Escape Monthly

[nelliebelle1197]

Here is what I would be worried about: note they label themselves a "top subscription box" and imply they have great reviews. The box hasn't shipped yet. And if anyone wants a box based on blogger boxes, check some other threads to see how representative blogger boxes may be.

 

[Dayo Steph]

Hm. Not encouraging. I figure I'll give them 1 month. I have hammock pack as a backup, which is very similar and has been consistently good. Although this month was a little meh, but overall great sub.

 

[normajean2008]

It is time ladies!  The long awaited day has come. 

Did anybody else that signed up get their shipping notice? 

I got mine Sunday, but it wasn't actually handed over to post office until closing time Monday/today.  Supposed to be 2 day shipping. 

I'm already sure I'm canceling once I receive the first box though.  I'm still peeved at the conflicting answers, the spelling mistakes, and exaggeration of the boxes-when they haven't even started the service.  I don't understand why so many people/bloggers are pushing this as such a great box/company, when they have had NO box to review yet!  I understand excitement for what may come of a good sub service, but to act like they are established already is just plain annoying. 

 

[OiiO]

Originally Posted by normajean2008 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

It is time ladies!  The long awaited day has come. 

Did anybody else that signed up get their shipping notice? 

I got mine Sunday, but it wasn't actually handed over to post office until closing time Monday/today.  Supposed to be 2 day shipping. 

I'm already sure I'm canceling once I receive the first box though.  I'm still peeved at the conflicting answers, the spelling mistakes, and exaggeration of the boxes-when they haven't even started the service.  I don't understand why so many people/bloggers are pushing this as such a great box/company, when they have had NO box to review yet!  I understand excitement for what may come of a good sub service, but to act like they are established already is just plain annoying. 

I'm only getting one box as well since I won it in a blog contest, but I'm pretty sure I won't be subscribing.

 

[normajean2008]

I got my box today.  Aaaaaaand I've already canceled.  I kept getting an error that the contact page couldn't be sent via their web page...conveniently, of course.  I had to contact them direct message on facebook to reach them. 

My husband was mad it was a "girl" box, not a couple's retreat getaway box like advertised.  I just laughed at the "luxury" oozing out of the box, lol. 

Just a reminder, anybody who wants to cancel after this box, you have to do it by the 24th! 

Box contains:

Moon Handbooks guide book, Mineral Essence Dead Sea Bath Salt (mine was white grapefruit eucalyptus scent), Tiesta loose leaf tea-sparkling white grape flavor, Napa Valley Wine Soap, Loofa, Deluxe floating bath candles, 100% Pure Juicy Sugar Body Scrub, Cookie Zen lemon cookies, 7th heaven natural face mask foil pack, mixture luscious lip balm-spearmint flavor...aka..cheapo generic brand lip balm.

Aside from the guide book and napa valley soap, nothing says "napa" in my opinion.  Most of the box is cheapo stuff you can find at any discount store, or you could buy it cheaper than they list.  They split up sets of stuff to pass around the boxes on some things, and sent sample sizes on the soaps.  The deluxe candles, are cheapo dollar store/craft store rose shaped candles..yep..that luxurious ladies!! *rolls eyes* 

As "extras" in the box, they included a 50$ gift card to naked wines dot com.  This is the same gift card commonly passed around in sub boxes.  Only good for 30 days from receipt..but they don't say when that technically is...which is why half the people that DO try to use it-it comes up as invalid for them.  They don't ship to all states, require 51$ minimum purchase, have expensive wines, and if it is under 100$ purchase, charge you $10 for shipping. 

And a foil packet sample of Suki body cream-mine was lavender scent, and a very nasty smelling vitamin e soap sample.

If this is the best they can do with the theme...I'm scared to see other locations.  Next box is Oregon... 

 

[Ashley Marie]

Originally Posted by normajean2008 /img/forum/go_quote.gif

I got my box today.  Aaaaaaand I've already canceled.  I kept getting an error that the contact page couldn't be sent via their web page...conveniently, of course.  I had to contact them direct message on facebook to reach them. 

