Le Beach Club is to tanning salons as AT&T is to phone companies. Both use ambiguous and suspicious marketing ploys intended to entice potential customers then slap them with long-term service commitments required to receive the marketed promises.

Le Beach Club uses direct mail marketing techniques to drive traffic into their salons with coupons that promise "Free Tanning Session" or "1 month unlimited" tanning for a low monthly rate. Of course, they cover their asses with a single fine print line stating that "Restrictions apply. See store for details."

Once in the salon, the customer is accosted by double-talking sales clerks, who manage to evade basic straightforward questions like "Can I use this free tanning session coupon today without buying a tanning package?" and, instead, spout the dubious economical benefits of using a 20% off coupon towards a tanning package in conjunction with the free tanning session coupon; all this while hastily performing various calculations to offer optional package deals, closing with the statement: ". . . and then you can use your free tanning session coupon towards . . . ."

I've repeatedly attempted to use coupons of differing values on several occasions, but it's very much like banging your head against a brick wall. I suppose I should give the sales clerks credit for their persistence and clever, albeit slick and somewhat deceptive, sales pitches but, unlike other tanning salons (and I have been to a few), Le Beach Club is the only salon where I sense that the clerks receive commission on their sales. And if so, good for them; bad for us.

As for pricing, Le Beach Club is the Hilton of tanning salons. Most salons offer economical monthly packages; Le Beach Club requires an expensive commitment from its clientele. A $30 unlimited tanning month package at another salon will cost "as low as" $75 at Le Beach Club (after the clerk's calculations). They may claim to upkeep their beds and replace their bulbs more frequently than the next salon, but the results remain to be seen. I've actually tanned two shades darker from a single session at a different salon after reaching a tanning plateau at Le Beach Club.

Granted, Le Beach Club offers high maintenance of their beds and environment as well as strong customer service but, for a place where I spend no more than 45 minutes on any given day, I would rather pay lower prices to not receive a mint on my pillow. After all, I'm not checking into a hotel, so who needs hotel prices?

Kudos for cleanliness and attitude but, when it comes to prices and honest marketing, I prefer Best Western to Hilton anyday.

P.S. After the latest futile attempt to use a "Free Tanning Session" coupon, I promptly visited a different salon and signed up for 1 month unlimited tanning for $45.