When you talk about massage establishments, you first have to identify whether you're talking about established therapy spas with licensed therapists or whether you're talking about those Asian hole in the wall establishments that are a fraction of the cost of the more glamorous spas. Both have their pros and cons and depending on level of massage experience, either one might be the right one for you.
Typically, the established therapy spas cost more but have licensed therapists who can diagnose your tight knots simply by touch and apply the right level of pressure to knead those knots away. The Asian establishments, by contrast, typically cost less (as much as half price or less sometimes) and often lack many of the frills and luxuries of the nicer spas.
Relaxation Studio falls into the category of one of the Asian spas, but it differs from most of the usual ones in that it is very up scale and classy. I've been a massage enthusiast for the better part of 10 years and I've been to Asian massage centers where the only thing separating you from the person in the next "room" was a thin sheet curtain. At Relaxation Studio, you have your own room with 4 walls, you just lack a ceiling. So you can overhear things going on in other rooms sometimes particularly if the therapists ask each other questions audibly. You can also hear the front desk speaking to customers and answering the phone. But if you can get past this one little caveat, RS is perhaps the most luxurious Asian massage parlor you'll ever attend. I opted for a 60 minute body massage followed by a 30 minute foot massage. The body massage was great. My female therapist gave me a good relaxing rubdown as the spa's name advertises. She didn't focus on any tight knot areas with any added deep pressure to pinpoint those trouble areas, but she did rub harder on overall areas that were tighter (like my shoulders). She was friendly and did a great job of giving me a relaxing massage. After the rubdown, the highlight of the body massage had to be the sponge/towel bath she gave me to wash away the oils while continuing to rub me relaxingly. It was both invigorating and comforting.
After the body massage, I got dressed and headed out to the spa's front room where foot massages occur. The therapist doing my feet gave me the remote to the tv in the room to watch whatever I wanted, but I declined, simply content to lay back and relax as he gave me a reflexology rubbing on the soles of my feet and on my calves and shins. As someone who never gets pedicures and plays a lot of soccer, my feet are rather calloused so I was glad when he offered to fix them for me before the massage for only $5. 10 minutes later after applying some kind of gel to my feet and scrubbing them down with a file of some sorts, I was callous free and he began the great reflexology massage.
At the end of it all, I felt more relaxed than I've been in a long time and at a fraction of the cost of typical spas. RS even has a frequent customer club card in which every 5 massages you get, you earn one for 50% off. I for one definitely know I'll be back enough times to make use of this card as this has become my new favorite massage location for relaxation and stress relief.
If you've got a particular knot location that needs deep work to relieve, than perhaps RS isn't the place for you. But if you simply need a relaxing body rub or foot rub after a stressful day or week, then I recommend you try RS. read more