My husband was mad it was a "girl" box, not a couple's retreat getaway box like advertised.  I just laughed at the "luxury" oozing out of the box, lol. 

Just a reminder, anybody who wants to cancel after this box, you have to do it by the 24th! 



I LOVED the box! I got a body scrub made with red wine, napa soap, a guide book, and spa items that - even if they didn't come from Napa - were very welcome additions to my weekend retreat this week <3 I don't ever remember seeing it being advertised as a couples box? If it was, spa items can be applied to guys 

 Either way, it was completely worth the $39/month imo. It's a new box and Im very excited for the next one (though I wish they would choose somewhere exotic...). 

 

[nellswell]

Is anybody else still subscribed to this box? Or have any of you had any problems with cancellation? I was initially very excited about the idea and based on some reviews it looked amazing, so (despite having a meager budget) I joined last month. Now, I'm... increasingly wishing that I hadn't. It's hard to say for sure because I haven't received a box yet but I'm mainly concerned about the customer service.

As for not yet receiving a box, so far that's understandable -- I joined in the early morning hours of the 16th, so RIGHT after the shipping date for last month's box. The "thank you" screen indicated that I'd receive last month's Oregon box, but since I technically did join after the cutoff to receive last month's box, I'm okay with waiting until they ship this month's.

However, in the time waiting for my box to arrive, I've re-considered my decision to subscribe. I probably shouldn't have been so impulsive, but even with the "lifetime discount", $40 per month is a LOT to spend on one sub with my budget. And even though I was prepared to wait, I didn't know when they'd charge for a second box and kinda wanted to avoid being charged for a second one before receiving my first box. So I decided to cancel my subscription.

(In all seriousness, is that bad sub box etiquette or something? Cancelling before you receive your first box? I honestly don't know. But I'm not expecting a refund in lieu of a box or anything. I'd still like the upcoming Hawaii box, I just think it's a little too pricy to pay for any more after that -- no matter how amazing the box might be.)

So a few days ago, I emailed them via that "contact us" tab on their website. I received a response the next day, that my message had been received and was "under review" (no further instructions or indication there'd be any follow-up). Which seemed a little odd (is it that difficult to answer whether or not I can cancel now, and whether I'll still receive the box?) but okay.

Today -- almost 3 days later -- I realized that I never did hear anything back from them. I went back to their website to check it out, and somehow found a separate site (? -- escape.zendesk.com) for customer service inquiries. It wouldn't let me log in with my regular password, so I annoyingly had to request another one.

Finally, I managed to get in... and saw that my "case" had been "solved." (???) I clicked on the link anyway, and saw that some representative "assigned to my case" had actually responded to me within 24 hours of my original inquiry; they just didn't bother to send it to my actual email account, or even let me know that I had a message waiting at this zendesk site.

This was my response from the representative:

Quote: Hi Tamara,

We're so sorry to hear about you ending your Escape Monthly subscription. I'd be very happy to help /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> Before I cancel you, may I ask if there was any specific reason for the cancellation today besides budget? We have some incredible boxes coming up, and I think you'll really enjoy them. I'd hate for you to cancel before you get to experience a box!

Please let me know if you'd like to try the box first or if I should go ahead and end your subscription /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" />

In bliss,

Rebecca Rainbow
Expert Escapist

Maybe I'm just crabby after having to take so many extra steps to even FIND her response, but I found it very, very annoying. (Plus, I clearly wrote that I'd still like to receive the box if possible, I just needed to cancel the ongoing subscription.) Is this common? Or a red flag? Or just because they're new, perhaps? There are a lot of subs I still haven't tried, but so far all the ones I've cancelled have either made it easy by including an option to cancel on their website... or responding with a brief "sorry to hear that, we hope you'll return, cancellation confirmed" email within 24 hours. Even the ones I've had to call have been cool about it and didn't press me as to whether there was "any other reason" I had to cancel. SHOULD there be another reason, Escape Monthly?

