  When I first walked in, they had me wait in their private waiting area and brought me out their homemade herbal and orange tea (they grow their own oranges here) along with a mini biscotti.  I relaxed away in a plush chair that leaned back while I waited.  Then Marissa came to get me - I guess she does everything here!  The facial was so relaxing and rejuvenating.  I left glowing and happy.

Before I end this review, I must talk about the ambiance and service because this place truly is a special, unique place amidst the big, corporate type spas found in most of Orange County.

Ambiance - very intimate.  Everything is dark wood with dim lighting.  They decorated the place with bamboo like furnishings and orchid centerpieces.  It feels like you just walked into some mountain retreat.  It really makes you forget about daily life.

Service - Both Andres and Marissa were super nice and social.  Marissa talked to me about her hometown in Russia, and when I told her I was going away on honeymoon to Japan she shared with me her experiences there and the beauty of the culture and the people.  It felt like I was talking to an old friend.  Then, as I was checking out, I stayed awhile to talk to Andres who was just as friendly, sharing with me the history of Montanya Spa and their vision of being a boutique type spa - they're intentionally very intimate and customer-service oriented.

I loved my experiences here and would definitely come again!

I would never have heard of Montanya Spa had it not been for this week's Hawt on Yelp 50% off specials that Hazel coordinated (Thank youuu x1000 again Hazel!).  This was the best yelp hosted event ever!  I actually came here twice in one week because I had such a great experience the first time around!

The first time I came I got a waxing, and was taken care of by Marissa.  She was amazing - so gentle and kind - very easy to talk to even in awkward positions (if you know what I mean).  She first put a little bit of wax on my skin and asked me if it was too hot - thank you for asking, a lot of places don't!  Luckily it was just right so she proceeded to do her thing.  I always pop in 2 advil and put on some "don't scream cream" before I go in for a wax so it makes this bearable.  I left feeling completely satisfied and decided to take advantage of the Hawt on Yelp deals by booking a 2nd appointment for their Organic Facial (regularly priced at $110).  

The organic facial experience was wonderful.  When I first walked in, they had me wait in their private waiting area and brought me out their homemade herbal and orange tea (they grow their own oranges here) along with a mini biscotti.  I relaxed away in a plush chair that leaned back while I waited.  Then Marissa came to get me - I guess she does everything here!  The facial was so relaxing and rejuvenating.  I left glowing and happy.

Before I end this review, I must talk about the ambiance and service because this place truly is a special, unique place amidst the big, corporate type spas found in most of Orange County.

Ambiance - very intimate.  Everything is dark wood with dim lighting.  They decorated the place with bamboo like furnishings and orchid centerpieces.  It feels like you just walked into some mountain retreat.  It really makes you forget about daily life.

Service - Both Andres and Marissa were super nice and social.  Marissa talked to me about her hometown in Russia, and when I told her I was going away on honeymoon to Japan she shared with me her experiences there and the beauty of the culture and the people.  It felt like I was talking to an old friend.  Then, as I was checking out, I stayed awhile to talk to Andres who was just as friendly, sharing with me the history of Montanya Spa and their vision of being a boutique type spa - they're intentionally very intimate and customer-service oriented.

I loved my experiences here and would definitely come again!

I wasn't expecting much from BCD, but I thought this particular chain was pretty good for a BCD!  The place was packed out, but we were seated pretty quickly.  I decided to take a walk on the wild side and deviate from my normal kimchi beef tofu soup.  Instead, I got the curry soondubu - it's like the best of both worlds since I love curry and I love soondubu.  It was a nice change from the usual spiciness of other soondubu dishes.  It was chock full of potatoes, carrots, onions, and beef - the same things you'd find in normal Japanese curry.  I think I'm going to try to replicate this at home.  The soondubu was a bit on the watery side, but it was satisfying overall.

My fiance got a combo of ham/sausage soondubu and galbi.  Mmm I couldn't believe the quality of the galbi - it was super juicy and marinated well, and they gave you a decent amount.  I thought the galbi here was better than my favorite Korean place in Irvine - Kaya.  

I only really ate about 2 of their side dishes out of the few they brought out - the other ones didn't look appetizing.  I don't care for the fried fish they give you, but the kimchi and raw oysters were a delight.  This particular BCD impressed me more than any other I've been to and won me over on all levels - taste, cleanliness, service, value.

This place is located in the Fashion Show Mall.  The staff are incredibly helpful and though the store is small, they had about 4-5 various sweetened tea samples, all of which were delish!  Not only can you purchase their large variety of tea leaves and teapots, you can also go up to the counter and just order a drink as if you were in a Starbucks or something.  The teas here are delicious!

Like Arnold W., I too had high expectations for this place - so many people claim that it is THE BEST buffet in Vegas - that's quite high praise considering I've had amazing experiences at the Mandalay Bay and the Bellagio Buffets.  

