How does one go about finding a good massage place?

February 4, 2005 11:22 AM

How does one go about finding a good massage place? I haven't been able to find a place online that lists/ranks/discusses specific massage palors, techniques used, etc. I'm specifically looking for a place in NYC that does swedish massage but I have no idea how to a) find such a place b) know that said place is actually good and c) how to price such a service. Can anyone help me?
posted by Stynxno to shopping (8 comments total)

have you tried SpaFinder?
posted by remlapm at 11:27 AM on February 4, 2005

Well, my girlfriend (possibly my fiancee, if she says "yes" tonight, but I digress) is a licensed Massage Therapist (studied at the Swedish Institute) and does private clients. You can email me if you're interested in going that route.

She works at Bliss which is not-cheap, and may not have the straight-forward massage you're looking for. Best way I know is by word-of-mouth -- ask people where they like to get massages, and what practitioners they like.
posted by papercake at 11:48 AM on February 4, 2005

For personal services, I find word of mouth references are best. Ask around and someone will be able to point you to a good massage therapist.

If that doesn't work, email me (in profile). I have a friend in NYC who was a massage therapist for many years, she can refer you to someone.

In my experience, massages tend to run at least $60 per hour (for an independent contractor) to as much as $120 per hour (if the salon or spa is taking a big cut.)

A well-known spa, such as Bliss or Elizabeth Arden, would also be a fairly safe bet.
posted by ambrosia at 11:51 AM on February 4, 2005

If you don't mind being massaged by a hairy Russian dude, the Russian Baths on E. 10th Street offer a wide variety of massage options (I've never gotten one there, but I do go from time to time, it's awesome).

Good luck tonight, papercake!
posted by saladin at 12:08 PM on February 4, 2005

While the Russian Baths are certainly "an experience", I can't say it was a particularly pleasant one.

While not particularly dirty (and seems to be fairly heavily industrially disinfected), the entire environment is thoroughly "used". Do not go if you are at all sqeamish about sharing external body fluids with a LARGE number of people.
posted by Caviar at 12:44 PM on February 4, 2005

Word of mouth is certainly the #1 way to find a good massage therapist.

If you don't know a lot of folks who get regular massages, two decent resources are:

http://www.ncbtmb.com/database/query.asp
http://www.amtamassage.org/findamassage/locator.htm

Those will give you people who are licensed practitioners and recognized by the professional association.
posted by nyxie at 2:04 PM on February 4, 2005

If you go to the AMTA site here, you can find a list of registered massage therapists. Click through to their names and it will tell you what kinds of massage they do. I usually find someone by looking around for someone convenient who does what I'm looking for and doesn't do stuff I think is silly (e.g. "energy" anything.) Then, it's just trying them out and seeing who fits your needs well. I've noticed little correlation between a massage therapist's experience or price and what I like. The most important thing other than talent is the therapist's being "present" and paying attention to you rather than simply running through a routine. They should be willing to learn what you like rather than thinking they know what's best for everyone.

I know a couple good ones in the DC area, but that's probably not much help.
posted by callmejay at 2:14 PM on February 4, 2005

Also, if you know any good chiropractors, they either work with good therapists or know of them.
posted by rtimmel at 2:31 PM on February 4, 2005