Good “My O’l Kentucky Home” where the Bourbon is authentic and the town is full of Derby fans.  It was my boyfriend’s birthday weekend so why not schedule a couple’s massage while seeing a comedy show? I googled so many massage paces that offered “Couples Massage” and to my surprise, I only found 3 that offered two massages at the same time.  When I saw Bourbon and Blush, I had to view the website.  How cool is a title as that?  Whoever came up with that creativity had a great idea!  Kudos to you!  It was really cool how they blended the spa and salon with descriptions of bourbon and how it’s poured.  Ie, Swedish Massage is labeled, “Neat”, which is also the description of a Bourbon poured into a glass without ice cubes and served at room temperature. 

I searched their website and read that you can schedule your appointment online.  Perfect!  When I selected “Couples massage,” I selected the kind of Couples Massage and length of session.  Once confirmed, I received a confirmation of the session selected and was given only one Therapist’s name.  Being confused, I called the place and left a message informing my request of a Couple’s Massage and wanted to make sure that there will be two Massage Therapists so we can have our Couple’s Massage at the same time.  The spa called me back first thing the next morning; very punctual and appreciated.  She apologized and said that sometimes online scheduling can be confusing and it is confirmed that there will be two Massage Therapists available in the Carriage House suite for my Couple’s Massage.  Awesome!

48 Hours before my session, I received a phone call, voicemail, and text confirming my appointment.  When I arrived into Louisville, my Waze app was spot on with the directions.  It was easy to find.  I didn’t know where to park but at least I had some options to choose from.  There was a parking garage just adjacent to the building and some street parking.  I went ahead and parked in the garage and walked across the street.  When I got closer to the building, I saw additional parking behind it.  I wish I knew about it so I could have parked back there. The streets, like any other city street, had small amounts of trash and little graffiti in random spots of different walls all up and down the street. However, the building was a cute and quant little brick building. 

As soon as we walked inside, an employee at the front desk greeted us and escorted us upstairs to the massage lobby and locker rooms. (Side note: I did not see an elevator in the building so I don’t think the locker rooms are suitable for those who can’t use the stairs.  However, the massage studios are on the other side of the stairs.  So instead of going upstairs to change and lounge, I’m sure you can just walk straight back into the massage studio.)  The men and women have their own locker rooms; each had a restroom, lockers, shower, and sink. Bonus for the ladies because that locker room also had an inferred sauna!  We dressed into our robes and flip flops and completed their intake forms while relaxing in their lobby.

After a couple minutes, two women greeted us and escorted to the back stairs down towards our couples massage room.  And omg.  How cute!  It even had a fireplace!  The Massage Therapists told us to undress to our comfort level, lay face down, and they would return shortly.  So we crawled under the linens and enjoyed the warm blanket and soothing music until the return.  When they returned, our session began.  My therapist pulled down the linens and started on my neck and back. She was professional with her communication; asking about my comfort, the pressure, etc.  Her strokes were not what I am used to.  For a relaxing massage, I was expecting longer and slower strokes. Hers were the opposite.  They were so fast that it took me a while to finally relax my brain.  She proceeded to massage me face down then flipped me over halfway through the session.  After she flipped me over, she placed a warm and cozy neck wrap around my neck, an eye pillow over my eyes, and a cotton smelling essential oil under my nose .  I’m not sure why she chose cotton but either way, it all felt great.  I could have laid there and took a nap for my remaining time and I would’ve been happy.  She continued with her fast and soft strokes while I melted into the neck wrap.  When the session was over, she gently took off the neck wrap and eye pillow. 

My boyfriend’s session was a little different. He started face down like I did.  However, his Massage Therapists did not do any glute or hamstring work during the session despite explaining during the intake that he had really tight hamstrings and wanted that to be a focus.  And maybe it’s only for women but he also did not receive the warm neck wrap, eye pillow, or essential oil. 

The Massage Therapists ended our session and explained that they will be back in just a few minutes and to place the robes back on and wait by the fire place.  After relaxing for a few minutes, they came back with two glasses of champagne and told us to enjoy for a few minutes and we can head back to the locker rooms whenever we were ready.  So we sipped our champagne, relaxed, and enjoyed the fireplace for about 10 minutes. We walked back up the stairs, got dressed, and sat in the massage lounge for a couple minutes; we weren’t sure if anyone was going to come up to get us to take us back down to the front desk or if we just go down on our own.  After waiting about five minutes, we decided to go ahead and walk downstairs ourselves.  Once we did, a different lady at the front desk took our payment and thanked us for visiting.  And to our hotel we went.

My Take-away:

1. Very creative with the name and menu.  I loved how they tied the business with the city of Louisville and its historical reputation of Bourbon. Ie:  “Neat” was their description of Swedish and “With a Twist” was their description of adding deep tissue.
2. Website was easy to maneuver. However, it was a little confusing trying to schedule a couples massage.  But thankful that they called me back in a timely manor to schedule it on the phone.
3. Kudos for their appointment procedures.  I appreciated the phone call, voicemail, and email confirmations.  Only thing I suggest to add is directions on where to park, both for first time clients and out-of-towners.
4. The pace was adorable!  Loved the brick and how well they designed the salon and the massage rooms. And how cute was it to walk into the couple’s massage room to see a fireplace.  So romantic! Then to receive a glass of champagne afterwards… bonus!
5. As kind and professional as they Massage Therapists were, I wished the Massage Therapists were more attentive to our needs.  Ie, my boyfriend mentioned that his hamstrings were tight and needed a little more time on them.  And instead of doing it, the Massage Therapist avoided the area. 
6. Sometimes spas have the tendency to be (what I like to call) cookie cutter fluff and buffs.  This experience was definitely a cookie cutter session.  It felt like it was the type of protocol that they do all day, every day and do not really tailor sessions to the clients’ needs.  And that’s very typical within a spa.  Only downfall is that you pay about twice, if not three times as much for a service that is not what you were asking for when filling out the intake form and communicating with your Massage Therapist beforehand. 

All in all, it was a cute facility with a unique tie towards the city and it’s Bourbon reputation.  The staff was friendly and the massage section of the facility was beautiful.  Great add on for the inferred sauna in the women’s locker room and even a fireplace in the couples room.  Very kind of them to give us each a glass of champagne and let us relax by the fire. And as great as all that was, It was just a little overpriced for the quality of the massages we received.