PROS:
1) I had a Groupon and the price was quite low.
CONS, in order of least to most upsetting:
1) Not a very relaxing atmosphere, especially in the room I was in. The only thing separating the room from the lobby/check-in area was a curtain, and throughout my massage I could hear people talking and moving around in the lobby.
2) On the topic of unpleasant sounds, the papery material on the headrest seemed cheap and any time my face moved it made a crinkling sound. Not the most unpleasant of my experiences, and if everything else were fine I would have not commented on this (or left a review in the first place), but it was annoying.
3) Unclear communication throughout the entire experience - I was never asked what type of massage I wanted or if there were areas I'd like them to focus on (or not), they did not communicate with me about whether I wanted hot stones or a hot towel before doing it (I didn't), and my masseuse left the room several times during my session and came back without saying anything to me. I have had other massages at other locations during which the masseuse is very communicative and tailors the experience to what I wanted, and I was mistaken to have assumed I'd get that here.
4) I had originally requested a female masseuse when I made the appointment, and my masseuse was a male. I did not feel as though I had the option to say anything because I discovered this once I was already in the room lying on the massage table.
5) When I was first shown the room, I was given a short period of time to undress and situate myself on the table. While I was getting undressed, one staff member asked to enter the room; I replied that they shouldn't enter. The staff member said "it's okay" and entered anyway, while I was half-naked, and after I said several more times that I would like them to leave, they said that they didn't hear me say not to come in. This could have been an honest mistake, but it was still uncomfortable.
5) Toward the beginning of my massage, my massage therapist began massaging me in an uncomfortable area of my body (my rear). I tried to signal to him that I did not want him touching there by moving my arms down to prevent him, and I also vocally stated that I didn't want him to touch there. He laughed, and then moved to a different area. Later, when moving the sheet down to massage my bare back, he tucked the sheet into my underwear and pulled my underwear down farther than I felt comfortable. Again, I used my hands to pull my underwear back up, and he used his hands to move my hands away from my own body and then continue to tuck the sheet down into my underwear and pull them lower again. I verbally stated that I wanted my underwear to remain where it was, and for the final time, pulled the sheet and underwear back up and left my hands there until he moved (at which point he laughed again).
As I hope one can understand, this was a very uncomfortable experience for me overall - I should have been able to have a massage that relaxed me, not that made me uncomfortable and tense. I will not be returning to Massage Crystal and I hope this review helps the staff learn to listen to people's words and body cues. read more