My right shoulder and lower-back had been bothering me thanks to my acrobatic sleeping position. I was looking to get a massage from a massage therapist but during this pandemic, a lot of them are on reduced hours causing their schedule to be fully booked for weeks, and I needed to get a same-day appointment cause I had been putting it off (was hoping the discomfort would dissipate by itself). So anyway I called this place prior to going in to book an appointment and was able to get in ASAP. I requested a female masseuse and was told they only have female masseuses there.
When I arrived, my masseuse was all ready by the door. She took my temperature before taking me to a private room. The entire place is very clean, neatly organized with up-to-date decors compared to the more traditional decors of other Asian massage parlors. There was a water fountain sound in the background along with a slow piano music on a loop, and the dimmed lighting makes the ambience feel really cozy and comfortable. The room temperature is just perfect, not too warm and not too cold. There are also convertible chair/beds for foot massage customers.
I was the only customer there so I felt like I had the place all to myself and it was super relaxing for me due to the minimal noise. The massage bed has a clean white sheet and the face cradle is covered with a clean protector, and they place a neatly folded unused blanket for you to wrap yourself in after taking off your clothes (I kept my face mask on the whole time). There's also a hand sanitizer and Lysol disinfecting spray on top of the drawer next to the bed. The masseuse also kept her face mask at all times.
I opted for the 60-mins massage. She started off by tying my hair into a bun, then warming up with a massage through the blanket for a few minutes. After that she uncovered the blanket to massage my back further. Before she grabbed the massage oil, she thoughtfully covered my hair with a towel first so it wouldn't get any oil. I was never asked if there was any problem area that I wanted to focus on, but she knew where exactly my tight spots were. Although shoulders and lower backs are indeed the most common problem areas but in my case she specifically knew where I felt most stiff and discomfort. She mainly used her forearms and a little elbow to do the deep tissue massage, alternating with her palms and thumbs to do long strokes. She used a lot of power to go really deep - which I prefer vs light-rub massages. My comfort zone is 7-8 out of 10, while the firmness of this massage was 8-9 out of 10. On some trigger points, I did wince a bit but the rest of my body was in heaven. She did check on how I was doing with the pressure during the session which I appreciate. I didn't really want her to reduce anything, but if you are a more sensitive type, I highly recommend telling your masseuse up front even before she started or asked your preference.
She spent 45 minutes on my shoulder, upper and lower back. Then finished up with a little hand massage, stretching and a quick massage on my neck. I forgot to take off my necklace, she was able to work around it but will remember to remove it next time. After that she brought in hot stones and massaged with the hot stones. Again she checked on how I was doing with the temperature of the hot stones, which felt amazing by the way. Then she placed the hot stones on my shoulders, down to my spine and lower back and pulled up the blanket over it. The radiating heat from the hot stones felt awesome. While those sat there doing their job, she uncovered my blanket to massage my legs, helping the circulation and releasing the tension right below my calves. She then brought in a warm towel, remove all the hot stones, let the warm towel sit while she continued massaging my legs and buttock. With the last couple of minutes remaining, she lifted the warm towel and wiped all the oil clean from my back, then I was asked to turn over and she further gave me more leg massage from the front side before my time ran out.
The massage was great and definitely long-overdue. It was one of the best 60-minutes well-spent. I tipped extra cause my masseuse was professional, worked really hard plus it's during a pandemic when most businesses have declined. Pricing is still the same like the photo uploaded on yelp in 2018. I think the price is a little higher ($60 for 60 mins) compared to typical massage places that I've been to, but the other places definitely didn't include the hot stones even if they advertised that way. Although if you have or have had injuries, I personally recommend spending $20 extra to go to a certified massage therapist instead. But for anyone else who wants a quick, strong massage at a clean, cozy and well-maintained place, this is a place to check out. As with any massage where muscles are stimulated to break down knots/adhesion, do expect feeling sore/bruised afterwards as your body heals. read more