Cincinnati Day Spa Remodel: Inside Mitchell's Tri-County

What Changed in the Tri-County Remodel?

Mitchell's Salon & Day Spa, the Cincinnati salon and day spa founded by Deborah Mitchell Schmidt more than 40 years ago, rebuilt its Tri-County location around a single organizing idea: connect the spa. Guests in robes once had to cross a public hallway to reach their treatment rooms. That walk is gone. Architects folded the once-separate waiting lounge into the spa wing itself, so guests now change, settle in, and meet their therapist without ever leaving a hushed private corridor. New this round: a men's locker room beside the women's, a reservable relaxation room for private celebrations, nine manicure stations, five whirlpool pedicure chairs with full massage, roughly 20 to 24 styling stations, and a softly lit color-processing retreat. Hines framed the goal on camera as giving the spa "the attention and the experience that it warrants."

Simple promise. Costly to keep.

A Spa Wing Built for Uninterrupted Calm

Anyone who visited the old Tri-County spa remembers the layout problem. A waiting area sat on one side, treatment rooms on the other, and a public walkway ran between the two. Hines called the old arrangement "a little bit disjointed." Diplomatic, for a layout that sent robed guests strolling past strangers.

Creative architects solved it like a puzzle: locker rooms, the sitting lounge, and treatment rooms for facials, peels, massages, and waxing now nest inside one connected wing, sealed away from the energy of the salon floor. Guests change, sink into the lounge, and wait for their therapist to appear.

And the men's locker room earns its own mention. Hines made a point of it on camera: men no longer share a converted bathroom, they get a dedicated locker room of their own. For a company that also runs services designed for men, the upgrade was overdue. Overdue, and handsomely done.

Can Guests Rent the Relaxation Room for a Party?

Yes, and it may be the remodel's most indulgent addition for anyone planning a celebration. Mitchell's Tri-County, at 11330 Princeton Pike in Springdale, now reserves its relaxation room for private events: bachelorette parties, birthdays, milestones, client appreciation days, and corporate retreats. A dedicated spa coordinator and a bridal coordinator manage the finer points, from weaving multiple service schedules together to catering, glassware, and gift styling. Food and drinks are welcome, glassware provided. Should the room already be spoken for, a second private nook awaits spa guests instead. Groups can begin with the spa packages page or the team's earlier piece on hosting a corporate spa party.

There is, as Hines put it, a lot of appreciating going on.

Nails, Hair, and a Quieter Place to Process

Past the spa wing, the refinements continue. Nine manicure stations anchor the nail area, backed by five pedicure chairs with full rolling massage. Twenty-plus styling stations fill the hair floor, the largest room in the building, where stylists handle color, extensions, keratin smoothing, and perms. At capacity? A color-bar concept opens extra blowout seats so no guest lingers unattended.

Perms, by the way, are back. Who's driving the revival? Young men, mostly, according to Hines, who says boys now book them regularly. The mayor, surveying his own hairline, conceded the trend had passed him by.

One quieter indulgence may matter most to regulars. The color-processing room now sits dimmer and softer than the styling floor, built to offer what Hines calls a moment of peace while the color sets. Small change, rich payoff for a 40-minute gloss.

One Remodel in a 40-Year Story

Tri-County holds a particular place in company history. Opened in the early 1990s as the second large Mitchell's location, it arrived when Hines was, by her own account, "a little baby." Her mother founded the business on Montgomery Road in 1983 with ten employees; today the company operates five locations across Greater Cincinnati: Kenwood, West Chester, Tri-County, Hyde Park, and the boutique Lytle Park salon downtown. Each offers the same salon, spa, and nail menu. What varies is footprint. Tri-County's, post-remodel, ranks third largest in the fleet.

The pedigree shows up in the numbers. Across its locations, Mitchell's cites more than 114,000 five-star reviews and reports that 98% of its guests plan to return. Loyalty on that scale is not decorated into existence. Earned, one appointment at a time.

Why does a renovated salon rate a mayoral TV episode? Because in Springdale, a hometown business investing this heavily in its guests is news. Hawkins closed the episode with the same tagline he uses every week, an economic-development mantra of sorts: eat, shop, and play Springdale.