Sunset Sauna

They shut down their location and are now working out of a Chiropratic Office «Wellness Clinic» or something off 26^th Ave & Judah???
Dude, WHOA! Never again, here’s why:
1.) Was not dark during my massage, she tried using this special light to make the lights seem dim, but sorry it wasn’t
2.) 102.9 KBLX is my station, but not my music during a massage (commercials during a massage!!! WTF!?!)
3.) The massuese was good, but SHUT UP! I’m not your therapist, nor are you mine? I got a bruise on my leg-​WHY DO I HAVE TO EXPLAIN HOW? just massage me!!!
Why did I stay? Well, she worked the hell out of my knots and I was hella tired… but NEVER AGAIN! And I gave them so much hope before!
Tisk Tisk! Kabuki-I’m coming back and the amount I saved when I would try to alternate Sunset Sauna with Kabuki is just not worth it anymore!!!

I went here to get a massage with a «friend» once. It was cool. Pretty reasonable and the experience was okay. I didn’t really have a bad experience. I was surprised at how strong the therapist’s hands and fingers were… considering the fact that she was an older person. I was truly impressed.

My husband has used these guys for years. Sometimes he comes out raving about how much better he feels, and sometimes he comes out saying he got no relief whatsoever. He’s been in a few accidents, had major surgery and needs the deep tissue massage. They rotate through therapists so you don’t always have the same experience. You should book massages with anyone you get a good experience with so you have some consistency. What its all about is who’s doing it really. As far as the facilities, well, as far as I can tell he’s never come home with anything related to fungus so it seems OK, but I have to confess I know for a fact that they will let people pay for just the shower so that’s not real great. I don’t do the massage thing, I get totally creeped out by having anyone but my husband touch me so that whole thing is out… except for chiropractors and doctors. But they seem safe, I mean, no ones going to do anything bad there.

I like consistency. I find someone I like and stick with them.
Olga is great in room #5. Not sure if she’s still there. Very consistent with a good routine. She provides firm solid pressure. Have gotten over 5 massages from her.
Joe is also great in back pagoda. Smoker but chews gum to hide the smell. Very strong hands & elbows. Excellent deep pressure. You can hear street sounds in the Pagoda but the music mostly masks it. I’ve gotten 1 massage from him and my female friend has gotten 2 from him. We’re both happy with his massage skills.
Stay away from room #1 which is next to the receptionist. You can hear the street noise and receptionist talking. Not a good room for a massage.
You take a big risk if you don’t get a referral. You can get lousy service if you’re not picky about the masseuse. You’re paying good money to heal yourself, don’t be passive about your selection.

Damnit I swore I read that I could get touched inappropriately here… WTF that was a let down… no one neither male nor female laid a wandering hand on me any time I have been here… NO FAIR I! Why do I get ignored? The place although (to use a real-​estate term for noth the greatest) quaint is nothing more than a house with loosely decorated bedrooms decent enough to spend an hour in. I wasnt completely turned off nor did I see any wayward rodents. I actually had a good time with the masseuse who worked on my «built like a linebacker girl shoulders». Now maybe its my own fault for being able to take pain…(well leave the sex stuff outta this though) but each time I told her harder I swear she thought she might break me… Alas I probably will go back one more time in my life and hope for some indecent proposal or something (not that Ill accept I SWEAR. it’s just nice to be asked y’know?) but no more than one more time. After all I am a glutten for pinishment.

I used to go to Sunset Sauna for several years until I bought a years worth of massages at Perfect Day Spa ($ 400 for 11 1-​hour massages). I used to go to SS becuase they were one of the few places that had good massages for good prices if you bought a pack of them at once ($ 550 for 10 massages, but this price has changed), but there are so many massage spas opening with cheaper prices like Perfect Day Spa & Massage Envy, SS could no longer compete with them.
Good points:
Some of THE BEST massages I recieved here, I recieved massages from about 8 different therapists here in a 3 year span and kept going back to the same lady (Olga) she was always consistent.
Staff are very friendly.
Bad points:
–Yes, the place smells, everything is hardwood soaked with rancid veggie oil
–Don’t come here if you are looking for the «spa» experience they don’t have amenities like Burke williams & re: fresh (see BW review), this place is inhabited by locals who come to use the sauna which is tiny!
–Sometimes they use TOO much massage oil
–The pagoda they have in the garden is nice, but if you are allergic to dust/​cats/​mold, then don’t get a massage in there
–they have cats walking/​resting everywhere, I’m allergic to cats

