Having a massage is always in my list of things to do whenever I go somewhere. I have had a massage in Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Cambodia, as well as in countless domestic destinations.
When I arrived in General Santos City on January 6, therefore, I made it a point to look for a place where I can have this favorite wellness activity.
The tale of how I found one is quite long (and a separate blog post), but in the end, I ended up having a one-hour Indian Oil Massage (the Tulasi Body Massage) for PhP200 at Ayurveda Spa:
Ayurveda Spa
Magsaysay St. in front of Tradex
General Santos City
Telephone No.: 304-9465
I didn’t find anything new in the Indian massage. It does use warm oil, differentiating it from Swedish, but the strokes are almost the same.
My masseuse also happened to have bony hands, so it was not a completely satisfying experience.
Still, I was happy with it, given that the other options I had were more expensive and of doubtful quality.
In the salon beside Ayurveda Spa, for example, I asked what kind of massage they do, and the gay beautician said that it was just a simple body massage.
Obviously, they had not been trained enough to identify whether what they were doing was Swedish, Shiatzu, Thai, Indian, Java, or a hundred other variations; probably because they were not doing these things.
Aside from the numerous “massage clinics” in Pioneer Avenue which hid a more nefarious activity, I found these places in my aimless wanderings through the city. Regretfully, I haven’t had the chance to try them myself:
Salon
Magsaysay St. (beside Ayurveda Spa)
Body Massage: P350
OroDERM Facial Spa
KCC Mall
Telephone No.: 301-2656
Swedish/Shiatzu: P350
ACC Iridology & Wellness Center
Amadeo Bldg., Magsaysay Avenue
Telephone No.: +63928.317.9620
Swedish: P250 (Receptionist: “We can still give you a discount.” So make sure to haggle!)
If you know of more CLEAN massage parlors in Gensan, do write it in the comments. If you are only familiar with barbershop and nightclub “health massages,” please skip the recommendations!
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33 Comments. Leave new
Well..well..well..All I can say,all massage spa are offering something that you may satisfy with their massage services. If I were you,please go to Body Rest Spa near in pioneer or across from Atman Massage Spa,ofcourse it is located in General Santos City only.
hi stamina Massage spa spa is now in now in banias street south dadiangas near Ivan microhotel
For those who are in need of massage service for home or hotel here in gensan. I am referring Mr. Glenn, a massage therapist who is always available for any good transaction when it comes to a satisfying massage services. Im gonna post his number here for you to contact him. 09991764616 or 09263534148.
I tried him once and i cant help myself to what satisfaction i really feel that time. He’s not claiming to be the best masseur but with the service! Uhhh ., Really satisfies me!
This is a old post but I am wondering if anyone here knows of a Chiropractor here in GenSan?
My lower back keeps going out over the years and i was using the beds at Nuga Best chiropractic beds at g. mall – but they have not repair their beds for xx months and none of them work any longer.
I have tried massage, it feels good, but it does not return the energy back to my lower back as the beds did.
And I can not travel to Davao just to see a chiropractor by the time I drove home, my lower back would be hurt again.
Thanks for any input
If anyone knows of another nuga best bed location please share that also
Cheers
There is only one certified chiropractor in Mindanao, Dr. Snow at Sasa, Davao City. I had 1 session for Php3,000 for more than 1 hour.
Try the newly opened STAMINA Massage Spa located at corner Natividad St., Gen. Santos City fronting NSO. The spa provide total body relaxation and rejuvenation from their well-trained and competitive massage therapist. You can contact them at 09332950259 or 09054758978. Open daily at 1:00PM to 2:00AM.
Thanks for those people who trust my ability.THank you poh
tama , kaya beware po talaga, hindi lng sa mga freelancer threapist. mostly din kc sa massage attendant dito sa gensan wala kahit working permit so hnd tlaga masisiguro f sino nga ang safe. unless kong my licensed at working permit.employee man or freelancer therapist mabuti n yong nakakasiguro.
be sure that therapist are clean. many girls and guy therapist nowadays, gives extra services to their client. be wary of those therapist and massage parlor that gives those kind of services especially to those freelancer therapist.
A LOT OF THERAPIST CLAIMING THAT THEY ARE BEST, SOME SPA AND MASSAGE CLINIC PUBLISH THAT THEY HAVE A WELL TRAINED THERAPIST, BUT TO KNOW THE REAL QUALIFIED. ASK A LICENSED MASSAGE THERAPIST FROM D.O.H. FOR YOU SAFETY AND TOTAL RELAXING. THANK YOU
I recommend very good ambiance Massage in Gensan Fingerworks infront of South Elementary School 200 pesos whole body massage na Purely massage no ES
thank you pla sa info. @Solitarywanderer. madali ako makahanap ng masahista dito or spa.
