Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa — Local services in Philadelphia

So I can’t recommend this location. I am a member, and get regular massages at another location.

I needed a last minute massage due to stress, and this location had an opening.

I arrived early, and had a nice chat with the manager. The fruit water was nice. She did manage to upsell me to a Himalayan mini service (more in that later).

My LMT was Dinny (?) and would advise against being booked with her- even in an emergency.

My massage was from 10:02-10:52 including prep etc. So I can’t help but to feel ripped off with about only 35 mins of actual service. I had to repeat myself multiple times. I also explicitly told her I did not want my feet touched- below the ankle. She insisted on at least compressing them. Which was weird as hell… “so they don’t feel left out”.

The massage itself had no rhythm or pattern. I also did not appreciate her heavy mouth breathing the entire time. Towards the end she basically just put her fingers on my neck randomly for the last 10 minutes… not on any muscle group or anything. It was awkward and I almost asked her to stop, but I don’t like confrontation.

I asked my mini Himalayan salt to be focused on my neck and shoulders. She didn’t even touch them. Back only, and it maybe was a few minutes max.

Then she had the audacity to blow on the salts (missing the salts completely, but rather ending up just blowing on my back) to “cool them down”. Which was uncomfortable. If I wanted lukewarm Himalayan salt I would have asked for that. So that was not welcome.

She told me to next time wear my hair in a high pony, so it wouldn’t interfere. I have never experienced a LMT who could not work around a low lying braid.

The environment wasn’t relaxing either. The lights were on 100%, and it was bright. The room was freezing. Then to end it all, there was no hot towel, so I was left covered in oil.

Also she handed me a card with “cardio internet videos” because “it could help me”, which I can’t help but to be insulted at.

It also sounded like she had chest congestion… which was just the icing on the cake for my...

I had an ok experience here. Just moved to that neck of Philly, had a gift certificate, and pain from head to toe so I gave this place a try.

I arrived 5 minutes early, which I thought was impressive for me. Intake was awkward, I was handed a tablet with no instruction and told to take a seat. The tablet questionnaire seemed endless to this adhd gal and it caused me to be “10 minutes late” for my appointment, which my masseuse made sure to point out to me. Sorry, neurotypical person here, wasn’t prepared for a pop quiz. If I was warned about the intake process, I would have arrived even earlier.

Once past all the tricky human interactions things went smoother. Justin was my masseuse and he was just amazing, the massage was absolute magic. Knots were loosened, pain was gone; Justin puts a lot of effort into his massage session. Absolutely no complaints with the massage.

Overall, my experience was meh. I’ve been to other spas and the experience just felt more personal, more intimate, felt taken care of and allowed to relax, which is the point of going to a spa, right? Things here just felt rushed, I didn’t feel important as a client, they tried to push a package deal at checkout; it wasn’t the spa experience I’m used to paying for. Disposable income is a rarity for me and I want a “Treat yo self” day to feel like I’m actually treating myself. Oh well, I guess that’s what happens when you go to a corporate owned spa. Lesson learned.

Big props to Justin’s skills, though. His massage deserves 5 stars. Others could...

I purchased a facial/massage gift card for my partner and decided to join her for a session on Mother’s Day. What a huge mistake that turned out to be. My partner always raves about her masseuse, and since it’s a chain, I assumed the quality of service would be consistent across practitioners. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

The experience started off as expected—I checked in and was led to the room by the practitioner. After a brief consultation, he stepped out so I could undress. I’ve had countless massages over the years, but never have I actually jumped at someone's touch. He re-entered, fiddled around for a couple of minutes, then I heard the oil being dispensed. There was an awkwardly long pause with no verbal cue before he finally touched my shoulders, which startled me. There was no awareness or use of soft, calming words—something I’ve come to expect from a professional massage.

His technique felt rushed and unfocused, with excessive oil and very little actual muscle work. About 15-20 minutes in, I kept telling myself to relax, but the overall experience was so disjointed it felt like he was either new or poorly trained.

At the end, he abruptly said, “OK, I’m done,” and flipped the lights on full blast. After I dressed, he came back in to tell me he didn’t feel any knots and that I just needed to come in for maintenance. Meanwhile, I was thinking, “I’m never EVER coming back.” Made for a terrible Mother’s Day...