The Massage Place

My fiancé booked a 90min massage for us. Where to begin… my therapist was not the greatest. At all! First 10min where okay then I’m not sure what happened. There were long pauses in between and it made me feel so uncomfortable. I have a knot on my lower back which she was able to feel right away. I asked if she would be able to take it out and she told me she wasn’t able to that I would have to go see a chiropractor. I still have this knot. I was left face down for more then an hour. I was able to turn over once I brought it to her attention that I had a runny nose. This definitely discouraged me from trying new massage places.

I was quite pleased with my massage from Anita. Very deep pressure and nice personality. Appreciated her level of communication. Note that 1 hour is $ 47 but a $ 20 tip is expected. As some noted, therapists are independent contractors and need the tips to operate!
Other massage spots I frequent (for certain therapists) are: Alchemie spa on main st, Siranaan massage on Washington and exhale in Santa Monica

Michael is great! By far the best therapist Ive had here and even at more high end places. The massage place, as others have mentioned is no frills but hands down way more consistent then George’s Chinese Massage down the street and there is parking. Solid business, good location and consistent delivery = four stars!

Ravee is a healer of sore and tired muscles. She is the best at what she does because I am very active. She sees me weekly and feels for all the problem areas and takes great care of me. If not for her, I’d be very injury prone. I feel so much better after each session and sure, am exhausted and sore for the next 24 hours but after that, I can run faster and longer. I can’t give enough credit to this lovely woman. If you need someone to take care of all of your knots and pains, see her ASAP.
On another note, Carla at the desk is extremely sweet and cheerful. TMP is no frills but that’s fine, I’m looking for someone to work on my body for the entire hour and don’t need the spa atmosphere for that.

I go to this location because of my massage therapist Anita. She is the best there is. I go every week. Anita is strong and gives the best deep tissue massages. I will follow her wherever she goes. And I plan my massages around her schedule because she’s so good.

I saw Nadia at this place and it was my first time here. What a perfect massage. She has professional training and it showed. Parking is very good and the price is good too. The place is very clean and they change the sheets after each customer. The décor is rather sparse but that didn’t matter. I just did 1 hour but longer is available too. I’ve been to many places and seen hundreds of therapists and Nadia is near the top. Usually within the first few minutes you can tell if it will be good or not and if the person has formal training. Worked my back, then legs, then arms and flip over and repeat. I’ll go back. Apparently they have multiple locations, but I’ve only been to this one specific location.

My boyfriend and I both just had massages with Joel and Karen. Both nice people, but I have to say that unfortunately we both walked away very disappointed. We came in hoping to have relaxing massages, yet my boyfriend was super uncomfortable and even in pain the entire time. On the sheet they had me fill out before my massage I also specifically asked for the massage to be focused on my back, head and hands– never even got a hand massage and clearly my notes were not even read. At the beginning of the massage we also both tried to convey the specifics of what we wanted, but they were dismissed. Again, nice people, but left feeling very disappointed and dissatisfied. We were not there for uncomfortable painful massages where we had to be super focused on our breathing (which was in fact more stressful than relaxing– the opposite of what we were looking for).

I’ve been coming to this great spot for over twelve years and have had many great massages, hundreds really, with only one or two that weren’t amazing. Last night I so happily found myself in the hands of Lisa B– AMAAAAAAAZING. A string, firm touch (which I love) but soothing the whole time too. Perfect for athletic types that also need to chill out an relax. Awesome.

just had a massage with Nathan and I am very happy. He was very friendly and really listened of what I needed. Great work. I sure will see him again.

This place is located in a strip mall that is easy to spot. Even though it says the address is on Abbot Kinney, the entrance is on the small street right after Abbot Kinney. Parking is very convenient.
This location, like the other ones, isn’t what you would call luxurious or well-​decorated. They really cut costs in making it fancy. In fact, it reminds me of some run-​down office building.
They’re all focused on the actual massage service though. I’ve been here twice for prenatal massage with Lek and both times I left impressed and relaxed. She knows how to be gentle yet work out those knots. Oh and on cold days, she makes sure the massage bed is heated!
I will say that sound-​proof is lacking here. The walls appear thin. If the sound track isn’t turned up, you can hear the foot steps outside and some murmuring. I’m able to just tune that out. If that is something important to you, then don’t bother coming here.
I keep returning because the location is convenient to me and because I have gift certificates.

I went to The Massage Place on Abbot Kinney today for the first time (I had gone to other locations in the past). Like all of locations I’ve gone to it is rather minimalist, clean, nice scent when you walk in. The lady at the front desk was very nice and friendly and I appreciated that.
I had a massage by Cha Cha. She is a tiny woman (like I should talk at 5’2″) but really knows what she is doing. I did complete their form noting that I wanted Swedish, slow and gentle due to a past car accident. It took my telling her a few times to make it softer and more gentle, but she asked a few times if I was okay and that was appreciated. Sometimes they just don’t care and do it the style they wish rather than what the client wants. I realize that touch and degrees of pressure are subjective.
It ended up being a very good and soothing massage. She even is knowlegable about acupressure so that was helpful. I do wear contacts and the acupressure near my eye was a little problematic. I should have told her about the contacts when I saw what she was doing.
The only things I think woukd improve the experience is better, softer music, perhaps dimmer lighting, Warm moist towels would be better I think than dry towels.
Overall it was a very positive experience. I recommend The Massage Place at this location and specifically Cha Cha.
This is well worth the $ 47 plus tip.