Meanwhile, the complaints on their Fb page about prize winners not receiving their supposed prizes aren't exactly making me feel better....

 

[AsptasticAllie]

I just signed up for escape last week since this months box is Hawaii and my parents go to Hawaii in October every year but I've never been. I figured if I don't like an item I can give it to my mom for Christmas cause she loves Hawaii. I realized after ordering ill also have to cancel after this month due to budget but I was going to wait til I at least get shipping notice and know its left them before I cancel. I think people cancel after that point to ensure they will actually get their box they paid for. I do wish they had a way to just cancel on the site instead of having to contact them and wait for responses.

 

[Dayo Steph]

I've received my first two boxes on time.  I haven't been "wowed" by them, but I do think they provide a lot of value, and I loooove the guide books.  I think this last month (Oregon) was better than the first, but it's sooo similar in concept to Hammock Pack. I'm trying to decide which one I'm keeping. I'm giving both one more month and then one gets cut, likely Escape box.  Mainly because while the guidebooks are awesome, they keep throwing in stuff that while "local" I may not use - lots of tea, coffee, etc.  

 

[Deareux]

From what I've seen, it doesn't look very impressive to me with regard to the price. Comparatively, the Pop Sugar and Fancy boxes cost about the same amount but you typically get a really good value for your buck. I'll be sitting this one out.

 

[Dayo Steph]

Quote: Originally Posted by Deareux /img/forum/go_quote.gif

From what I've seen, it doesn't look very impressive to me with regard to the price. Comparatively, the Pop Sugar and Fancy boxes cost about the same amount but you typically get a really good value for your buck. I'll be sitting this one out.

Fair, I should have clarified by value, I don't mean you're getting 100$ for 40, but you're getting the $40 worth of interesting stuff. The first box was blech with the spa candles, but I actually used almost everything in it for a nice little pick me up afternoon in the tub.  I had to put the candles out, lol, my cat was trying to attack them as they floated in the tub and he fell in. Bwahahaha.

 

[nellswell]

Well, the customer service person wrote back -- to my real email account -- and her response was polite and clear. Sounds like I'll be getting this month's box and my account will be cancelled after that. I did (politely) mention in my reply to her first email (when she asked if there were any other issues) that communicating with Escape Monthly was a bit difficult... due to the separate "zendesk" page, etc. She acknowledged my concerns in her response, as well.

Again, I haven't received a box yet so can't really comment on that, but I am looking forward to the Hawaii box. I do like the idea of a "travel box" (I still need to try Hammock Pack, too) and -- provided the box isn't a huge disappointment, which I'm not expecting -- am not opposed to re-subscribing when my budget's not an issue.

As for their customer service, I think any issues/inconveniences on their part might just be because they're new? (Of course, that wouldn't explain misspelling Barcelona

... but it's not like their page is rife with spelling and grammar errors.)  I've been on a sub kick and have been re-reading about some of the disaster boxes (GGG, RCB, etc.) so between that and the hefty price of EM (and not knowing when I might be charged for a second box) -- well, I might've been over-reacting with my concern about EM. But it sounds like it's something people like or they don't (rather than being an outright disaster box) and I am excited to get my box and hear about others.

Also, I kind of wish I did get that Oregon box... even though it's more or less local to me (I'm in Washington) it might have been interesting to try some Pacific NW stuff I've never tried before.

 

[AMaas]

Hi!  I just subscribed to this box - was hoping for the Hawaii version but I missed the cutoff date.  Can those of you are getting this box post pictures of the Hawaii box?  I'm really interested to see it!

 

[secrethoarder]

Quote: Originally Posted by AMaas /img/forum/go_quote.gif
  Hi!  I just subscribed to this box - was hoping for the Hawaii version but I missed the cutoff date.  Can those of you are getting this box post pictures of the Hawaii box?  I'm really interested to see it!

I'll post pics once I get my box. I'm hoping it gets here soon! I wish they'd send out tracking info like most other subscription companies. There will probably be a lot of people posting pictures on their Facebook page too, since they keep promising extra gifts for sharing pictures/unboxing videos. Have they announced what the next month will be? 

