There is nothing quite like the zen you feel when leaving the spa. Refreshed and calm, you walk a little lighter on your feet before entering the real world again. Now imagine if you could take that feeling and head straight to bed afterwards, no contact with the real world necessary. Thanks to Soothe, that dream is now a reality.
The on-demand massage company offers an assortment of services to choose from, each of which cater to customers' specific needs. There are options for standard deep tissue and Swedish massages, but there are also options for athletes, pregnant mothers, and couples as well. After creating my Soothe account, I was prompted to choose my massage. (Deep tissue, please.) I was then asked to choose a time for my massage, which could occur any time within the next hour until midnight. The website makes it clear that therapists are available on demand from eight in the morning until midnight every day, including weekends and holidays, making it super convenient to squeeze in some self-care even when you're strapped for time. You also get the option to choose your therapist's gender (if you have a preference), which worked well for me because I personally prefer female massage therapists.
While services typically last an hour at most spas, Soothe gives you the option to choose whether you would like to have a 60, 90, or 120-minute massage, even if you're choosing a couples massage or would like the therapist to work on two different people back to back. I scheduled my massage for 8:30 PM, enough time to get home from work, unwind, have some dinner, walk the dogs, and squeeze in a full 90-minute massage before bedtime. One thing to note is that you have to provide your therapist with an option for parking. If you live in an area where there is little or no free street parking, you will be expected to cover the parking fees.
Equipped with my favorite bathrobe, I was ready. My therapist Leslie arrived on time and had all of her own equipment with her, including a rolling massage table, massage oil and fresh linens. She gave me the option to choose what music I preferred, but in my mind there are few things better than ambient spa sounds to get a person ready to relax. She asked me about any sensitivities I might have and what areas I would like to work on before excusing herself to the restroom while I got ready. After my 90-minute session, it is safe to say I was on Cloud Nine. Doing a quick self-assessment, I realized that my shoulders probably hadn't been so loose since high school. It's pretty incredible what a full eight hours at a computer everyday can do to your back.
Soothe is being called the Uber of spa services, and it's not hard to see why such a comparison is being made. Company founder and CEO, Merlin Kauffman, established the company while a student at Harvard Business School after not being able to find a time to schedule a massage into his busy schedule. There are over 10,000 licensed, vetted therapist that work within the network, which includes over 50 major cities in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. One last thing: Soothe also has a Soothe at Work program, where you can schedule an office-wide massage session to help relieve some stress. Hint, hint.
