Avalok Asian Spa

This place totally surprised me. I haven’t had this good of a massage since I was in Thailand! My masseuse (sorry I don’t catch her name) really worked out my knots and I felt beyond amazing afterward! I can’t say the same for my fiancé who had a good but not amazing masseuse. They welcome walk-​ins as I just walked in off the street when I spotted this place and decided to check it out. Will def be wandering back!

Great service, friendly staff and great $. Mariana was on point. Will definitely go back.

Very nice staff. Foot massage is not the Chinese kind. They do it while you are lying in bed instead of on a lounge chair

I don’t do this often so take note — STAY AWAY!
Why? I’ll tell you why:
1. This place is dirty and I have been to some real sketch spas so I’ve got a good number of reference points.
2. Poor technique — this is not reflexology it’s just a bunch of light touching and made up rubs that doesn’t even feel good!!! No rhythm at all.
3. Lady didn’t cut her finger nails so completely scraped my feet the entire time.
4. Completely rude, ignorant manager that night — she started yelling at me because I was annoyed with all of above and she sprayed some alcohol chemical spray to clean the neighbouring tubs while I was still trying to enjoy whatever remaining time I had left. So as you can imagine a small enclosed area with poor ventilation and no one around and I have a few minutes left and I’ve basically had it, started coughing because I have a hard time breathing as is and I muttered to myself and now the good part. She gets defensive and yells at the customer.
Honestly, who gets in a shouting match with their customer when they are the one who’s being disrespectful?! She’s a crazy bitch who even tried to rope in my husband who has nothing to do with this. Communication barrier or not this place is pathetic. Stay the eff away from here!!!

This place is an awesome combination of a good massage and moderate price, which is a rare feat. Although the place is small yet the service is better than some swanky places. U also get tea after ur massage. I am def coming here once a month.

The woman I got couldn’t have had ANY training whatsoever in massage. My 6-​year-​old nephew is better at massage.
You get what you pay for, I guess.

I was not very impressed. I prefer stronger pressure and places with better sense of privacy. The price was OK so I guess I got what I was paid for.

Great spot for a cheap but effective massage. I have come here twice for the foot massage special which is a 45 min foot rub and 15 min herbal steam for $ 30. Pretty sweet deal. It’s very no frills but what do you expect for the price you’re paying? My masseuse was very communicative and gave a very strong massage. Cant beat the location either as its only a few blocks away from my office. I would love to come back and try their other specials!

Great foot massage — walked in and was taken immediately. Excellent pricing as well — would return for sure.

this place is a pretty damn good place for a chinese foot massage. i was lucky enough to be taken to a really swanky foot work place in china when visiting my wife’s family and this place offers the same treatment. as an added bonus, when they realized my wife speaks mandarin and i understood very little, we got to witness a political conversation (was mao good for china?) between the owner and one of the masseuses which was basically the friendly equivalent of whether you support clinton or trump in 2016.

I thought the deal of $ 30 for an hour of reflexology would be too good to be true, but it wasn’t! It was clean, no-​frills, no upselling and I was able to relax by the window and just be cared for. I was so grateful and left feeling wonderful. Will definitely go again! So convenient!

Seriously surprised at the amazing quality of the massages here and the value you get. For $ 50 I got a very thorough deep tissue — Thai massage that left me feeling like an overcooked noodle in the best way possible. Get over the slight sketchy location and the second floor walk-​up required and come here ASAP for some relaxation!
I booked a massage in advance but walking in it was clear that they could have accommodated me anyway. I was ushered to a sparse but clean massage room where I quickly disrobed and then spent 60 mins getting all of the tension out of my muscles by a very petite but strong Asian woman. She was great about asking if the pressure was ok and if I was comfortable. For deep tissue she started by literally walking on my back and the rest of my body, which was initially a lot of pressure but really helped in relaxing my muscles. Then, she really focused on all of my knots, finishing up with hot stones and a warm towel to remove all of the massage lotion. Amazing.
There was spa-​type music playing in the background and I was laying on a cushy massage table covered in clean sheet. The only downside was that the rooms are closed with curtains, not doors, so you can hear when people come in and leave, but honestly I was so relaxed that I barely cared. I will 100% be returning.

Wonderful massage. We got the 75 min full body massage and the 60 min foot massage. They really know what they are doing and it was the perfect thing for end of our vacation after being on our feet so much. Highly recommend despite their appearances

Was skeptical despite high Unilocal reviews since I don’t like deep tissue massage but masseuse was very accommodating and did an incredible job. Also highly recommend the $ 20 facial (I think it’s only if you’re going for the first time) — very professional and can’t beat the price. This place is great.

Best foot massage ever. I’m a massage fanatic. I’ve had massages in Bangkok and Beijing and many places in USA. This little place that I found by chance is top notch. I was a bit worried as any place that bills itself an Asian massage I think of as a place for sex. I’m glad I gave this a chance. Tourist here in NYC and may have to come back before I leave.

Are you reading this from your hotel room with your feet hurting SO BAD from walking around NY for four days straight that you think your feet might be BROKEN?! I mean, straight up, you think you’ve damaged your feet from all the walking.
Ok, if you are in THAT place, and you honestly think you CAN NOT even walk one more block, just walk a little bit further to the Avalok, and get a massage from Vicky.
You will have to sort of ignore the sketchy looking entrance, compel yourself up a dark stair case, and not even try to compare this to a «spa» (the photos on Unilocal are mis-​leading). But you will WALK AGAIN. Vicky is a miracle worker, I swear on my own two (totally functional) feet.
Go there. Close your eyes and go there if your feet are on their last block. Great price, feet that work, I’d go again.

After walking for 6 miles exploring NYC, we settled for a foot massage. After soaking our feet in the steam bucket and enjoyed our tea for about 10 minutes. They led us to a private room for two. Maria and Vickie did a wonderful job massaging our legs and feet. The bill came out for $ 60 for 2 people, what a deal!!! We didn’t know there were a $ 5 charge if you want to use you credit card. We paid in cash but did not have enough to tip, so we went to the bank nearby and got some cash and came back to give them a big tip. We really enjoyed our massage!!!

For the price and the quality of the massage, this place gets 5 stars.
Lina (I believe her name is) got all my crazy deep knots out. She definitely was focusing on those deep rooted knots and helped get a lot of them out in that one hour. She put a lot of work into it and I will be back for more certainly. If only I had two hour lunches: P
Also love the tea! Love the service! Clean and nice, proximity of one block from work was key!

Better than I expected! Maria got all my kinks out of my foot and back. I walked in. Asked for one thing and kept adding on services. I’ll definitely be back.

Came here as a last minute thing before taking a late night bus back to Boston. Since it was a Monday night there was no one there and after ringing the bell we found someone. A few minutes later we arranged for a full body massage for $ 50 each (came here with significant other).
It started with a foot steam in some bamboo basket with what seemed like a humidifier Gerry-​rigged to it. We questioned the cleanliness of it.
After some complimentary green tea, we moved on to the massage tables. The massages weren’t that great, the masseur for my SO asked her once whether it was too hard, but never again (she did say to speak up if it became painful). My masseur said nothing. The quality of the massage was acceptable (for $ 50 for 60 minutes, at the last minute), but I would have paid more for a better one.
We also both walked away with some itchy patches of skin, leading us to question the cleanliness of the location again.
On another note, my SO heard the ladies at the desk talking during our massage, and they weren’t exactly dropping knowledge. In the future I hope that such conversations don’t occur within earshot of customers.