Cyrene Y.
Yelp
Mixed bag. I'll start with the positives. I had a great 60-minute body massage. The masseuse's technique was incredible. He asked if I had problem areas and I said my neck was bothering me, and he spent a lot of time there. He also went a bit past the 60 minutes, and I made sure to tip him well ($15 is standard, $20 if they go above and beyond). I also went for a 20-minute chair massage with the friendly Cantonese woman, and that was also good.
The bad stuff is almost everything else. I was brushed aside for a male client. The female masseuse was snippy with me and all giggly to the male client. I went there 30 minutes earlier and made an appointment, but there was no record of that. It was 6pm and no one was in the Financial District, and there were a bunch of masseuses sitting around. After 10 minutes of waiting, she finally took me downstairs. That was a stressful start.
After I settled on the table, I was a bit startled to hear a man's voice. I'm not particular about the masseuse's gender, as long as they are good, but it would have been courteous to let a female customer know and I can see how this could turn others away.
I speak English and Chinese, and still had trouble communicating some things, and this is the type of place where you have to tell them everything:
- If you want a light massage, you have to let them know. Otherwise, you're getting deep tissue.
- If you want a masseuse of a certain gender, you have to let them know. Otherwise, shot in the dark.
- If you want them to avoid certain areas, you have to let them know. Otherwise, expect a glute massage.
- If you want them to focus on tight areas, you have to let them know.
- If you want them to avoid oil (this includes essential oils) and hot stones, you have to let them know.
There was also loud chatter where the masseuses yell things at each other back and forth. So if you're expecting to relax, this isn't the place. Set expectations low that they'll treat your sore and tight spots, but nothing else. They need to step it up if they're going to charge $55/hour. There are better places around the city charging less than $40/hour for the same deep tissue, Swedish, and hot stones massage.
Also, I read the reviews before coming and wanted to note that they did not make a fuss about my Groupon, or ask that I cancel it and pay cash. They will ask for $5 for taxes, but that's standard for places that take Groupons.