When I moved to NYC and told people where I lived, I had a few people exclaim “Oh you live near Lily and Raul!” Who are these people? Well apparently they own a very reasonably priced massage place in the Midtown East side. I quickly made an appointment and I will definitely be calling back!

The place is a bit difficult to find–don’t be confused when you have to go inside of a huge corporate type building to get to this place. (It’s on the 15th floor) Once you find their door and walk in, there is a faint Chinese herb smell to the place. I walked in and didn’t have to sign any papers–that was a first! Definitely a “no frills” type of place.

When they call you in, you’ll walk towards a dim hall and the rooms are separated by mainly curtains. Honestly the curtains aren’t really well covered, so you’d have to be pretty comfortable getting undressed with people about 10 feet from you. If someone really tried to peek to see you, they definitely could.

If you don’t mind a little bit of ghetto-ness to your massage treatment, then you may not mind that they use huge terry cloth towels to cover you instead of blankets. My massage itself was pretty great, and they use timers (you can hear the beep) to time the exact amount of the massage. They also wipe you down afterwards with hot towels so you’re not sticky!  And ohhh, it feels so good! I personally hate being gypped 1-5 minutes of massage time. I’m the type of person who pops up immediately after the masseuse leaves to check what time it is. Yes–I want my money’s worth!! =)

Overall, I highly recommend this place for a quick fix-me-up or a relaxation time when you’re having a bad day. They are nice people who can do a really hard or really light massage just as long as you let them know!

Their info:

Lily & Raul
211 E 43rd St. Ste 1501
(between 2nd Ave & 3rd Ave)
New York, NY 10017
(212) 682-6121

Here are their reviews on Yelp!

XOXO,

C