Saturday brunch is a wallet-breaking $40, yikes!  And this doesn't even include crab legs.  Sure the food was fresh... lots of shrimp cocktail and prime rib to go around.  The other expensive item that might get you to hit that $40 mark is the kobe beef sliders, but too bad they were dry and virtually tasteless.  

The dessert station was small, with maybe about 12-15 different mini dessert options.  From what I remember, Bellagio KILLED in the dessert category!  Mandalay Bay's Bayside Buffet even had a larger selection.

I will pass on The Wynn Buffet on ALL counts.  Big disappointment, at least for lunch - maybe the crab legs at dinner make this place more worth it.

I bought my gorgeous lace wedding dress off the rack for a super discounted price.  One problem - it was a size 12 - it's only about, oh, 10 sizes too big for me!  I didn't know it at the time, but after I bought the dress people told me its not recommended to buy dresses that are more than 2-3 sizes bigger cuz its a lot harder to take in and easier to mess up.  This worried me, but with all the great reviews Make It Fit got on yelp, I took a leap of faith and handed them my dress.

It was one of the best decisions I made throughout this wedding planning process!  These seamstresses really know what they're doing and they sure know how to take care of you with grace and kindness.  I paid an upfront alteration fee of $350, and hoped for the best.

The end result is stunning - you would never be able to tell where they cut and snipped... I imagine it'd be hard to do that with lace.  She didn't try to upcharge me in any way... and even said I didn't need to spend extra money on cleaning my dress or hem the bottom.  She did extra work by trying to find the best way to bustle my dress, but because it didn't look quite right with my super heavy and long train... we found an alternative.  I felt like she did everything to make my dress PERFECT.  There was extra work involved that she did not have to do, but she was insistent on making it perfect.  I even tried to tip her a good amount of money, but she adamantly refused.  Thank you thank you thank you Make It Fit.  You all are amazing.

This is one of the older hotels in Vegas, but it sits right on the strip so its a great location without being overly priced.  They recently renovated a lot of their rooms so everything looks a lot newer and cleaner.  We stayed in a room with 2 full sized beds and a long couch.  The beds were super comfy but I thought the room itself was a bit small.  The bathroom was pretty cool though - they have a TV embedded in the mirror so don't worry about being bored on the throne!

Woooow!  I'm not a big clubber, but this is definitely the best club I have ever stepped foot in!  It's seriously setting a new standard for all future Vegas clubs cuz this place is seriously something else.  Unlike any other club, they have a huge pool, tons of bar areas, lots of seating, and even a gambling area!  This is like a mini hotel in itself.  

It's outdoors with lots of palm trees so it doesnt get hot or stuffy.  It's so big that you can actually find a quieter area within the club to have a real conversation - who woulda thunk?  

It's super pricey for guys right now with admission ranging from $30-50.  Even girls have to pay for the most part!  Luckily we didn't cuz our friend knew someone.  The line may seem crazy long, but we stood in line exactly when the club opened and didn't have to wait much longer than 30 minutes because this club fits about 3000 people.  It's the most happening club in Vegas right now, definitely worth the looksee.

My friend's club promoter friend were able to get us into XS for free, and he also said he'd be able to hook us up with free drinks at Blush at 11pm so we dropped by here after we had already gotten admission into XS.

Blush is called a "boutique club" for a reason - it is on the smaller and more intimate side.  There's one long bar area and some booths with a very small dance floor.  The crowd here is mostly older - I saw A LOT of cougars on the prowl.

As for the free drinks, it wasn't quite what we expected.  We thought it was unlimited alcohol of any sort, but they were only offering free CHAMPAGNE to the women.  You had to get a wristband and be on the guestlist to get the champagne.  Eh, I guess champagne counts as alcohol, and nothing beats free.  This place definitely cannot compete with XS, which is just down the way in the same hotel (Encore).

Yet another cute coffee shop to add to the many that New York has to offer.  While I don't think the quality of coffee is as great as my all time favorite Joe's, this place wasn't a bad alternative.

The ambiance is modern and sleek with the counter in the center of the room with white tables and chairs on the sides.  There's a bunch of tubes running along the walls that are filled with their various beans and its pretty cool to see how they shoot up and around.  They also offer a huge array of self-serve flavorings, which is unique.  Most coffee shops offer your basic sugar, splenda, brown sugar, and milk.  This place offers much much more.

The service was also excellent too!  I got a Guatemalan coffee, but shortly after I ordered it I saw their specialty coffee that was 2x the strength and was curious about it.  The server kindly made me a "sample", but that sample wasn't just some small shot - it was almost the same size as my regular sized coffee!  Generosity goes a long way in the service industry, and that little gesture certainly made a lasting mark in my mind.