If I had only two words with which to review my experience here, they would be "fast" and "furious."
With more words, something like this:
I was really stressed out and trying to avoid burning out totally so I thought I'd get a massage. I came in during my lunch break to ask about an evening appointment and the woman behind the counter asked what time, I said 4:30 and she said okay, see you then. She didn't ask for my name, contact info, what I wanted done or for how long. Do they only have one option here?
I came back at 4:30 and the woman showed me to the massage room. It was minimalist but functional. She didn't seem ready to volunteer any information so I asked how long the massage would be? 60 min? 90 min? I was told one hour. She left while I undressed and lay on the table. She returned and began. I told her I had come in because I had injured my left shoulder and wanted some help. She focused almost the whole hour on my shoulders which I appreciated, but overall she was just so... uncommunicative. She asked nothing of me, and only once asked if I was okay. She was very strong and seemed knowledgeable in the ways of muscle massage, but did not seem to have a great empathy for me as a customer. I'm more sensitive than most and her strong touch was mostly uncomfortable, sometimes painful. She responded some when I flinched, cried out or tensed up but her fingers and hands felt like steamrollers over the knots in my muscles.
I already knew I liked a slow massage, but this made me 100% certain. It felt like she was trying to cram 120 minutes of massage into 60 and the hot towel was nice, as were the hot stones when they didn't feel like they were burning me. Her abrupt departures from the room to get those things was a little awkward though, and twice the pressure she put on my sore muscles reduced me to tears!
I waited a few days before writing this review. I wanted to see if the massage had made my shoulder better. If the gain was worth the pain. The next day, my shoulders and neck were literally sore to the touch. Gentle pressure on them hurt, though that went away by about the second day. My shoulder feels better than it did, but I don't have improved range of motion I had hoped for. Finally, I was hoping a massage would pull me back from the brink of burnout, but I had to take two days off work after my massage because the whole thing had so completely worn me out it pushed me that much more over the edge.
Also I had no idea how much things cost since there was really no communication! After my massage I went out to the front desk (where the woman asked me for only the second time if I was okay) and asked how much it was. She said $40 per hour. I confirmed I had been there for an hour and paid/tipped and left.
Final thoughts: If you like a strong massage and are not too picky about technique or communication about your wants/needs, this might be the right place for you. If you need someone who makes an effort to understand you as a person and your needs for massage, I recommend looking elsewhere. read more
