I bought a Groupon and scheduled my husband and I for a one hour, couples massage on a Thursday evening, for a 6pm appointment. I have been getting regular massages for many years, from many therapists, however this was my husband's first time. On top of it all, I am a Licensed Massage Therapist myself (6 years in), so I know what to expect and what not to expect.
I don't even know where to begin. First let me say, the front desk was very friendly and personable. The office was clean and inviting. My husband and I arrived 30 minutes early for our massage since it was our first time there, and I knew we'd have paperwork. We finished our paperwork with 15 minutes to spare. We waited...and we waited. Strike 1, at 10 after 6pm, our therapists, Jenna and I believe the male's name was Marc, came out and introduced themselves. We followed them back to the room and they asked us a few questions as they reviewed our paperwork. Afterwards, they asked if we needed to use the restroom before we began. I needed to, and excused myself briefly. When I came out, the male therapist, who would be massaging my husband (note: they didn't bother asking us if we had a preference, which we would have preferred my husband have the female and I have the male, but instead just 'told' us who was massaging whom), was texting/online his phone when I came out. I stopped for a moment and he didn't even notice me there as he was so engrossed in his phone. For starters, phones should NOT be out during the workday. Strike 2.
I asked him if I should go ahead and get undressed and he said, "Oh yeah yeah...is your husband in there?" as he peeked in the room. I went in, we got quickly undressed and on the tables and waited for them. Finally someone knocked on the door asking if we were ready. It was now 20 after 6pm.
Jenna had me face down initially and started out strong. I mentioned to her that my problem areas were my lower back with possible sciatica, neck and feet (the 3 most common issues for therapists). Even though she didn't tell me she was going to begin and started massaging me with no intro (you should let the client know you are about to touch them, especially with cold hands), her pressure was good. However, I noticed her using the same strokes and techniques on my back, which was just her forearm. It was as if I was being massaged by an amateur, who wasn't skilled in the art of massage. Next, she moved on to my thighs, where her pressure was too much and too deep. I jumped a few times, and not once did she ask me if her pressure was too much. A good therapist should always ask throughout the massage if the pressure is okay; especially if the client jumps in obvious pain. By the time she got to my calves, it's as if she wore herself out by that point and she spent much too long on my calves, just literally rubbing them back and forth. She did a quick massage on the soles of my feet, which I noted on my form and in person, were a problem area for me, so she should have been spending more time on them, but instead, she had me flip over.
When I flipped, she spent a little time going over my legs again, completely skipped my feet, which meant my toes didn't get massaged at all, totally skipped my arms and hands, spent a little time on my neck and then right at the strike of 7pm, stopped! There was no flow, no follow through and my massage was technically stopped 10 minutes too soon. Since I was meticulous about watching the clock, knowing how late they were, I expected they would cheat us out on time, as they had. I am very aware that a "one hour" massage is only 50 minutes, as they allow 10 minutes to get dressed/undressed. However, our massage only lasted 40 minutes and we spent well under 10 minutes undressing, dressing and using the restroom across the hall. Our Groupon also advertised "optional sauna" which we were not provided with. I was highly disappointed!
I do NOT recommend this place. Save your money. It isn't even worth it with a Groupon. I will not ever visit this place again. read more