Chelsea Body Work — Local services in New York

Seem like it’s usually a great place but unfortunately I got a gentlemen with long nails who for some reason decided to use them? I’ve been to many foot spas (as they are very prevalent where I live), and generally they angle their fingers in a way that prevents their nails from poking into you or scratching you as they massage, or tucking them in and using their knuckles to relieve pressure rather than their fingertips - but for whatever reason this man seemed to be purposefully using his long nails. It was very strange, and painful. At one point he was even individually scraping the skin at the tips of each of my toes. The product was much less reflexology pressure points than it was some sort of fingernail microdermabrasion on the skin of my feet. The skin of my arches actually got scraped up and tender to the touch throughout the foot massage, and he wasn’t even able to push into the actual muscle tension at all. Not to mention he seemed to be looking around the room and down the hall much more often than at the task at hand, and poured water into the bucket that was too hot for me to even immerse my feet completely. He even asked if it was too hot to which I replied that ‘yes, it was’ and then he proceeded to grab my foot and forcefully submerge it into the piping hot water anyway. I’ve never had an experience like this before, I’m actually very bewildered haha I didn’t even know what to do! But I really feel this place has a good ambiance & cleanliness and it seemed like the staff working with the 3 people next to me were not using the same strange technique that my gentlemen was - so I have to believe it was a fluke and maybe someone more used to working the front desk? Not sure. For this reason, I’ll be giving 3 stars instead of the 1 star my experience deserved. But I’m from out of town and probably won’t be back. Shame I didn’t have the 5 star experience...

The staff was incredibly personable and friendly. We had a great deal for a couples massage that we couldn’t pass up on. For the cost, I believe it was worth it. However, there were some odd practices that the massage therapists did that we have never had done from other therapists at massage chains. As a side note, if you are looking for a spa-like environment, this is not the place for you. Very basic in that the room only had two massage tables in it, a heater on the floor, and two plastic stepping-stools. For one, while I was on my stomach, the therapist straddled on top of me to work on my back. She also straddled on top of the back of my head to work on my lower back, and tucked the covering towel into the top of my underwear that she moved halfway down my rear-end. We were especially looking forward to leg and foot work, since living in NYC and walking everywhere, and there was no massage to the feet at all so was a bummer. Not sure if this is something that needs to be specifically stated or added on to the couples package we purchased. Lastly, when we were on our backs, the therapists stretched our legs by bending them at the knee and bringing the knees to our chest. A great stretch, however, the towel that covered us was a regular shower towel. By stretching us in such a way, the towel was not covering us and we were..exposed. It was uncomfortable. They have great prices and offer a lot of services and is at a convenient location. Again, staff is very kind and overall I do believe my back feels better than when I went in. There were just some things that didn’t jive with us that we...

It was my first time getting a deep tissue massage. It was very intense however it got all my knots out, which is the point right lol. The place was okay and looked clean. Everything was good until it came to the tip. I went for a massage so I didn’t bring much with me since I booked through class pass. I gave the masseuse a $5 tip because that was the only cash I had on me after rushing out of my apartment. I went to the restroom and when I got out the guy at front desk asked if I liked my massage and to give her 20%. I told him I unfortunately didn’t have any cash on me. He said very rudely well we take card. I understand $5 isn’t much however that was all I had on me at the moment and I know not everyone tips so I thought I was being kind by even giving her a few dollars. After I told him I didn’t have anything else on me because I was in a rush this morning, he said well if I want to come back next time it’s 20% tip. HOW RUDE! You do not demand someone for a tip especially if the experience wasn’t all that. I have gotten many massages and this massage wasn’t something to give a $20 tip for. The masseuse did not ask if I had any injuries before she started the massage and It was so rough. They massage isn’t even in a room it’s in a closet with a curtain and you can hear the noise from the hallway. I will for sure be waking up sore. I definitely...