This is still my favorite Massage Place location. The therapy rooms are quiet and I have had several great therapists here. When I come here it is not that I need a spa day — you should go somewhere else if that is what you want. This is for my poor old aching back. The prices can’t be beat for a 90 minute massage and if you buy a package, you save even more money. Each of their locations are immaculately kept. While I have had a few dud therapists on the way to finding awesome ones, I am still a huge fan and have been a customer since this place first opened.

I had a massage with Yoko and she was excellent! I don’t get massages very often but this was one of the best I’ve had. I like medium to hard pressure and she did it perfectly. No complaints at all about the massage therapist but the massage rooms could use some work. You can hear through the walls which is a bit distracting but not the end of the world. Maybe turn the soothing music up a little bit?

Hmmm… not sure where to go with this one. Got a recommendation for the Massage Place from a friend’s son who loved it. The hard part about leaving a review on a place like this is that, from what I can tell, all the massage therapists are independently contracted so it’s not like they are employees of the place where they would have standard methods. I think it’s a crap shoot going in.
I have to admit– when I walked in I got this overwhelming sense of CHEAP. Yes, I know the prices are cheap (although if you compare them to nice thai massage places, they aren’t actually that cheap in comparison for what you get). I felt like I was in the Greyhound station of massage places. No warming feeling, very plain, nothing exciting.
I’m only not mentioning who my masseuse was because I don’t want to say she was bad. I don’t know what kind of massage I got, but maybe I just asked for the wrong thing and therefore expected something different. I got the deep tissue but it wasn’t enjoyable at all. I’ll probably be looser tomorrow, which will be nice, but when I go to get a massage I want to enjoy the massage itself. There was no rubbing, very little work on my head (which I specified I wanted), and it was just like a whole hour of only getting knots out.
Not my favorite at all. I won’t be going back. I’d rather pay more.
Oh, and even the thai places give you a mini bottle of water when you’re done. Here you get one of those tiny paper cups that are the size of a shot glass.
And, the message about tips that people mention is real. It’s on the back of the door for you to stare at while you change. I wouldn’t mind it, and I actually appreciated the hint on how much to tip, but it really goes on about how awesome they are (and therefore deserve the overly high tip) and I just don’t agree with the quality. Again, Greyhound of massage places.

I love this location, because they are great at accommodating me on short notice. I don’t have a favorite therapist, because I’ve enjoyed each person I’ve been assigned. Just go!!!

I walked in yesterday around noon-​thirty to see if they had any appointments open for a 90-​minute massage. Lo and behold, they ushered me right in with Yoko and I got one of the most relaxing, rejuvenating massages I’ve had. Yoko, the massage therapist, was kind, attentive, and she really understood my muscles and how to release their tension. 90 minutes went by like a flash and then I could float out of there a new woman! Unlike other reviewers said, the receptionists were very friendly and helpful (they got me an appointment instantly! And for a longer appointment at that), and I was not surprised by the extra tip suggested. It wasn’t rudely suggested to me, simply stated on the back of the massage therapist’s door. And after Yoko’s work, I wanted her to get a fair tip as a thank you.
This has been my «massage place» (heh heh) since I went to college down in that area. It’s consistently given me exactly what I needed and I will continue going there. It’s too bad others have had bad experiences, but I can’t help but wonder if it’s actually the business itself that’s causing the reactions… or maybe it was just a bad day at the office.

On July 31^st 2014, I had an appointment for a 90 minute massage with Wan-​Pen. 30mins before my scheduled massage I received a phone call from the receptionist Monica, stating that Wan-​Pen was refusing to do my massage because I didn’t tip her 40% (minimum of $ 20) on my previous session. I was so taken a back and it was insulting, I spoke to the manager and she gave me this bullsh*t answer saying the masseuses work off tips. Whatever the case may be, it’s not right and customers should not be subjected to this type of treatment. They have signs in each room guilt tripping you into paying at least 40% tip. I gave my standard 20%. I will never return to this place or recommend Wan-​Pen. Her style was a generic Swedish massage, if I wanted a professional; I would of gone to a massage therapist and paid $ 95+ for it. This place is a JOKE and they can kick rocks w/​their signs for tipping!!!
!!!WARNING!!!
If you do not tip at least 40% regardless the quality of the massage, service will be refused to you.

You get a good massage at a great price! The negatives are the walls are thin so you can hear every time someone uses the restroom, and the room I was in was by an exit so you got a little street noise. Only really noticeable when bigger trucks drove by. A plus is they have plenty of free parking out front.

I just got home from a massage with Lek & I feel wonderful!!!
Wow, is she good! I discussed with her the type of pressure that I needed & she did exactly the right amount of pressure. I had some knots in the neck & shoulder areas. She was able to get rid of the tightness in those spots in no time at all. The lotion that Lek used smelled so good. I was so relaxed that I’m not sure that I recall when the lights went off & the mellow music came on! :):)
I’ll definitely have to try to come back more often, as this is so worth it.
Kudos to Management & the staff — they’re the best!

All The Massage Place locations are pretty identical. They are not fancy but they are clean, calming and they smell good. They have a wide range of massage therapists, but at this location (which is closest to my apt), my go-​tos are Dana and Carol Ann. Both are deep tissue/​combo and I always come out feeling like I’m walking on clouds. Dana uses coconut oil instead of lotion and it smells awesome. She also does energy work. I’ve gone to her at the Main Street location as well.
There’s a free parking lot in the strip mall where this location is located and I’ve never had problems getting a spot.
Different credit cards are accepted depending on the massage therapist.
I usually call the day of to make my appointment and they can usually get me in. If the massage therapist that I’m requesting is not available, then they can recommend someone who has the same type of style — that’s how I found Dana and she’s my favorite.
They are also open till 10:30pm!
When you need a last minute rub without all the frills, The Massage Place is where you need to be!