Ok, first of all, $ 80 for a full hour massage and $ 110 for 1.5 hrs, and $ 8 for a ½ hour sauna, which I highly recommend for a pre-​massage relaxation therapy. Compare that to Int’l Orange on Fillmore, where you’ll pay $ 105 for an hour and $ 160 for 1.5 hrs, and other spas that are far pricier than that.
Don’t come here looking for a state of the art ultra modern facility. It’s a little worn around the edges but was spotlessly clean on a recent visit. 3 huge towels, flip flops and a nice cotton waffle weave robe were provided with the sauna, along with a good size bottle of water.
I usually go to Sunset Sauna a couple of times a year, and I have had less than stellar massages, sometimes with therapists who just didn’t seem to be listening, etc. I think there is somewhat high turnover; just be sure to find someone you like and stick with them. I’ve certainly never witnessed any of the skeevy behavior other reviewers talk about. It looks like they once had «non-​sexual» in their business description-​maybe clients were having weird expectations?-anyway, it’s no longer part of their biz name.
My favorite massage therapist is Joe, a 9-​year employee, who works Thursday, Friday & Sunday, usually in the little cottage in the back yard (which they call a «garden pagoda”-that’s a bit of a stretch). A week after my massage, my back feels better than it has in a very long time.

First off I only gave this one star because they didn’t have a half star. This place is HORRIBLE and should be CLOSED DOWN! I am by no means a prude but I was desperate for a place where I could get a massage after 8PM because of my work schedule. I went to their website and decided to take a chance. I should have known that something was up when I walked in and there were NO OTHER customers around. I paid immediately and I was given no form to fill out asking me about physical limitations or anything. my masseuse then took me OUTSIDE to some DIRTY TENT and then told me to get undressed but to leave my underwear on and she would be back momentarily. now here it is 9PM on a COLD AND FOGGY NIGHT on 20^th Ave. in San Francisco. Hell I was so tired that I wasn’t at my sharpest. The massage was amateurish and I too felt very NASTY when I left there and I immediately took a hot bath and scrubbed myself thouroughly when I got home. The place was REALLY CREEPY and I got some REALLY BAD VIBES from out of there. I’m pretty tough, BUT SOMETHING ABOUT THAT PLACE AIN’T RIGHT! DON’T GO THERE! iT’S LIKE A 70’S TIMEWARP THAT HAS NEVER BEEN CLEANED OR ANYTHING SINCE THE 70’S. YOU GET THE FEELING THAT SOME ONE IS WATCHING YOU FROM OUTSIDE THE CURTAINS WHILE YOU ARE GETTING A MASSAGE IN THE «TENT».

Less than average. Did not enjoy the lack of sheets and use of relatively small towels for coverage. The massage was adequate, the cleanliness a bit questionable I’m afraid.

First of all, the name is hilarious. I hope this is a beginning of a trend, with non-​sexual donut shops and non-​sexual carpet cleaners cropping up all over town.
I have had wildly differing massages here by a variety of characters. The only constant was that nobody tried to molest me. Maybe the charges are all false. Maybe I am ugly. Anyhoozles, the massages have been mostly uneventful with a couple notable exceptions.
1. A therapist several years ago who used so much pressure I ended up looking like a battered woman.
2. An otherwise-​skilled therapist who wouldn’t shut up about how I need a chiropractor and, coincidentally, she has a private practice on the side.
3. A guy who I think was a recent parolee who gave me an extra 20 minutes at no charge. LOVED him! No, seriously, he was great, but I haven’t seen him since.
All in all, it’s not bad. You definitely can’t walk in the door upscale-​spa expectations. It’s a different thing. It’s kind of laid back and on the hippy side. Ain’t no fluffy robes for the takin’, princess. The prices are fair and they have a fat cat that hangs out in the lobby and that’s worth at least a star in my book.

This place is reasonably priced as I’m a veteran receiver of massages from the notorious Calistoga Spas. The therapist are always professional and the rooms have a simple décor. You get the most bang for your buck here and I don’t understand what everybody is whining about. There’s easy parking and all the masseuses are polite, caring, and give great massages! I’d try it at least once… you can’t lose.

