Couples Massage for the Holidays: What to Know Before You Book
Every December, someone stands at our front desk with a gift list on their phone and one name still blank. Usually it is a partner. Sometimes it is their parents, who already own everything. What they land on is not another thing at all. It is an hour, side by side, with nowhere else to be.
If that is where you are, here is the short answer. Couples Side By Side Swedish Massage 60 Min is $145 for each guest on our menu, so the two of you come to $290. Call earlier than you think, because a side-by-side hour needs two therapists and one room free at the same time, and December fills fast. Below: what each option costs, how to give it as a gift, what the hour feels like, and our favorite holiday tip.
What does a couples massage cost?
Each of you has your own appointment and your own therapist, so our menu prices it per guest. Two therapists, one room, two tables a few feet apart.
Our massage therapists are California-certified (CAMTC), and our side-by-side massages are built on the Aveda Elemental Nature philosophy. In plain terms, that means each of you picks the aroma you want to breathe for the next hour, before anyone starts.
Here is the full side-by-side list, with every price shown per guest.
- Couples Side By Side Swedish Massage 60 Min, $145 per guest. The one most couples book.
- Couples Side By Side Swedish Massage 75 Min, $180 per guest, and 90 Min, $195 per guest.
- Couples Side By Side Deeptissue Massage 60 Min, $175 per guest, then $205 for 75 minutes and $225 for 90, for two people who both like firm, sustained pressure.
- Couples Side By Side Maternity Massage 60 Min, $145 per guest, and 90 Min, $195 per guest, when one of you is expecting.
Should I give a date or a gift card?
Both work. They just suit different people.
Book a date when you know both calendars and you want the moment wrapped up with a bow. You choose the length, you choose the day, and the only thing they have to do is show up.
Give a gift card when the other person likes to choose, or when the gift is for two people who are not you. Parents and in-laws are the classic case. A card lets them pick a quiet weekday on their own schedule, which is often the nicest part of the gift.
If you go the card route, do the math for two. A Couples Side By Side Swedish Massage 60 Min for both guests is $145 each, so $290 covers the massage itself. If you want the card to cover the whole visit, add a little for gratuity.
Our gift cards never expire, physical cards ship free, and they are good toward any service, product, or spa package. Nobody has to rush to use it before a date on the back.
Sixty, seventy-five, or ninety minutes?
Sixty minutes is the right choice when the massage is one stop in a full day, before a dinner or between errands. It is long enough to arrive tense and leave quiet.
Ninety is for when the massage is the day. In December, when most weekends are spoken for, that extra half hour is often what makes it feel like a real gift and not one more appointment.
Seventy-five sits in between, and Add 15 adds fifteen minutes to any massage for $20 if you want a little more time on the shoulders. Ask for it when you book, so the time is held. We wrote more about choosing a length in Sixty, Seventy-Five, or Ninety Minutes.
Not sure about pressure? Each of you gets your own conversation with your own therapist before anything starts: where you hold tension, how firm you like it, what you want to feel walking out. We treat that conversation as part of the service, not a formality. If one of you wants deep work and the other does not, say so when you call, and the desk can walk you through the options.
What does the hour actually feel like?
Every visit here starts the same way. You are each offered Aveda's comforting tea and a warm neck wrap while you settle in. In December, that is often the first quiet minute either of you has had all week.
Your therapists walk you back together. The room is warm and dim, and the aroma you each chose is already in the air. Your therapists step out while you get settled on the tables, then come back and begin.
Some couples talk for the first few minutes. Many do not talk at all. Nobody has to fill the silence, and for a lot of people that shared quiet is the whole gift.
We see our guests as guests, not customers. With two people in the room, it shows in small ways: two cups of tea, two conversations about pressure, and two people who walk back out to the car at the same easy pace. If you want the full walkthrough of a visit for two, our post on booking a spa day for two covers it.
How far ahead should we book in December?
As soon as you know the date. A side-by-side booking needs two therapists who are both free at the same hour, and the weekends before the holidays are exactly when everyone wants that.
If your schedule bends at all, look at a weekday afternoon. We are open seven days a week, so a Tuesday or a Wednesday is a real option, not a consolation prize.
Booking online works, with one thing to know: book both appointments at the same time, so the two massages line up in the same room. If the calendar will not show you two times together, call the desk at 559-224-2667. A person can look at the whole day with you.
And if the day you want is already full, ask the desk to add you to our cancellation list. Holiday plans change, and a side-by-side hour does open up.
Our favorite holiday tip
Give it in December. Book it for January.
The gift is the promise of the hour, not the hour itself. Wrap the gift card, or a note with a date on it, and set the massage for the first or second week of the new year, once the travel, the parties and the house guests are behind you both.
It does two things. You get a calmer calendar to choose from, and the person you love gets something to look forward to after the season ends, which is exactly when most of us need it.
What's Best For The Guest has been our motto for more than 25 years in Fig Garden Village. Sometimes what is best is simply an hour that lands at the right time.
Questions we hear at the desk
Is the couples massage price for both of us?
No, each guest has their own appointment and their own therapist, so each one is priced on its own. Couples Side By Side Swedish Massage 60 Min is $145 per guest, which comes to $290 for the two of you. The desk will confirm your total when you book.
Can I buy a gift card for a couples massage?
Yes. Buy a gift card for the amount that covers both guests, then they call and book the side-by-side time that suits them. For two 60 minute Swedish massages, that is $290. Our gift cards never expire, physical cards ship free, and they work toward any service, product, or spa package.
Can we book a couples massage if one of us is pregnant?
Yes. Ask for Couples Side By Side Maternity Massage, which is $145 per guest for 60 minutes or $195 per guest for 90. Mention it when you book, so the room and the therapists are set up for both of you. Each of you still gets your own conversation about pressure first.
Can I keep it a surprise?
Yes. Tell the desk it is a surprise when you book, and ask how appointment reminders will reach each of you, so nothing gives it away early. If you would rather let them pick the day, a gift card keeps the surprise and leaves the scheduling to them.
What if the date we want is already booked?
Ask the desk to add you to our cancellation list. Plans shift a lot in December, and side-by-side times do open up. A weekday afternoon also gives you far more choices of hour and therapist, and we are open seven days a week, so there is usually a good option close by.
Pick the date, or pick the gift card, and call the desk. We will take care of the rest. We are at 5054 N Palm Ave in Fig Garden Village, right behind Jamba Juice near Shaw and Palm, with free parking and no meters.
559-224-2667 · 5054 N Palm Ave, Fresno
Like reading this? Add Amenities as a preferred source and Google will show you our new posts first.
