Matrix Spa & Massage — Attraction in Salt Lake City

I just had the worst massage of my life here. My husband and I did a couple massage with a male and female masseuse. I regrettably got the male masseuse.

The massage starts and within five minutes I knew this was going to be awful. He was putting so much pressure on me that the table I was laying on was shifting INCHES and screeching along the floor. Not once, not twice, THREE TIMES throughout the massage… like, I shouldn’t have to say anything, you’re obviously putting too much dang pressure on me if the ENTIRE TABLE IS MOVING!!

Not only that, but the full 90 minutes he was chastising me about my breathing. “I can’t do anything here if you don’t release your breath. You need to take deep breaths”… It was honestly so annoying and I wanted him to stop talking. It was constant. He made me feel like I was in labor with all of his “breathe” talk. Not relaxing in the slightest, but then again, nothing about this massage was relaxing.

When I flipped on my back, he massaged my sternum… I have NEVER had that happen and it was extremely uncomfortable.

And while I was still laying on my back, he then put his hands under my back and lifts me up inches off of the table… and then tells me I need to push my chest out.. that was also sooo uncomfortable. My chest was only underneath the one white sheet (not the heavy waffle blanket like the rest of my body), I felt like my nipples were exposed and he could see everything… And also what in the exorcist was going on here?? Like, why are you lifting me up like this??

And like I mentioned earlier, the entire massage he’s coaching me on how to breathe.. but while on my back it was just awful. He would do his breaths alongside me and his breath smelt awful.. truly truly awful!

I was also cold the entire time. The masseuse didn’t give me any hot towels while my husband had hot towels during his massage.

Oh and I almost forgot to mention, the head thing you put your face through, whatever towel or padding they were using felt like sandpaper. Maybe it’s because my face was nearly falling threw it with all the dang pressure I was getting. My cheeks felt raw and red and hurt.

Then my husband’s masseuse concludes that that was the end of the session, and the guy wasn’t even finished with the other side of my lower body. Which at this point, good riddance and also it just solidified even more why this was such an awful experience. He hurried and threw the blanket back over my leg and like, stroked it over the blanket a few times and left..

Once they left to let us get back into our clothes, my hair was stuck!!! The masseuse had tangled my hair into the table and I literally could not move. It was a good thing my husband was there or I would have been legitimately stuck.. my husband untangled me the best he could and still had to rip a few hairs out.

This was honestly the worst massage experience ever. Do not come here. I did not leave feeling relaxed or that my tension was resolved (which I told both masseuses that my neck and shoulders were the focus areas and my masseuse barely touched these areas). I left feeling even worse. My masseuse was using his freakin elbow and forearm the entire time.

Worst...

I wanted to give this five stars (because we really did have a great experience!), but there is one overwhelming reason I only gave a three-star.

First, I'm gonna start with the good - because there is plenty. We booked the Diamond package for our anniversary which entails (according to their website)

"(2) 90 min Swedish/Deep Tissue Massage $220 (2) Hot Stone Treatment $50 (2) 15 min Reflexology $50 (2) Express Facial $110 (2) Salt Body Scrub $110 (2) Private Steam Room $80 (2) Meditation Cave & Refreshments $70 Value of $690 Only $385"

Upon arrival, there were a lot of positive notes: *There is a zen/Asian theme which was quite nice. Having been to Japan myself, it was fun. *Our shoes were traded out for slippers to wear throughout the establishment. It added to the environment and got us mentally prepped for our massage. *Our massage room was kept dark; surprisingly challenging for a sunny window in the afternoon. *The massage beds are heated - nice surprise! *The steam room is large and quite relaxing! And finally... *OUR MASASAGE THERAPIST: They were wonderful! We have asked at other massage places for deep tissue... This was our first time actually getting a deep tissue massage!

Now for the negatives: *We had soft waves and rain music for most of our massage. It was nice, but as we were getting dressed, the music changed to Asian instruments. We would have liked to have had the music during our session as it kept with the theme. I enjoyed that music more. *THE ONE OVERWHELMING REASON THAT KEPT ME FROM 5-STARS... We paid for a 90 minute massage and that is NOT what we received! Since we paid $385 PLUS tip, I would expect the full massage.

How do I know we didn't get the full massage? I'll explain - We arrived at 3pm. On the website, it says there is a "10 minute intake & QA" followed by the massage. After we got ready for our massage and laid on the table, I saw my phone said 3:15 exactly. After our supposed 90 minute massage and advertised 15-minute reflexology, my phone said 4:38. I took a screenshot on my phone and took a picture of the clock in our room. If we had the full time on the massage and reflexology, it should have been 5pm. Even if we have started right at 3pm, it would have been 4:45pm. Either way, we we're shorted time.

I don't believe in paying for services not rendered, and for that reason, I gave our experience...

DON’T WASTE YOUR MONEY

I’m so disappointed with my experience at this spa. I’m honestly surprised at the amount of good reviews. I spent a lot of time reading reviews before booking, trying to find the best place for my husband and I to celebrate our anniversary. I made a mistake choosing this one!

I scheduled a couples massage through their online booking. I got an email back within a few hours saying the appt was booked for a different time and a different type of massage than I requested. So I had to call & get it fixed.

Then the night before our appt, at 2AM I got a text saying one of their therapists called in sick & we needed to come at a different time. I completely understand that people get sick! However, that time conflicted with our dinner reservation. So after many hours, texts back & forth, and rearranging of our plans and other reservations, we finally worked out a time to come in.

Up to this point, I wasn’t upset or bothered. I understand things come up & I felt the person I was speaking with was trying her best to make things work! But once we got to the spa, it was downhill from there.

We felt rushed from the moment we arrived to the moment we were ushered out the door. It was far from relaxing. There lacked a lot of simple details that make a spa experience. There was no robe to change into or locker room to place our things. We were not offered any water (let alone other refreshments) before or after the massage. There was no relaxing “waiting room” for before/after the massage. The massage itself was sub par. Really nothing great to say about it. I’m glad I asked to upgrade to hot stones because I was cold the entire time. The only positive thing I can say is that she did spend a few extra minutes on my problem area.

To summarize, the booking was not smooth. The spa experience/ambiance was non-existent. The massage was nothing to write home about. We felt so rushed. We went in excited & hopeful and left feeling extremely disappointed. All this for $250. (Including a 3.5% fee for using a card that I only found out about after getting my receipt)

I’m truly sad we spent the time & money to celebrate our anniversary here. I took the time to write this review to hopefully deter others from experiencing the same...