beethoven

An excellent masseur on the Upper West Side of NY (104th & Broadway) is Peter. He's trained, certified, takes contuing ed courses (which I think is required for maintaining one's license), and can be as playful as you would like him to be -- or strictly legit massage; your choice. He has a table in his apartment, and will also do the massage on a bed. Reasonably priced, and a very sweet guy. I've been seeing him for years. https://www.masseurfinder.com/massage-therapists/2262/

It happens, but there's no excuse. I knocked at an apartment door, and knocked again, and again, and went home. I called, and he apologized (sort of), and said that he was at lunch with a friend, and forgot about the time. I rescheduled, but should have insisted on a big discount.

All you have to do is to email Xiao or Mark if this is the same Simon who was at Utopia. They will tell you.

Now, that's an interesting question! In my experience, though limited, I've never encountered a masseur at a spa who will do that. Now that I think of it, the facilities for doing that seem to be limited. I'll be eager to hear other replies. I'd say that if you want to shower with a masseur, you'll have to do it in your place or his. I await more replies!

Yes, but he's winding down his practice. I had two excellent experiences with Alex, but he didn't reply to my last email. I guess he's eliminating most clients, and since I'm a recent client, that includes me. He's worth pursuing. Good luck. Let us know if you succeed.

Utopia on the Upper East Side (70th & Lex) is owned by the same delightful couple that owns Shangri-La. I haven't been to Utopia in a while (I was a regular), but I'm sure they offer a table shower.

The first thing I noticed after no prices, no reviews, was the lack of "therapeutic" in his offerings. Good sign!! I also like "The show must go on" tattoed on his chest!

His ad says that he doesn't provide any erotic services, and then says "Sorry," but he poses like that? Weird!!! I'm sure that he'll provide lots of extra services if asked.

Funny how you said "Or I might have totally repulsed him." I find that highly recommended masseurs don't live up to their recommendations -- not even close. I often wonder if they just had an off day, or if they just didn't find me interesting enough to stay the entire hour, or to respond to an invitation to return. There was one in particular, goes by the name of Onett (Rentmasseur ad), who decided after 30 minutes that he needed to be somewhere else, and ended the massage. I paid him half the $160, and he didn't complain. Too bad, as I liked him! I contacted the person who recommended him (here in the Spa), and he replied that this behavior was most unusual. So I don't know if it was him or me, but I haven't lost any sleep over it.

I came across this ad today, and commented privately to some friends about the increased number of masseurs who are asking $200 for a one-hour massage. I, for one, will not pay it. I notice on some of the Rentmasseur reviews that clients pay even more than that. I have to assume that those masseurs include services other than a massage, such as escort services. Evidently, our national inflation has spread to masseurs, but $160 for an hour is my limit, and I consider that a bit much.

First, you need to remember that the masseur usually gets 1/3 of the fee that you pay, Utopia charges $60 for a massage. Shangrila is owned by the same people, and they charge $78. I don't know what other spas charge, but even if $60 is the "special" rate, I think a $40 tip is the minimum you should give. At Utopia, my usual tip is $60, assuming I liked the massage. I have never tipped more. I have asked masseurs that I liked if they would come to my apt, where I would pay them at least $120, which is more than the $80 that they get for a one-hour massage and a $60 tip.

I agree. He was very polite and affable, but definitely distant. He avoids being touched. He doesn't care to show off his his trim, muscular body. The room is dim, soft lighting, soft music, but no warmth in his personality. "Formulaic" is a very good description. I wasn't unhappy, nor did I feel that I was cheated, but I wouldn't repeat.

Utopia and Shangrila are owned by the same people, and Utopia also shows who's available at what times on what days.

I'm delighted to know that Alex has found a rewarding new career, and ALSO that he plans to return to massage. I liked him a lot! He had cancelled -- with advance notice, and politely -- twice, without explanation, and I thought that he had a personal or medical emergency. I'm relieved to find that it was only because he's going to be a Wolf of Wall Street! Seriously, I look forward to being under his skilled hands again in his nifty apartment high above the Hudson.

I haven't seen Alex listed as a masseur lately. These guys seem to come and go. I thought Luca was just OK; I was there last week. However, clients' opinions vary widely, as you know. He shorted me 10 minutes, which never happened before at Utopia. That's not the reason for "just OK." however. He was just OK, imo.