Essentia Body Therapy — Local services in Santa Cruz

I had to make a trip down here to Santa Cruz to clear out my family home after their passing. I didn’t expect to feel so overcome by grief and all of the heavy emotions that go with handling the belongings of those I’ve loved and lost. On a whim, I decided to look up a place to get a massage in hopes of releasing some of my tension, resetting my emotions and allowing me 80 minutes to just be with my thoughts and focus on self care. When I first walked in to Essentia, I felt at home. I was greeted immediately and given a tour. I’m not huge on hippy dippy thoughts but the vibe of this space is so incredibly peaceful and welcoming. I was introduced to my therapist Lisa and immediately felt at ease. Everything about Lisa was calming and pleasant. Her voice, her mannerisms and the way she explained everything to me. At the ripe age of 38, I’ve treated myself to dozens of massages and self-care treatments and I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this was the most healing, effective and calming massage in my life. We chatted during the times I felt like talking and she was quiet and soothing during the moments I didn’t want to talk anymore. I had let her know that I was healing from a spinal fusion and she took extra precaution whenever she was near that area. I walked into Essentia with a heavy, grieving heart and by the time I was done, I left feeling as though I had made a new friend who cared about my well-being and who truly gave me 100% of themselves for every minute that I signed up for. I will be back down in a few weeks and there’s no question as to whether or not I’ll be booking another appointment with Lisa. From the bottom of my heavy heart, thank you for your part...

I was really looking forward to spoiling myself after the passing of my mother so I splurged on the "80 minute" 5 senses massage. Online my time slot was 12:15-2:00. Unfortunately the experience was just not as advertised, which is surprising based on how many wonderful reviews there are. My massage was maybe 60 minutes (12:35-1:35) and did not include all of the advertised elements. When I asked if I would be charged for 80 minutes I was told, yes, because the 20 minutes before the massage was to be included in the 80 minute experience.

I've never had a massage where the consultation and set up cut into the actual massage time. Does this mean if you get a 50 minute massage here it's actually only 30ish minutes..? The cost ($170) seems quite high for an hour long massage and it's a bummer to leave my self care time feeling frustrated. Normally I wouldn't bother writing a review because I want to support local businesses. But this should be a simple fix. Make sure the advertising is clear to the customer before they choose a service. This was a huge splurge for me and I would have chosen to spend my money differently if I had understood what I would actually be getting.

Even if I hadn't left feeling frustrated over the length of the massage, the overall experience was still really mediocre. My therapist talked a lot during the massage and I never was able to get to a point of feeling really relaxed. And isn't that the point of an 80 massage experience? Such a...

I'm happy to share. I walked in needing help. I scheduled an emergency appointment late Monday night. I could barely sit at my desk on Monday. My shoulders and neck were killing me. I couldn't get the tension to release on my own. It was all I could think about. I was just just so tense and frustrated. I've had terrible intermittent pain from whiplash and have had to work on it since. I was a first time client here recommended by my friend Molly. I was greeted immediately. Given a neck wrap and water immediately. The space was warm and welcoming. I was able to sit and wait in peace. My massage artist was super nice and prompt. She was also very professional. Excellent massage pressure. Sarah checked to make sure the pressure was on point. She released the pressure in my neck and it was the best night of sleep I'd had in months. I wanted to cry when I got home cause I was so relieved. Also Sarah fit a lot into the hour. I really felt like she utilized every minute. I was so appreciative of this. Other than the pain I still would have rated you a 10/10 for a lot of reasons. The space was cool! Easy to get to. The staff was super friendly and genuine. I didn't feel like it was forced interaction at all. Thank you for that. The CBD cream was new to me and I really loved it. I'll be back. I will also recommend it to everyone. Thank you...