Bilingual Salon/Spa in Cuenca

Hello everyone.
We have recently returned from our month-long visit to Cuenca and of all our experiences, I wanted to be sure to share this.

I have read several blogs and the information provided was extremely helpful during our trip. However, I did not come across any recommendation of a salon or spa... well here you go. The name is (moderated: no ads in your very first message) and it is located directly across the street from the Hotel Oro Verde. This is a fantastic full-service salon/spa and the owners are the nicest people you will ever meet. They are an Ecuadorian couple that lived in Miami for several years and are bilingual. This may not be of importance to those who are comfortable with their Spanish, but for my husband and me, with our basic Spanish, it was extremely helpful. I was so excited to be able to explain exactly how I wanted my hair and pedicure. Before finding VS, I was very disappointed that I could not take advantage of the great prices on these services due to my lack of Spanish. (I didn't want to risk having the wrong color hair!)
It was also very nice to converse with locals who were not trying to take advantage of us. They were very friendly, honest, and helpful. They provided us with information and tips that only a local can.

Their ability to speak English was not the only positive. The service was EXCELLENT and the prices were great! On our first visit I got a spa pedicure and my daughter got a manicure - the price for both was $11.00!! (The pedicure was 7 or 8 dollars).
It is a great place for men as well. When we first arrived in Cuenca, my husband got a haircut at the mall. Again, with his basic Spanish he was at the mercy of the stylist. It was not bad and it's hard to complain about a $5 haircut, but it was not as he likes it. I took him with me to VS (I wanted to go one last time before we left and it had been a couple of weeks since his last haircut). He was a little hesitant about going to (moderated: no free ads) but he swears that it was the best haircut he has ever gotten. It cost $5.00 again, but he was able to get exactly what he wanted. She did a super job using a combination of scissors and clippers. She even trimmed his eyebrows and ears (which we all know can get a little unruly), and my husband really liked that she used a straight razor to shave his neck. None of this was done with his other $5 haircut.
It is a full-service salon & spa offering massages, facials, waxing, hair color, etc. I was only sad that I discovered this place so late in our visit and did not have time to try all the services. I was extremely happy with the results of the ones I did get.

I also want to mention how friendly and wonderful the owners are. During conversation while at the salon, we were talking about leaving and got on the subject of having to set up transportation to take us back to the airport in Guayaquil. I said that we had paid $130.00 for a van to bring the 3 of us and our luggage to Cuenca from Guayaquil and would probably just go with the same company. (We were pretty happy to get that price. We were trying for some time to arrange for a shuttle and it was by far the cheapest we found). Paola (one of the owners) said that was too much to pay. She felt we were being overcharged because we are "gringos". Her and her husband, Jose, actually took the time to call and assist us in scheduling a private van with the company that they use when travelling and it was about 40 dollars less! This was done completely out of the kindness of their heart. Needless to say, we were very grateful. They were absolutely the nicest people we met in Cuenca. If you are going for a visit or living in Cuenca, you should definitely pay them a visit.
(moderated: no ads in your very first message)