 

[Snolili]

I got the Oregon box and really liked it, however, it is a spendy box (for me at least). I nearly canceled, but Hawaii...yeah. I hope it's awesome. I'm still considering canceling after, it depends on what next month's is. Anyone hear or see any spoilers? I think last month they mentioned it was Hawaii as the Oregon boxes were shipping.

 

[secrethoarder]

I'd love to see some international escapes in the future! 

 

[Snolili]

Here's the hawaii box

Tub & Scrub Hawaiian Bath Salts -- Ironically in Oregon Rain scent. ($10) : Smells nice, love bath salts, it's about the size of a large spice shaker.   Gentle Scrubb Facial buff ($7) : Cute, def goes with the spa escape theme, but mine smells funny   Seashell Lei (5.99): The paper says it's made withBig Island Shells. Hubs, who's from Hawaii, since it's not, probably made in the Phillipines. It's a cute addition, tho. Would have rather one of the kukui nut necklaces since I find them prettier, but that's just me.    Hawaii Host Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamias ($2) : Dark Chocolate!! Nom. I love these so much. I just wish it was bigger. There's only two pieces.   Honey Girl Organics Face & Eye Cream + Nice Cream ($62) : Not sure if I believe the MSRP, and it smells sort of odd. The Face/Eye cream is in a nice container, the eye cream is tiny, like one of those little loose glitter pots. I like the fact it's organic, but I don't see an igrediants list. It did come with a 15% coupon.    Big Island Travel Guide ($17.99) : The goodies seem to come from all over, so I would have prefered a more generic Hawaii guide, but I've never been to the Big Island (Hubs is from Oahu, so we always go there), so this is nice, since he keeps promising to take us to other islands.    Ola Body Butter -- Coconut ($10) : It's a 2 oz container, not huge. Ingrediant list is hard to read. However, it does say it's wildecrafted, locally sourced, and organic. I like that.   Personal Paradise Lime Coconut Body Wash (9.95): This was missing from my box.    Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya Lime Macadamia Crunch ($4.15) : Snack made of nuts and dired fruit. No HFS! Gluten free, GMO free. They're very cunchy.However, both snacks have nuts in it. We don't have treenut allergies, just peanut allergies, but some people do, so I feel bad for them, since last month it was the same thing, two nut snacks. They could have gone with dried papaya, salted plums, or some other non-nut snack.       Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt (14.99): Beautiful glass and cork container of sea salt. The salt has a pretty red color. There's no weight on it, but it's about the size of a shot glass. I like trying different kinds of sea salt, so this is fun.    All-Box Bonus: This is not made in Hawaii, which is why it's a bonus. Tiesta Tea, Immunity, in Maui Mango (7.99) : This sounds yummy. It's roobis tea combined with pinapple, mango, strawberries, orange, safflower, and marigold. Once again, it's a loose leaf tea. I have a tea ball, but it would have been nice to include  resuable tea-bag or something for the people who don't have one.    Mystery item: There was a little tube of coconut hand lotion (purse-sized). I'm hoping this is one of the bonus items promised to people who posted a picture of their box and not a replacement for the shower gel. As nice as it smells, I'd rather have shower gel, but if it's my mystery bonus, I'm happy. Actually, they were supposed to include two bonuses, unless I missunderstood. One for posting a pic of your box, one for sharing their promo, of which I did both. I emailed them about this and the missing item, so we'll see.     
The Verdict: According to the MSRP it's a pretty high-value box. To me, personally, I will use most of the items mysefl. Very little will end up in the gift box, so I'm fairly happy.

I'm still waffling if I want to cancel or not, but next month is Vermont! I might have to hang on for one more month... 

