Massages fall into the category of things that sound like a good idea but you never get around to actually doing–like going to the gym (and all those other terribly ambitious new year’s resolutions).
After a long day of furiously typing away at my computer or after an especially long business flight, my shoulders tend to carry all the tension of the last 24 hours. At times, it even hurts to touch them. While I love an excellent massage as much as the next Ambitionista, I never end up making that much-needed appointment. So, when the good folks over at Soothe asked me to review their massage-on-the-go app, it was an easy decision.
The service delivers massages to your door, with the same (if not better) professional experience you’d get at a brick and mortar spa. To schedule an in-home appointment, simply choose the type of massage you’d like–deep tissue, Swedish, sports, couples–and the how long you’d like the massage to be. The times and prices range from 1 hour for $99 to 2 hours for $169.
My experience:
After downloading the app, you have to input some basic stuff – your name, address and a valid credit card number. You also will be able to specify your preference in terms of:
1. Masseuse – male or female.
2. Massage lubricant – oil or lotion.
3. Type of massage – swedish, deep tissue, sports or couples, and
4. Once you found a favorite masseuse, you can request to book him or her again.
So after the easy set-up, I requested my massage for 9:40 pm on a Tuesday and right on the dot at 9:30 a pleasant lady called (surprise) Sande shows up.
She set up her portable massage bed, asked me what kind of music I liked ( I think we had Pandora decide for us), played it on her little bluetooth speaker and went to the bathroom to wash her hands (which was cue for me to get onto the massage bed).
Apparently her most frequent clients are moms who have babies and small children – it’s convenient and they feel more at ease with the little ones in the next room over.
Once the massage was done, all I had to do was wrap myself in a cozy robe, thank her and then prepare myself… to go to sleep.
What’s not to like?
Since then, I’ve used the app several more times, and referred quite a few of my friends.?
At the moment, Soothe is only available in Los Angeles, Orange County, and Miami, but there’s word that they’ll be expanding to San Francisco, Phoenix-Scottsdale and New York. Fingers crossed.
Protip: just make sure you have enough space for the therapist to set up a massage table and move around. You don’t want the poor masseuse stumbling over your Jimmy Choos.
Bonus points:
Soothe is “open” 7 days a week, from 9am to midnight. These hours are perfect for us ladies working late hours.
Gratuity is on the house, as tip is already added in. So no need to worry about digging through the dark abyss your purse.
Saves you time spent on driving, traffic and parking after an already exhausting day at the office.
