Common Ground Wellness Cooperative — Attraction in Portland

On December 13, 2024 I had another wonderful hot tub and sauna experience at Common Ground Wellness Center in Portland, Oregon. I've been coming here for 34 years. Schedule your soak and sauna or massage ahead of time. Slots can fill quickly, so don't wait until the last minute. Each time when I arrive I'm greeted brightly by the staff, who are also happy to make new customers feel welcome and to share the rules in a clear but pleasant manner. It's always cozy here, even when there are more customers around. Literally everyone is smiling. You can bring your own towel or rent one. The facilities are meticulously clean. Everyone showers before entering the hot tubs or sauna. The soak and sauna area is clothing optional with both genders present, yet in 34 years of coming here I've never seen any inappropriate behavior. The space is for quiet comfort and low conversation; loud party type behavior would be rejected by the customers and firmly discouraged by the staff. Women feel safe coming here: First, because the staff make it so, also because you leave your driver's license with the staff and it's not free to use the facility. Any creep would be reported quickly. Second, many of the customers are women, so it's a place of shelter, kindness and quiet nurturing comraderie among the women customers. The lockers use a code set by you; many years ago, those of us who prefer to soak nude would lay our clothes on shelves in the changing area with no concern. There are two large hot tubs with jets running constantly. It's a community here, so if the jets stop, someone always steps up out of the tub to turn them back on. A staff member regularly checks the jets as well, while doing frequent tests on the water. Everyone knows to have a towel to sit on whether sitting at the edge of the tub to cool down, in one of the lawn chairs or in the piping hot sauna. There's a cold-water running shower as well next to the hot tubs. The tubs and sauna are a dream all to themselves, but the best experience of all is to combine your soak and sauna with a massage from one of the many experienced specialists. The top of the line is the "massage sandwich": a soak and sauna block, a massage, and a final soak and sauna. Your worries are drained out of you whichever path you take here. And consider a membership: while not required, it will put you alongside other involved members maintaining the current environment and helping to shape the future of Common Ground Wellness Center. If you're searching for a dreamy, languid, non-sexual safe space to drain away your cares, this is the...

I have been waiting to leave a review until after giving it a few times of attendance. My thoughts?

I love it here. Truly, love it. I’ve got to the bath house side a handful of times. Every time? Wonderful experience. I’ve had zero issues. If anything, the staff ensures everything goes above and beyond. Especially these last couple of times. I live out of town. Like, nearly 2 hrs lol. So, I scheduled a soak online for 2 hrs. Welp, between life and traffic I kept getting delayed. The front desk staff were so flexible (thankfully it was slow) and accommodated my traveling conflicts. Wonderful! So, that same evening I decided to get a massage and wanted a soak. They were able to get me in next day, and when I got stuck in traffic (again! Even with an hour early leave time) 😪 they were totally fine by my showing up 5/10 minutes late. I noticed, that my massage time wasn’t cut short. And they were able to switch my 30 minute pre soak, onto my 1 and half hour after soak. Amazing! Super understanding. Adore the ppl here!

Now, onto the massage part. I was given Kris. Kris was absolutely phenomenal. I can’t express enough how relaxed and comfortable I was. I have NEVER had a massage that good before lol. Normally, with past experiences, I am leaving feeling kinda disappointed in way or another. This experience!? Totally opposite! I can’t sleep around strangers. If I do, I have to be like trapped away in my own bubble. No matter how relaxed I am. With Kris? I was actually hitting points of unconsciousness. It was absolutely 1 of a kind. Considering the last few weeks I’ve had?? I needed it!! Sooo bad! I was able to lay there after for a moment, come back into my body, and then gently work my way into the bath house. I read my book soak in the hot water for 2 hrs. It’s absolutely magic, I love it here. I hope everyone comes and experiences it for themselves. ESPECIALLY massages from Kris first lmao. One of a kind place and I easily drive 2 hrs back/forth easy because of how wonderfully relaxing it is. Sounds dramatic but I’ve been reconsidering closer relocation because of this magical place I’ve found myself frequenting. If you’re curious? Try it! I’m a single female, frequent constantly alone, have never felt uncomfortable or unsafe. Everyone, even the other patrons are fantastic! The whole place is just...

This was my second visit to Common Ground, and I absolutely love the soaking tubs—I always feel safe and secure here. I typically go in for a massage once a week, but my regular therapist from a different company was unavailable. Since I was already planning to enjoy a soak, I decided to book a massage at Common Ground with Brittany.

Before we got started, she asked about my issues, and I explained that I have right shoulder pain due to scapular dyskinesis, along with lower back pain, and tightness in my legs. I specified that I prefer deep tissue massage. However, she informed me that she doesn't do deep tissue and doesn’t believe it’s effective. I thought, “Alright, just go strong on the pressure, then.”

Unfortunately, the first 15 minutes were spent on cupping, and “tools” which was not what I wanted. When she used her hands, I could barely feel her touch, which left me confused. I had clearly requested strong pressure. No joke there was NO pressure.

During the massage, she kept having me do deep breathing. I thought, "Oh my gosh, finally she is going to go deep on the exhale." But nothing happened. To make matters worse, she focused primarily on my left side while neglecting the right side of my shoulder where I had my pain. I found myself counting down the minutes until the massage was over.

I have never experience a “massage” like this before. She barely used lotion, and it felt so dry and cold. Again, the whole experience left me so confused.

Meanwhile, my partner booked with Audrey. The look on his face of complete relaxation told me his experience was polar opposite. I wanted to mention something to the front desk upon check out however, I didn't want to ruin it for my partner. I didn't want to be “that person”

I feel like I was taken advantage of with my $130 payment, and I won’t be booking another massage here. It’s unfortunate to leave this review, as I genuinely respect everyone’s profession. She was very friendly. I just did not feel like she heard my request for my needs for the massage. And literally could barely feel her touch on my muscles. However, this was unequivocally the worst “massage”experience I’ve ever had. Such a bummer.

Sausa and...