A therapist arriving at your door needs less from you than most people expect. She brings the mat, the towels and the oil. What you provide is a clear floor space about the size of a single bed, and roughly two minutes.
That is genuinely the whole list. Everything below is detail on the parts people get wrong.
The space
Clear a rectangle of floor about the size of a single bed. A living room usually works better than a bedroom because there is more room to move around all four sides, and a therapist needs to get to both sides of you.
You can use the bed instead. It is slightly worse for firm pressure, because a mattress absorbs the force that is supposed to be going into your back, but for a light oil or aromatherapy session the difference is small. If you have booked deep tissue massage, the floor is meaningfully better.
If two therapists are coming for a four hand massage, the space question becomes real. Two people working at once need more room than most condo bedrooms have. Mention the room when you book and we will tell you honestly whether it is workable.
Shower before, not after
Before is better for two reasons. Oil absorbs into clean skin far more readily than skin with a day of Bangkok on it, and a shower relaxes muscle before the session rather than after it.
Showering immediately afterwards washes off most of what you paid for. If you have had any oil treatment, leaving it a few hours does more for your skin than the massage did in some cases. Overnight is better still.
What to wear
For traditional Thai massage, loose clothing you can move in, because the whole treatment is worked through what you are wearing and there is no oil involved. Anything you would stretch in works. Jeans do not.
For the oil treatments, it does not matter what you arrive in, because you will change. You undress to your own comfort level and stay covered by a towel apart from the area being worked. The therapist works only the areas agreed at the start.
Eating and drinking
Do not eat a large meal in the hour before. Lying face down on a full stomach is unpleasant, and if any work is done near the abdomen it is worse. Something light is fine and being slightly hungry is better than being full.
Alcohol is the more common mistake. Massage and a few drinks feel like they belong together and they do not: alcohol dulls the feedback you need to tell the therapist when pressure is wrong, which is the one thing that determines whether a session works.
Tell the building someone is coming
This is the single most useful thing on this page, and it is the thing almost nobody does.
Most Bangkok condos and hotels will ask a visitor for ID at the desk, or call your unit before letting them up. Overnight security is stricter than the daytime desk. A therapist standing in a lobby at 1am while nobody answers your phone is the most common cause of a session starting late.
One message to reception before she arrives removes the entire problem.
What to say when the session starts
Two things, and they take ten seconds.
Say where it hurts and how long it has been like that. Say how you feel about pressure. That is enough for the therapist to plan a session around you rather than working through a standard sequence.
If you are unsure which treatment you want in the first place, describing what hurts when you book is more useful than picking a name off a list. The short version: Thai for stiffness, oil for tiredness, aromatherapy for sleep, deep tissue for a spot that has been sore more than a week.
What you do not need to do
You do not need to tidy the whole room. You do not need to provide towels, sheets, oil or music. You do not need to have a table. You do not need to be flexible, fit, or to have had a massage before.
You also do not need to fill the silence. Most people stop talking within ten minutes and that is completely normal. The only thing worth speaking up about mid-session is pressure, and it takes one sentence.
Frequently asked questions
How much space does a massage need?
About the size of a single bed of clear floor, or the bed itself. The therapist brings a mat, so a sofa pushed back and a rug rolled up is usually enough. A living room floor works better than a bedroom if two therapists are coming.
Should I shower before a massage?
Yes, before rather than after. Oil absorbs better into clean skin, and showering straight afterwards washes off the work you just paid for. If you have had an oil treatment, leaving it a few hours is better.
What should I wear for a massage?
For traditional Thai massage, loose clothing you can move in, because it is worked through what you are wearing. For any oil treatment, whatever you are comfortable in. You undress to your comfort level and stay covered by a towel apart from the area being worked.
Should I eat before a massage?
Not a large meal in the hour beforehand. Lying face down on a full stomach is uncomfortable, and firm work on the abdomen is worse. Something light is fine.
What delays a massage therapist arriving?
The building, almost every time. Most condos and hotels ask a visitor for ID or call your unit before letting them up. Telling reception you are expecting someone turns a fifteen minute entry into a two minute one.
