I would not recommend working with this business at all and would give them zero stars if that was an option.
In January of 2020, I booked services with them for my original wedding date 10/24/2020 (pre covid). I signed a contract and paid th...e required deposit, which was 50% of the total charges.
In the fall of 2020, due to covid, we decided to postpone our wedding a year, with our new date set in October 2021. During this process, the on-site coordinators that we worked with at the Waikoloa Marriott Resort & Spa spoke with the salon to arrange all the changes and give them our new date. At this time, the salon told the coordinators that they would move our booking to the new date, and that they would honor our original contract and prices on the contract.
Fast forward to August 2021 when I had some questions about adding on additional services to my contract, and our on-site coordinators put me in touch with Megan Ormando at the salon via email. Through email, she answered my questions and then also provided a new price sheet. This is when I was informed that the prices on the original contract that I signed in 2020, and paid a 50% deposit on, were not going to be honored. Regardless of the fact that when we postponed, Mara said that they would honor our contract. When I asked Megan why services could not be rendered under the signed and partially paid contract, she told me "Beauty Lux Weddings is an entire new business with a new owner myself as a partner. I am happy to book your wedding under our new company and send a new confirmation and contract over but you would need to pay our new pricing."
Prices for services we contracted and paid on, changed significantly and had I not had questions leading up to the wedding, I can't even begin to think about what they would have done, or how they would have communicated these changes to me, if they would have communicated them at all.
Due to this, I asked to cancel our services. I strongly believe in supporting local businesses in Hawaii, however I will not support a business that is unprofessional or one with shady business practices. Upon asking for my refund, I was told that I could have my refund back, less a cancellation fee and credit card process fee, even though the reason the services were being cancelled was due to Megan voiding our signed and partially paid contract. It was not until I called my credit card company to file a dispute against them, for voiding our contract and not wanting to refund me in full, that they offered to refund the full amount, including the cancellation fee and credit card processing charge.
This entire experience was extremely unprofessional, frustrating, and stressful. It is shocking to see that a local business would have this poor customer service and unprofessionalism, especially in an industry and location like Hawaii, where most businesses rely on customers and positive feedback. I understand that the pandemic has been very challenging to businesses in Hawaii, especially those in the wedding industry, so in general I understand why prices might increase. What I do not understand, do not endorse, and do not appreciate as a customer, is a business who increases prices on a mutually signed and partially paid contract, and does not proactively communicate these changes to all the customers that these changes will affect.
I would not recommend this salon at all. They are unprofessional, unreliable and NOT TRUSTWORTHY.