My complaint about salons where hair reigns is that they’re usually so busy, it’s hard for spa customers to relax—no matter how hard the salon tries. That was my experience with Avivo Salon & Day Spa in Vienna.
Avivo tries very hard. On my visit, the receptionist was friendly, and my massage therapist, Grace, was talented.
Grace greeted me at the front desk, then led me down a hall, past the pedicure station, and into the spa area with its own pretty sitting room.
After undressing in the massage room and lying on the heated table, I noticed that I could hear laughing and talking from down the hall. Without my asking, Grace closed the door into the spa area, cutting out the noise. She said that earlier in the day, when a bridal party was in, a massage client not with the group had had to listen to the conversation right outside, in the spa’s seating area.
Turns out there was an advantage to having the last appointment of the day.
Sherri Dalphonse joined Washingtonian in 1986 as an editorial intern, and worked her way to the top of the masthead when she was named editor-in-chief in 2022. She oversees the magazine’s editorial staff, and guides the magazine’s stories and direction. She lives in DC.