John, we don’t have branch in Davao only here in Gensan.
hi mitch! do you have a branch in davao city? can they serve in any hotels in davao city?
will be in gensan soon and might stay at east royal hotel. is asmara massage, inc a facility of the hotel? do you have male therapists? thanks.
has anyone tried onanji?
@ Inyaki: I hope the Gensan-based bloggers can help you. Maybe you can also contact them? You can check them out at soxbloggers.com.
hi. im in gensan and just like evryone he. a massage addict because i travel mostly for work. wheres the best hard massage in gensan? gusto ko kasi may pressure nasanay yata ako sa lola ko noon. lol mas maganda kung male therapist para may pressure. i hooe u guys can help out tanks
try horizon spa at aparente street purok malakas gensan. cheap and good massage. very nice and clean place. the place itself is very relaxing
@ Cloudy9: I am not affiliated with Ayurveda Spa, so I have no idea if they are in Davao. Gensan is good; aside from going to Pacquiao’s house and maybe bumping into Mommy D, you can also go to the Fish Port.
@ Dhora: I *absolutely* love to be stretched, Thai massage is actually my favorite. Will see if they have a branch in Manila. Thanks for the recom!
Hi! You must try the Holiday spa in Davao. I don’t know where exactly it is in Davao (weather north, south or in the city proper) but most probably n city proper. The massage is quite pricey but it’s really worth it. And when you try it there, tell them that you want stretching.
Hi, Do you have a branch here in Digos City? Back of Oceanic Restaurant and Sea Foods? It looks like I have seen that picture here. If I go to Gensan, I swear I’ll go there. The promising city of Manny Pacquiao and I really am proud of that. . Well, the article is good and very informative. Thanks.
@ Benjamin Balasuela Eugenio: Thanks for the shout out. I hope somebody found you through my blog.
@ Sheng: Will do. I wish I’d found any of you guys’ blogs when I was there!
There are more interesting spas in general santos city now, give us a holler when you get back.
We are pleased to announce to all Gensan massage enthusiasts and afficionados who might want to learn basic massage that the Handspring Institute of Massage and Shiatsu, Inc. (HIMAS) is now in Gensan. Its location is conveniently located at #9 Rosas St, Brgy City Heights (near AGBIM) with telephone number 552-0482.
Courses being offered are basic and advanced Swedish massage, Thai foot massage, Namikoshi Shiatsu, Indian Head Massage, Spa Hilot, Balinese massage, Hawaiian Lomi-Lomi massage and many others. For more details and info please contact us at http://www.facebook.com/benjamin.eugenio.
See you!
@ backPacking sheet: we have a good hilot, but she lives in Montalban, Rizal. 🙂
@ bariles: the first thing I did when I looked for a massage parlor is to go to Google. unfortunately, I didnt see any of the bloggers there, just one, who said in one post that there were only 3 bloggers in Gensan 🙂
@ Red Nomad: happy to say I haven't had such an experience yet!
@ claire: they are quite obvious naman outside so I felt safe.
Can't help with the recommendations, but apparently massage parlours offering therapeutic services sometimes get bombarded with those seeking 'other' massage services – who then get aggressive when they don't get what they're looking for!! So it works both ways!!
Oh too bad!
You could have asked any of the Soccsksargen Bloggers (soxbloggers.com) to help you out. There are actually more spa's in GenSan offering a variety of massage services.
There's Red Tropical Spas (Hicban Subd & Yumang St), Spa Vital Vida (JMPacquiao Bldg, Aparente), Spa 7 (SunCity Complex), Beauty Box (National Hway), Body Excellance (National Hway), ARV Spa (Lagao Road),Glam Salon (East Asia Royale Hotel Arcade), Body Works (Purok Malakas), among others.
Fees range from P200 to P350 per one-hour massage.
Next time you are here, give us a holler. They say that the best way to learn more about a place is to seek out its bloggers. Glad to be of help to visiting bloggers like you.
Any phone no. to contact u personally?
Good thing you didn't end up with the dodgy massage parlor 🙂
Thanks for this post. Hahaha, me too, whenever I am in an out of town trip, I dunno but I always look out for cheap massage.
One cheap deal I've got is a 70php half an hour massage in Cebu back in 2007. Got my first massage, Capiz 2005. From there every travel, if I have extra money, I do try to get a massage.
Been searching for a hilot here in Manila, for I have severe backpackpains. Please do recommend if you know anywhere, Manila or out of town. An alternative is a myotherapy but it costs around 1,300 per session. Too expensive.
Could you please let me know where was this? I’m going to Cebu next week and I’m very interested in finding a good place for massages ! Thanks in advance !
Hi Laura. I don’t think she will see your comment. But I can recommend you two good places for massages in Cebu. One is Nuat Thai. They charge P150 per hour for a Thai massage and I think P200 for Swedish massage. Another one is Thai Boran, a sister company. I’m here now in Cebu for the Sinulog and I will definitely have a massage before I leave for Manila!