Whenever I post on Yelp, it is always because I really enjoy what I'm reviewing, but not so in this case. And acually, I'd been meaning to write Massage America up for the longest time, but just never got around to it...
I visited them as a regular-paying (no Groupon) client (and I also lef a nice tip for my therapist, too) upon the advice of my excellent chiropractor who suggested that some massages could also complement the regular care he was giving me. So I chose Massage America since I knew of the owner Gregory and some of his previous staff from when I was a longstanding member of a luxe health club he was affiliated wihand that he must be very reputable with a respected massage venue. Was I ever wrong -- and my suspicions started to be confirmed upon my walk down a long, dingy kind of Inner Sanctum hall leading to the Masssage America facility in a partially-remodeled ancient office building on Uniont Sq. East, trying to figure out where on the floor it was tucked away in. After finally realizing its location, I entered what looked like a former commercial office suite morphed into a massage studio with cute reception area...but things turned progressively worse again (a la the long dingy hallway, onward). I filled out some forms and unlike others, I was seen on time by a female massage therapist who told me ttoo of her non-holistic medical background - very much against my beliefs...but whatever....I then explained why I was there andthat I was recommended to get this massage by a very reputable chiropracter I was seeing, and as she started doing the massage she kept on commenting how my ankles were swollen from edema (hello, that's one of the reasons I needed the massage!) and that I really should go to an MD for this condition and making me feel as though I was some kind of freak (bad enough that I was in pain to begin with and I should mention that this was a scant year after I had a bad trip-and-fall accident, causing me to break my wrist in two places (the first bones I ever broke in my life) and...a couple months after too, my beloved healh club closed its doors, so I didn't even know where to go to exercise or do a badly-needed sauna...or even to get a massage to help my still-aching body and thinking I'd find some salvation at Massage America. Needless to say, I was so uncomfortable wih the opinions this therapist was spewing out ar me and not too thrilled with the massage or the room/ambience (a little bit wanna-be, I'd say), I couldn't wait to leave. And since there was no bathroom in their facility, I had to walk down the long scary hallway again before I got on the elevator (ew!) to use this creepy oldpublic bathroom that didn't have an entrance door (huhhhh?) and as I was then leaving the bathroom, I didn't see the watch-your-step sign on the wall (since remember? I was so anxious to just get out of there...) that instead of a flat flooring on one level, I didn't realize that it was bi-level and when I stepped down, I fell and almost broke another of my limbs - my ankle! - which, along with my leg, was horribly bruised and subsequently turned black and blue and stayed that way for days). I then fled into the horribly hot humid heatwave early evening and was lucky enough to get a taxi home on this busy street, trembling all over with fear, pain and rage that this kind of disaster capped off this whole horrendous experience and I vowed I would never go there again nor recommend them, natch, to anyone. I think I did eventually report this to the owner - can't remember what his reply was, since I was so upset for weeks about all this - and he may have offered me a discounted massage next time or? which WAS nice of him - and when I told a lawyer I used when I broke my wrist to file a lawsuit for me, about this and that I might want to sue Massage America because of this, it seems that she had heard from other people who had this same faulty bathroom flooring-caused accident there and told me that I'd have to sue the building management instead of Massage America and that it would be a long dragged-out scenario, so I decided to forget about it - since I was just tryingt to heal and get on with my life and didn't need any further grief.
But I simply cannot understand all the 5-star (and some 4-star) reviews this place has garnered - which were rather recent - I think from 2013 - 2014 - so maybe with their newer facility on a separate floor in the building, things have changed for the best and hopefully there is either no horrific bathroom in the hall on that floor and perhaps one en suite. But whatever - I would still warn anyone who might be thinking of going here, to think twice - especially since there are so many massage therapists and facilities in the downtown area (like at Equinox, etc.) and fairly well-priced, too, that are so much more professional and also in luxe surroundings, as well. Too bad, since I had such high expectations about them. read more