The Raven Spa — Local services in Los Angeles

I had scheduled a 1 hour deep tissue couples massage for my wife and I for our first anniversary thinking it would be a great way to relax. Unfortunately it was the least relaxing experience of our entire anniversary.

The customer service was bad. The receptionists called the day before to confirm the appointment for our massage. When they called to confirm, I asked with no expectations, if it would be possible to tack on a 30 minute procedure my wife asked me if she could get in addition. The receptionist's response was, “you know that’s something you should have asked for when you originally made the appointment.” Yeah I know that’s why I asked if it was possible.

We arrived 15 minutes before our appointment expecting the usual forms to fill out. You know liability releases and medical history forms. We didn’t fill out any of that, they just rushed us in the back room for our massage. We had only been in the room for 20 seconds getting undressed for the massage before the masseuses were already trying to enter.

Now I know for a fact that I scheduled a deep tissue massage. I even said on arrival to the receptionists that we were there for our deep tissue couples massage. That’s not what we got at all. I never have had this type of massage before and my wife had to explain to me that it was a thai massage. Yeah, this was not a relaxing thing to have on our anniversary.

Is jamming your fingers in my ear canals and then wiping your fingers off on my face a part of the thai massage? Jamming your thumbs into my eyes? Spending the majority of the time on my legs and butt mostly ignoring my back all together?

On top of not having the massage I paid for and receiving some very unsettling touches to the inside of my ears and face. The masseuse was wildly inappropriate at the end. As I was opening my eyes after grinding my teeth for an hour, she tells me her name, I could barely hear her because she clogged my ears and I asked her to repeat herself, she proceeded to say to me “TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP” (which my wife who was laying 3 feet away from me confirmed she yelled at me).

I have knee and ear problems which this procedure (even if it was what a thai massage is) inflamed. You would have known about this if you had us fill out forms like I have at every other spa and masseuse I have been to in my life. We did not fill out a liability release, I cannot repeat that enough. So you really should have made sure you were giving us the right massage and not causing injuries.

A funny part to me was how empty the facility was, they could have for sure added an additional procedure with the lack of clients they had when we were there like my wife requested. Thank god they didn’t because I was so tense and uncomfortable at the end that we rushed out of there. Hopefully the 20 dollars I left for tip goes only to the masseuse that treated my wife because yelling at someone “TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP TIP” does not make me want to tip you at all.

In short, do not go here. This will be remembered as the low point in the 1 year anniversary for my wife and I.

Edit reply: Thank you for your response. Thip had damaged my hearing so unfortunately all I heard was tip tip tip tip tip. It seems the majority of your concerns with my review is that I misheard broken English and that your receptionists didn't have us file a liability release. Not the fact that we received incorrect services and dismissive customer service. We will not return because if I pay for one thing and get another, and that's not acknowledged. I expect that to be something that will...

Though I had a truly lovely massage, the customer service and lack of communication were what ruined The Raven for me. I received a gift certificate for a Prenatal Massage at the Raven in Silverlake for my baby shower. I booked the massage for October 20th, and lo and behold, that morning my water broke and I went into labor. I tried calling them the entire way to the hospital to let them know I wasn’t going to be able to make it. No one answered nor was there a way to leave a voicemail. I called 6 times! While in labor! I emailed them as well telling them I’m sorry I missed the appointment - please tell me if this was received. Nothing. No reply. No follow-up to say “You missed your appointment, therefore your gift certificate was charged for this.” Nada.

This past week I finally re-made the appointment. I was SO excited! I have a newborn, and as all my fellow parents out there know, you don’t get to leave the house much in these early days. We love our baby, but I'd be lying if I didn't say I'm exhausted and sore and I was really looking forward to my message. SO, I go and end up having a wonderful Deep Tissue massage. Excellent. Five stars.

Afterward, I went up to pay with my gift certificate, and the woman at the front desk who was passive-aggressively rude informed me it was canceled because of my missed appointment on Oct 20th. I explained to her I was in the hospital in labor, I tried to contact them, all the things. She could not have cared less. She informs me of their strict 24-cancellation policy no matter what. NO EXCEPTIONS. Seriously? I missed my Prenatal Massage because I was in labor. I understand everyone's time is valuable and I understand that every business has its policies. But, given the circumstances, I was looking for some sympathy, some flexibility, and some understanding. I’m not trying to grift a free massage here.

So I paid out of pocket which stung. My life is not particularly luxurious right now as a new mom. Money is tight and free time is even tighter. I was really looking forward to using my gift. Instead, I had an amazing massage and still managed to leave with a terrible taste in my mouth. The front desk woman was unkind, inflexible and came across as totally unsympathetic. I NEVER write reviews like this, but the whole experience just really doesn't sit right with me. I find it ironic that a place of holistic body and mind services (that I went to for yoga for years) is so rigid and inflexible especially when it comes to their Prenatal offerings. Perhaps they should figure in the possibility of labor into the Prenatal offerings.

If you're looking for a restorative experience I would look elsewhere for a spa that offers a total package of customer service and quality massage - especially if you're expecting - because the Raven ain't it.

TLDR - I WENT INTO LABOR ON THE DAY OF MY PRENATAL MASSAGE APPOINTMENT AND THEY...

I paid for a 90 minute hot stone massage as a birthday gift to myself. The woman I was paired with was extremely rough. She applied way too much pressure with the heels of her feet as she walked all over my back, she had the same issue when she used her elbows. I’m 6’2”, 210lbs and she had to be no more than 5’8”, 120lbs—so that should tell you a lot. She seemed like she was just trying to get the massage done, quality wasn’t of importance. I wasn’t relaxed at all. I also was actively contracting my muscles the entire time to keep my arms in place, as the massage table was too narrow for me and my arms were falling off every time she worked on them. Not sure if there are larger tables for larger clients, but that would’ve helped. She also was pressing down on my head with her stomach as she reached over from the head of the massage table to work on my back (a stepping stool would have been a simple solution). The room I was in also had a large/loud standing air conditioning unit, so it was rather noisy. To make matters worse, after paying/tipping, the woman at the front desk asked “Was that tip a mistake? It’s so low”. After explaining why I left such a low tip (I honestly shouldn’t have left a tip, as I paid almost $200 for a service that was subpar—let’s just call a spade a spade), she asked me if I wanted to try something more relaxing, however, due to her vague verbiage I couldn’t tell if I would have to pay for this other service or if it would be on the house since I didn’t have a good experience, so I said no. Also, a hot stone massage is pretty relaxing… I usually fall asleep while getting one. I can see if I got a Thai massage and was complaining of it not being relaxing lol, but that wasn’t the case. Word of advice to the staff at Raven Spa… It is extremely tacky, to say the least, to question a client about how much they tipped. If someone is paying almost $200 for a massage, I doubt tipping well would be a problem—the issue was clearly the service. A simple “How was the massage? Would you book another session with the masseuse you had?” would have sufficed, and you wouldn’t have had to bluntly question someone about the tip they left, in the main lobby with people around (it seems other clients have had similar experiences). It is for that sole reason that I am leaving this blunt review. Also, if you’re trying to rectify a problem with an unhappy client, specific verbiage is preferred over vague verbiage. So instead of asking “Do you want to try something more relaxing”, you can say, “Since you didn’t have a good experience, we’ll schedule you with one of our more experienced masseuses, on the house”. My entire experience there was disappointing. However, I’m sure some of the staff are wonderful based on...