Sang Yuan Body Works — Local services in New York

Ok, I never take the time to review a place, but holy Lord this place is AMAZEBALLS!!! I've been here twice thus far; both times there was zero wait & I was pleasantly greeted promptly. Everybody was nice & very professional. I told the masseuse (I don't care if they're certified or not, in my book they were excellent) to go HARD, & for the entire time they did, paying careful attention to my especially sore muscles (I had lots of knots). My profession is a nurse, so my back & feet take a beating at work. & to top it off, you pay $55/60 minutes. Yep I wrote that right! I told them I wanted 90 minutes & I paid $85. Where else in Manhattan does that happen?! The only downside is you don't have a private room per se. There's 3 walls & where typically another wall & door would be, there's only a thin curtain. So essentially, you can hear what's being said on either side of you. But between the soothing music & Lili's magic hands, I barely heard anything. When I left, both times I walked out giddy & smiling because I was so relaxed & comfortable in my skin. This is definitely my go to spot for a good massage &, in addition, the price is spectacular. I strongly urge you to give it a...

AVOID THIS PLACE -- Twice I asked both the receptionnist and the masseuse for two separate massages : a 30 min foot massage followed by a 60 min full body massage. Instead I got a 90 min back and feet massage (no front shoulders and arms). It was pretty rough in the masseuse's demeanor : no gentle movements at all. She did not speak a lick of english at all : I asked her to avoid my left elbow using easy words and pointing, as I have a minuscule broken bone in it, and she just ignored me entirely. I managed to find my peace with it. Came paying time, I paid the agreed upon price to the receptionnist, and gave the masseuse a 12% tip, me not being entirely satisfied. SHE THREW THE MONEY ON THE COUNTER WHILE HISSING AT ME, and the receptionnist told me the minimum was 20% no matter what, while the masseuse was clearly insulting me in her native tongue while looking at me with disgust.

I asked another client who obviously goes there often if they forced them to pay 20%, and they said they usually give 10 to 15.

120 USD to be belittled in the Upper East Side. Sounds...

Strong massage by intuitive masseuse. I had been going to Ocean Healing Spa one block away on 82nd Street but had been dissatisfied there, so I figured I'd give this place which has great reviews and is over on 83rd Street. It's much better. The setting is a basement with pipes and uncarpeted floors, not charming, but the massage bed is warm and the massage itself was top notch. The pressure was the perfect common ground between deep hard pressure and soft stroking. Hopefully the quality is consistent.

The one thing I would suggest, and the reason this is not 5 stars, is that the masseuse could be a little more careful when moving the bed (cot) back and forth to make room for her to get around the head or foot of the cot. It is very light and she jerks it, pushing the bed with her hips toward the wall or toward the curtained entrance depending on whether she needs more room at the head or at the foot of the cot, and that is jarring. Better to lift and more softly push the bed further or pull it closer to the curtained entrance...