Extremely disappointing and deeply unsettling
Extremely disappointing and deeply distressing experience.
My husband booked me a relaxing massage at Mandarin Oriental Geneva as a surprise. We had recently moved back to Switzerland, I was exhausted from the move, and I was genuinely looking forward to an hour of relaxation.
Instead, within minutes, the experience became humiliating.
I am a breast cancer survivor. My cancer was caught early, I am currently undergoing hormonal treatment, and I have approximately two and a half years of treatment remaining. Since my surgery, I have had massages and visited spas in several countries without ever experiencing anything remotely comparable.
When I answered a health-related question from the therapist, Soline, the “Skin Expert,” she visibly reacted with repulsion and told me she could not perform the massage because it would “spread metastases.”
This was shocking and medically presumptuous. She had no knowledge that I had metastases — because I do not. She had no medical information that justified such a statement. There is a huge difference between professionally explaining a treatment restriction and frightening a client with an unsolicited statement about metastasis.
I disclosed my medical history honestly and in good faith. I did not expect to be treated as though I were contagious, dangerous or repulsive.
I immediately requested reimbursement and left. Soline told me I would be reimbursed for the massage. Yet my husband subsequently received an email stating that he had been fully charged for the late cancellation. This directly contradicted what I had been told.
The money is not the point. The treatment is.
If Mandarin Oriental has restrictions regarding massages for clients with certain medical histories, these conditions should be clearly disclosed before booking, not only after a guest arrives and provides sensitive health information.
Making assumptions about someone's disease without knowing their medical condition is unacceptable. Treating someone with visible repulsion because of a cancer history is equally unacceptable.
Following this logic, perhaps clients with acne should also be banned because a “Skin Expert” might find their skin unpleasant or “disgusting.” Obviously absurd — and equally absurd is treating someone as unacceptable because of a medical history.
If Soline is not medically qualified to assess cancer-related risks, she should not make statements about metastasis. If she is trained in this area, her communication with a cancer survivor was profoundly unprofessional and lacking in basic human sensitivity.
Mandarin Oriental should answer some simple questions: What is the actual policy regarding massages for cancer survivors? Why are these conditions not communicated before booking? What training do spa employees receive regarding cancer survivors? Is Soline medically qualified to make statements concerning metastasis? And why was I told I would be reimbursed, only for my husband to be subsequently charged for the late cancellation?
What should have been a thoughtful surprise from my husband became an experience of humiliation and distress.
**That is not luxury hospitality or professionalism.**
I have no intention of returning to Mandarin Oriental Geneva and would be extremely reluctant to recommend this spa.
Clear conditions before booking, medically responsible communication and basic human dignity should be minimum standards. This experience failed on all three.