Massage near Redwood City, 5 minutes up El Camino Real

Head north on El Camino Real toward San Carlos. No freeway, no bridge, no parking structure. Street parking in front of the studio is free and usually open in the evening, which is the part people ask about. The storefront glass carries the number 1658, the hours and the phone in letters you can read from the sidewalk, so you will know you are at the right door before you park.

San Carlos is the next stop north, one stop each way, and both platforms sit about a mile from the studio — roughly a 20 minute walk at the San Carlos end, or a short rideshare. Evening trains run less often than commute-hour trains, so check the last departure before you plan the ride home around it.

Couples Massage is $189 for 60 minutes, $279 for 90 minutes and $369 for 120 minutes. That price covers both people rather than each, so an hour comes to about $95 per person. Two therapists work at the same time, one to a table, and the room is yours for the whole session.

Hot stones, hot towels, hot compress and cupping are part of the Couples Massage, not add-ons quoted at the counter afterwards. Cupping is included rather than compulsory: it leaves round marks that fade over a few days, and the NCCIH page on cupping covers what they are and what the evidence does and does not show. Tell the therapist at the start if you would rather skip it.

Four Hands Massage costs the same at every length: $189 for 60 minutes, $279 for 90, $369 for 120. Two therapists are in the room either way. What changes is how many people are on the tables.

Couples puts one therapist on each of you. Four Hands puts both of them on one person. For an evening out, couples is usually what you want, because the point is being in the room at the same time. Four Hands suits the case where one person is the one who needs the work, or where you are buying a present rather than planning a night.

Both need two therapists free in the same hour, which is a harder slot to find than a single massage. Pick a time on Square a few days out rather than at 6 PM on a Friday.

We close at 9 PM every day, so an evening is planned backwards from that. A 60 minute session that finishes at 9 PM starts at 8 PM. A 90 minute one starts at 7:30 PM. A 120 minute one starts at 7 PM.

Book the massage before the restaurant. The appointment that needs two therapists is the harder one to move, and dinner is not. If you do eat first, keep it light — an hour face down on a full stomach is uncomfortable, and there is real pressure across the lower ribs during back work.

The order reverses just as well. We open at 10 AM, so an afternoon session followed by an early dinner is the same evening run the other way, without the 9 PM edge to work around.

Two therapists, two tables, two separate sets of instructions. You do not have to want the same pressure as the person next to you, and it is worth saying so out loud in the first couple of minutes rather than at the end.

There is no Deep Tissue booking on our menu of 8 services, because deep tissue is a pressure you ask for rather than a separate product. Square's own description of the Massage + Lymphatic Facial puts it the same way: it opens with a 60 minute Deep Tissue or Swedish Massage, your pick. Book the Couples Massage and tell the therapist you want firm work — there is more on how to ask for it on our deep tissue massage page.

NCCIH reports that the risk of harmful effects from massage appears to be low, and that the rare serious problems on record involved very vigorous techniques. Firm work should not hurt. If it does, say so and the pressure comes down inside a stroke or two.

Square gift cards are sold online and are not tied to one service. A $189 card covers a 60 minute Couples Massage outright, and a $279 card covers 90 minutes. If the person you give it to would rather spend it on a $109 Signature Massage on a Tuesday, it works for that too.

Give the card without fixing the date. Two therapists in the same hour takes coordination, so let them book on Square or call (650) 622-8666 once they know their week. There is one studio, at 1658 El Camino Real, San Carlos, CA 94070, so there is no wrong branch to send anyone to.