I'm not one to bash any place; I pride myself on reviews that are fair and balanced, giving honest and constructive feedback. That said, I need to be completely honest about this place. I was not pleased. In fact, I was in a state of shock for a few days regarding my experience.
I came here for a bridal celebration for one of my dear friends. It was me and 5 other girls. 3 were cool with their services and found them "relaxing" and 3 were not -we found it too rough So, off the bat, it's a 50-50 shot at the service you will receive.
Here is what I *think* happened. My friend Wendy made the appointment and did a great job following up and confirming at least twice after her initial phone call. We were told that all 6 of us would be in the same room for the service at the same time. I was not sure how this place would be-in some places it is a more open environment, where you can talk to one another, so I think that was the plan.
When we arrived, the woman at the front desk told us that she had to split us up into different rooms and have the service 15 min apart. We were like "OK" but admittedly, talked among ourselves and were a bit confused because Wendy had confirmed the reservation as a group of 6 twice. We were not disrespectful or upset, just legitimately confused as to how this happened. I questioned the lady and tried to understand what happened but she didn't really understand me. So we were like, "OK, cool. Whatever, let's just do this."
When I got my massage, off the bat, the guy was doing some weird moves I had not experienced before and some were painful. Overall, I thought, "Oh, he is just a little stronger. No biggie." However, there were some moves near the last 15 minutes when I seriously thought he was doing it on purpose to be rude. I actually, at one moment, got kinda nervous -you know, you are in that position that you don't want to be "that guy" and complain and embarrass your friends, but I felt like getting up and walking out. -I was that taken aback! He pushed so hard on my back that my neck was going into that little hole and pressing and I felt like I was being choked. Another move he lifting my upper body off the bench but it strained my back. At that point, I was like (to myself) "Please let this be over as soon as possible." I have never had such thoughts during a massage!
Seriously, I was really freaked out, but tried to be cool with my friends there. Admittedly, we had a good laugh about it afterward and I did tip to not cause any drama. I was even further freaked out when I was super sore for about 2 days afterward.
If you look at my reviews, I go to a lot of massage places. I like a deep tissue massage but can tell the difference between a professional deep tissue massage that is therapeutic and leaves soreness and what I experienced here. This guy was either untrained / certified or was super unethical in what he did to me.
I really couldn't help but think it was on purpose -some weird retaliation based on the perception that we were "difficult" or complaining. I have to say, I did get some solace reading other Yelp reviews, knowing that I wasn't "crazy" or experienced something unique -there seems to be a lot of shady behavior at this place regarding overall service, rough massages and even tipping expectations.
Buyer beware -there are other places you can go for a decent, cheap massage and not get beat up like I did (check my other reviews for recommendations)! I will NEVER return to this establishment. I am very grateful that I was not seriously injured. I am also ashamed of myself for not getting up and raising a stink -if I ever get treated like that again in any establishment, I am literally standing up and making it known and making a huge complaint. No one should experience that kind of unprofessional service. I'm actually kind of freaked out to go get another massage now because of this experience. I fear many of these places lack the proper authentic licences and certifications. read more