Eew, eew, eew! You think after a massage you’d be relaxed and blissful, but no — all I wanted to do was immediately go home and wash myself. I went here because it’s close to my house and they said they offered maternity massage — big mistake.
First of all, I echo the sentiments of other reviewers — the place is not clean, in fact it smells like cat piss and sweat. But, that’s the least of its worries.
Because I was pregnant they put me on this table with funky maternity pillows and NO head rest. I asked what I was supposed to do with my head and the therapist said «oh you’ll just let it hang off.» So, trusting her, I thought I’d give it a go. About 10 minutes into the massage I started to experience bad neck & jaw pain. Um, isn’t the massage supposed to relax those areas!!! After I said something, she put the head rest in. I’m sorry, but why the #%%% didn’t she do that in the first place if it was an option?
Also, my therapist seemed nice enough, but waaaaay too chatty. Just when I’d start to relax — she’d loudly burst out with a question about the pregnancy. I wanted to shout «Shut up for Pete’s sake!» but alas, I didn’t want to ruin the massage with bad juju, so I politely answered her questions. She also desperately needed to cut her nails. What am I — a scratching post?
Then — about 45 minutes into the massage, things took a turn for the worse. I don’t think it was sexual in any way, just horribly horribly careless on her part — but she «grazed» me. Uh huh, you know where. SO WRONG! Then at the end she had me turn over so she could work on my jaw which had locked up from hanging over the end of the table and I got accosted by breath that could make a homeless person turn green — like rotting brussel sprouts and horse vitamins. Yup — that was the final 5 minutes of my massage — me holding my breath for dear life and praying for it to be over soon.
Here’s what sucks — I am too polite. I really should have said something to her, but I was so desperate for a relaxing experience that I didn’t want to deal with the anxiety of confrontation so I tipped her and left. Again, she didn’t seem like a bad person, just very unprofessional so I vowed to contact the owner afterwards to complain. But — it seems the owner has his own set of issues based on the sfgate article posted by others. In all, it was a total waste of $ 70 and an hour of my time — not to mention the mental energy. I don’t care if you’re crying from the pain — you’d be better off with a heating pad and one of those tacky beaded car seat covers.
Phew — thanks for letting me vent! I feel more relaxed & blissful already.

Despite the rather hilarious name (you should try looking it up on 411, because it cuts off the «massage» at the end), its quite a good place for a budget massage — if you get the right massage therapists. The quality really varies depending on who you work with. Nice for last minute appointments — I used to live across the street. If you can score either Florence or Chris (male), they are definitely more than worth the price!

A friend took me here for what turned out to be a very disturbing and uncomfortable massage. The «massage therapist» I had talked to me throughout the ordeal, would not stop pestering me about the birthmark he thought was a bruise, and touched me in a way that I can only describe as EXTREMELY close to, if not completely, inappropriate.
Luckily, my friend was nearby (we had the «couples» room though we were decidedly not) and I felt somewhat safe because of that.
After we got dressed and came out into the hallway, the «massage therapist» who had worked on me gave me his phone number!
One word for the run-​down dive: AVOID!

Leave it up to my best friend to come up from LA and tell ME where to get a great massage! I never go to the Aves unless it’s for a non sexual massage from Sunset. I also sent my buddy there for his birthday last year, I told him it’s not like the other massage parlors he frequents in the ‘loin and his back will actually feel better afterwards. He was impressed despite the not so happy ending.

My mom gave me a gift certificate for this place and Violetta gave me the best massage I’ve ever had. I don’t know what those guys were talking about-​having encountered a couple of pervy massage therapists I can honestly say that there is nothing dirty or creepy about this place. I had a relaxing and wonderful experience there.

No sex? No thank you!

I went here because it was near where I live, and the ad I called them from didn’t say anything about sex or no sex – it only implied therapeutic massage. I didn’t experience anything sexually inappropriate, but it was dirty, and the therapist who worked on me had some… uh, unconventional techniques. In addition, she used about a half a bottle of oil on me and told me not to take deep breaths when she was using a lot of pressure because she could pop air bubbles in my lungs… WHERE do they find these people??? I left angry, which is not supposed to happen when you get a massage. I give them one star because when I complained they admitted that they had complaints about that therapist before, and they tried to make up for it. And well, the system won’t allow me to rate them ‘0’.
UPDATE 3÷27÷06: I was telling a massage therapist about this article posted in Dan’s review:

Her reponse, without hesitation: «UGH! FINALLY!» She used work there years ago when she just graduated from massage school.