 

[secrethoarder]

Quote: Originally Posted by Snolili /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 

Here's the hawaii box

Tub & Scrub Hawaiian Bath Salts -- Ironically in Oregon Rain scent. ($10) : Smells nice, love bath salts, it's about the size of a large spice shaker.   Gentle Scrubb Facial buff ($7) : Cute, def goes with the spa escape theme, but mine smells funny   Seashell Lei (5.99): The paper says it's made withBig Island Shells. Hubs, who's from Hawaii, since it's not, probably made in the Phillipines. It's a cute addition, tho. Would have rather one of the kukui nut necklaces since I find them prettier, but that's just me.    Hawaii Host Dark Chocolate Covered Macadamias ($2) : Dark Chocolate!! Nom. I love these so much. I just wish it was bigger. There's only two pieces.   Honey Girl Organics Face & Eye Cream + Nice Cream ($62) : Not sure if I believe the MSRP, and it smells sort of odd. The Face/Eye cream is in a nice container, the eye cream is tiny, like one of those little loose glitter pots. I like the fact it's organic, but I don't see an igrediants list. It did come with a 15% coupon.    Big Island Travel Guide ($17.99) : The goodies seem to come from all over, so I would have prefered a more generic Hawaii guide, but I've never been to the Big Island (Hubs is from Oahu, so we always go there), so this is nice, since he keeps promising to take us to other islands.    Ola Body Butter -- Coconut ($10) : It's a 2 oz container, not huge. Ingrediant list is hard to read. However, it does say it's wildecrafted, locally sourced, and organic. I like that.   Personal Paradise Lime Coconut Body Wash (9.95): This was missing from my box.    Royal Hawaiian Orchards Papaya Lime Macadamia Crunch ($4.15) : Snack made of nuts and dired fruit. No HFS! Gluten free, GMO free. They're very cunchy.However, both snacks have nuts in it. We don't have treenut allergies, just peanut allergies, but some people do, so I feel bad for them, since last month it was the same thing, two nut snacks. They could have gone with dried papaya, salted plums, or some other non-nut snack.       Alaea Hawaiian Sea Salt (14.99): Beautiful glass and cork container of sea salt. The salt has a pretty red color. There's no weight on it, but it's about the size of a shot glass. I like trying different kinds of sea salt, so this is fun.    All-Box Bonus: This is not made in Hawaii, which is why it's a bonus. Tiesta Tea, Immunity, in Maui Mango (7.99) : This sounds yummy. It's roobis tea combined with pinapple, mango, strawberries, orange, safflower, and marigold. Once again, it's a loose leaf tea. I have a tea ball, but it would have been nice to include  resuable tea-bag or something for the people who don't have one.    Mystery item: There was a little tube of coconut hand lotion (purse-sized). I'm hoping this is one of the bonus items promised to people who posted a picture of their box and not a replacement for the shower gel. As nice as it smells, I'd rather have shower gel, but if it's my mystery bonus, I'm happy. Actually, they were supposed to include two bonuses, unless I missunderstood. One for posting a pic of your box, one for sharing their promo, of which I did both. I emailed them about this and the missing item, so we'll see.     
The Verdict: According to the MSRP it's a pretty high-value box. To me, personally, I will use most of the items mysefl. Very little will end up in the gift box, so I'm fairly happy.

I'm still waffling if I want to cancel or not, but next month is Vermont! I might have to hang on for one more month... 


I'm such a sucker for spoilers. I always tell myself I won't peek and I'll wait to be surprised, but every single time I just have to peek. I like almost all the items in this box, so I'm excited to get it hopefully by Monday. 

I feel like if I continue my subscription I'll end up having a lot of soap, shower gel, and lotion in a pretty short period of time. I still haven't even used half of the Rose-scented lotion, and barely made a dent in the bar soap from last month. I kind of wish they had smaller sizes and lowered the price of the box? But maybe I feel that way because I'm used to all my beauty sample boxes. 

But now that I know the next one is Vermont, I'll be sticking with them for at least another month. I used to live in Vermont, so I'm already imagining exactly which brands they'll be including...

 

[Snolili]

Yes, I wish they offered a $20 mini option with less products or smaller sizes and no guide. I did love the soap from last month, though I'm  not much for lotions or lip balms. 

 

[AMaas]

Thanks for sharing the box contents, @Snolili!