Water Cube Spa Relax Center — Local services in New York

WARNING: NOT SAFE FOR BLACK PEOPLE. My friend and I went to Water Cube tonight (12/2/23) for 60 min foot reflexology. Roughly 20 mins in, our session was rudely interrupted by irate and tragically irrational white people who left a coat and purse at the establishment earlier. I happened to be seated where the older white woman who left her items was positioned. Neither the irate white people nor the Asain workers in the establishment ever paused to include me in the process. My possessions were touched w/o my consent. I was crawled over w/o my consent. And the establishment ALLOWED IT. At my protest, the establishment was MORE concerned with the likelihood that I'd respond violently then protecting my indemnity as a patron; going so far as to touch me in attempt to "calm me down" and say "No worries ma'am. We have everything on video."

The lost purse was in fact in between the massage chairs but I was still accused of sitting on the item and intentionally prohibiting its finding. Despite the younger white woman in the party crawling over me to look behind and around my chair. Despite the Asian workers doing the same. The purse wasn't located until they called the woman's phone and it's position BETWEEN the chairs ascertained.

I was gulity by proximity NOT fact, but that didn't matter to the white people and despite the establishment knowing of my innocence in the matter my position as their patron was not protected. They allowed irrate white people to touch me, touch my possessions, and falsely accuse me. They didn't offer apology or recompense (in the form of a discount or additional time due to the interruption).

Despite this, yes, I paid and tipped. I will never refer or visit this place again. Black people be warned. You will not be protected here. And if white people are involved, the establishment will let them behave at will while worrying more about your likelihood of becoming violent than protecting you from...

This place is fine, my massage was okay but not the best. Also the guy cracked my neck without warning which I did not like. Just know, as is more often the case than not unfortunately with places with many overly good reviews, this place does very actively solicit reviews. Asking people to review is fine, but if you’re offering someone a discount on their next visit or whatever for writing a review, most people will tend to write with a more positive bias, so less likely for it be a truly honest unbiased assessment.

Edited to add: I’ve had really weird back pain since, you should never crack someone’s neck/do any kind of aggressive spinal adjustment without obtaining consent. I normally go to a Chinese massage place downtown and this has never happened to me there. If you go here, and you don’t want your neck cracked aggressively without warning, make it clear before your session to protect yourself.

Edited to add again in response to what Water Cube wrote: I was not talking about pressure. I’m perfectly capable of asking someone to adjust pressure. The man cracked my neck without warning so there was nothing I could do about it. You should tell your masseuses that they should not crack people’s necks without...

Once upon a time, there was a masseuse named Tina. She had the magic touch. Whenever she massaged me, it was done to perfection. After the sessions ended, I gave her generous tips. And then one day, I called Water Cube to make an appointment with Tina. The owner told me that she was away. I assumed that Tina was taking a well-deserved vacation. A few weeks later, I called to see if Tina was available. The owner told me that she wasn’t coming back. I was in disbelief.

I decided to try other spas in Manhattan. Long story short, those places weren’t that great. I came back to Water Cube. I took a leap of faith and had a session with a masseuse named Lucy. Lucy isn’t as good as Tina. She tends to make a few mistakes (i.e. touching my feet when I said not to because it tickles, rubbing my shoulders too hard). However, whenever she makes a mistake, she apologizes and fixes it- and she doesn’t repeat the same mistake. Once she gets into a groove, her massages are very pleasant. I love Lucy’s massages.

$62 for a one hour massage is a bit steep (a one hour massage in Chinatown is $55). Water Cube is at a very convenient location so it’s...