Massage Serenity

I purchased a prenatal massage using a Groupon. The massage therapist, Courtney, was very friendly and courteous. She was very professional and the best part of my experience at Massage Serenity. If she worked elsewhere, I would use her services again.
Overall:
Pros: They did work with scheduling issues (Although, I think those could have probably been avoided with better management) and honored my Groupon after expiration (due to having to change appointments.)
Cons: Unsavory location (outside of building/​strip mall looked rundown), very thin walls, not a peaceful/​relaxing environment, owner seems unprofessional (could describe as «flakey»), not worth the price.
Details:
I have a young child and my husband’s work schedule varies weekly, so it’s difficult to plan too far in advance. I scheduled my massage approximately one month out from the date I called and I took that day off work since I wasn’t sure if my husband would be off work or not to watch our son. The owner called me about a week later and said that something came up and she needed to reschedule. She asked if she could book the same time/​day for the following week. I told her no because I normally work Mon — Fri I had to take that original time off. Since the Groupon would soon be expiring and I was nearing the end of my pregnancy, I took the next open evening she had. Once my husband got his schedule that included that week, I realized the rescheduled date would not work. I tried calling daily for an entire week and nobody ever answered. I also used the online submission form on the website and nobody answered. A few days later the owner returned my call and said there had been a family emergency and that is why she was just getting back to me. Normally I would be completely understanding; however, this «family emergency» overlapped with the day of my original appointment, so I wonder if «family emergency» was just an excuse for neglecting the business for over a week. Regardless, she then went on to say that she had me scheduled for two couples massages on two different days. I told her that was incorrect, that I was getting one prenatal massage. She still seemed confused. Ultimately, we were able to work out a day that worked for both of us. When I finally got the massage I was 34 weeks pregnant — not ideal, in my opinion — but I could not wait any longer.
I’ve gotten prenatal massages in the past and everywhere I’ve gone has always used a special pillow that is contoured specifically for a pregnant woman to ensure comfort. Massage Serenity just had a normal table and provided me two bed pillows. The table was not very comfortable. I’m not sure if it was a lack of padding or being unsupported and on my side (or a combination of both). The walls are paper thin and someone was in the room next to us talking and laughing the entire length of the massage. The room temperature was inconsistent (cycled between too warm, then the AC would blast and it would be too cold). The lotion used during the massage didn’t smell very good — reminded me of generic, cheap drugstore lotion.
In the end, I would not recommend Massage Serenity. As I said above, Courtney did a good job. She seemed somewhat new to massage, but still professional and appeared to really care. A lot of the faults I identified above were most likely out of her control. I paid $ 45 for the Groupon, which appears to indicate that the normal price for a 60 minute massage at $ 98, which is grossly overpriced for what you get at Massage Serenity. I’ve paid around $ 75 — $ 80 for 60 minute massages at top notch spas elsewhere in the metro.

Is this place even open? I have called several times, left messages and emailed them and have not gotten any response. I bought a groupon for a couples massage, and may be reporting to them that this is not a reputable business. They are definitely not making a good first impression!

I have been to Massage Serenity twice and both massages have been good. If you’re going in for a purpose — you have a headache, need to get a knot worked on, I would really recommend it. But this isn’t the typical «spa» massage atmosphere, so keep that in mind. Pretty thin walls so you can hear around you — the phone ringing, talking in the waiting room (which isn’t Massage Serenity’s fault in their defense, it’s the landlord’s).
Went in initially on a Groupon, and then purchased a couple’s massage for Valentine’s Day. We have opposite schedules so we were so excited when there was a convenient Saturday just a few weeks after Valentine’s Day. Unfortunately, the day of, I received a call that they were unable to do our massage as the therapist was sick. I get it, it happens. The hard part is that we couldn’t get in on another Saturday for months as a couple. We ended up splitting up and doing two separate massages on the same day a few weeks out. Scheduling is extremely tough to get into, so plan as far out as you can.

So, I purchased a Groupon for a couples massage for today 2÷21÷2014 at 4:30 pm. My husband and I sat outside for over an hour because the doors were locked. I called several times and left messages and go no response. We finally drove off at 4:35 pm and no one ever showed up or called!!! I would never book another appt with this place ever!!! How can you run a business like this? Not even a phone call to reschedule???
Massage Serenity has a horrible article posted about an ex employe and how he raped a client! Seriously???
ARTICLE:
Freddy Perez-​Cartagena, 47, of Olathe, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant charging him with rape and aggravated criminal sodomy.
According to court documents, the alleged sexual assault occurred Aug. 13. The victim was «overcome by force or fear,» according to the documents.
The Johnson County district attorney’s office said the victim reported she was sexually assaulted at Massage Serenity, 10 729 Shawnee Mission Parkway in Shawnee, by an employee who identified himself as «Erik.»