What should I wear when the therapist arrives at my hotel room?

Something simple and comfortable. The hotel robe is fine, and so are ordinary clothes after a shower. There is no need to be waiting on the bed or dressed in any particular way. She will tell you how to get ready once she has set up.

When do I pay the balance, at the start or at the end?

At the start. The balance is paid at the door when she arrives, before the session begins, so that money does not come up again during the visit. On a first booking, half the fee was already paid ahead when the hour was agreed.

Do I need to provide towels or oil?

No. She brings her own towels and oil and sets up the bed herself. You only need to clear the bed of luggage, make the room comfortably warm and switch on a lamp rather than the ceiling light.

What if I do not speak Dutch?

You do not need to. Every therapist on the roster speaks English, and many speak other languages as well, which are listed in each profile. Short sentences and pointing to a sore shoulder are perfectly sufficient.

Can the session be extended once it has begun?

Yes, if she is free. Any extension is agreed there and then at the same hourly rate. If you want to stop early instead, the full fee for the reserved time remains payable, since the hour was held for you.

Who sets what the session includes?

The therapist does. She explains her limits in her own words at the start, and they hold for the whole visit. If you are unsure about anything, ask her before the session begins rather than during it.

In-Room Massage Etiquette in Amsterdam for Newcomers

A spa has staff whose job is to tell you what to do: where to change, which door to go through, when to lie face down. An in-room session has none of that. The therapist arrives at your door, and from that moment the two of you share a room that belongs to you. For someone doing this for the first time, and in a foreign city, the absence of a script can make the whole thing feel more uncertain than it really is. This guide is that script. None of it is a rule you can get wrong in a way that matters; it is simply the way things usually go, and knowing it in advance takes the guesswork out of the first few minutes.

Before she arrives

The shower

Shower shortly before she is due. After a flight, a day on foot or an evening in a bar, it does more good than anything else you can do, both for your own comfort and as a basic courtesy. Use the time between confirmation and arrival for it, and dress in something simple afterwards: the hotel robe, or comfortable clothes. There is no need to be waiting on the bed.

The room

Clear the bed of suitcases, shopping and laptops. Put anything valuable or personal in the safe or a drawer, not because anyone will look, but because a tidy room is easier to work in. Adjust the temperature so the room is comfortably warm, since lying still for an hour feels cooler than sitting in a chair. Switch off the harsh ceiling light and switch on a lamp. If you want music, choose something quiet and keep it low. Leave the curtains closed.

What she brings

She brings her own towels and oil, and she sets up the bed herself when she arrives. You do not need to buy anything, borrow extra towels from housekeeping or prepare the bed in any particular way. If the hotel bed is very soft or very small, she will adapt to it.

Money and identification

Put the balance somewhere you can reach it without searching: an envelope on the desk, a pocket of your jacket. On a first booking, half the fee was paid ahead when the hour was agreed, so what remains is the other half. Keep a passport or another photo document nearby too. Everyone in the room must be twenty-one or over, and she is free to ask to see it.

At the door

She will write in the thread when she is close, and again when she is outside if the hotel needs you to come down. If the lift needs a key card or the entrance is locked at night, meet her in the lobby. She arrives in ordinary clothes, carrying a bag, and there is nothing about the visit that looks unusual to anyone passing.

When she comes in, a simple greeting is enough. There is no special form of words. Offer her somewhere to put her coat and bag, and a glass of water if you have one. She may ask to see a photo document. If so, hand it over; she reads the date of birth and gives it straight back, and nothing is copied or noted.

The balance is paid now, at the start, before the session begins. That is not a matter of mistrust in either direction; it is simply how it is done, and it means neither of you has to think about money for the rest of the visit. It takes a moment, and then it is done.

The conversation before the session

The first few minutes are for talking. She will ask how you are, whether you have just arrived, whether anything is sore after the flight. She will also tell you, in her own words, where her limits are. This part matters. The therapist decides what a session includes, and the limits she names at the start hold for the whole visit. Listen, and if something is unclear, ask. A newcomer who asks is showing exactly the right instinct.

This is also the moment to tell her about any injury, a bad back, a sensitive shoulder, a pressure you like or dislike. After a long flight, people often find the lower back, the neck and the calves are the places that need attention first. Saying so helps her shape the hour.

Language

English is spoken by every therapist on the roster, and several speak other languages as well; each profile lists them. You do not need to speak Dutch, and nobody will expect you to. If your English is slower after a long journey, that is fine. Short sentences and a gesture towards a tense shoulder work perfectly well.

During the session

Once it begins, the pace belongs to the session. There is no need to make conversation; many people are quiet, and some fall half asleep, particularly after a long-haul flight. If the pressure is too much or too little, say so. If the room is too warm or too cool, say so. Feedback of that kind is welcome at any point.

Keep the phone on silent and face down. If you are expecting an urgent call about a flight, mention it at the start so an interruption does not come as a surprise.

Respect her limits throughout. They were named for a reason, and they do not move because the session is going well. If a limit she has named is pressed, the visit ends at that point, the reserved time remains payable, and nothing further is added to it. For a guest who listens, this will never come up.

Alcohol and the first night

Amsterdam is a city where visitors are often tempted to do everything on the first night. A drink or two before a session is common and unremarkable. Arriving back at the hotel very drunk is a different matter: it makes the session less pleasant for you and harder for her, and she is free to end a visit if she does not feel comfortable. If the evening has run away from you, it is kinder to both of you to move the booking to the next day, which is free once if you give more than twenty-four hours' notice and otherwise follows the notice scale.

Photographs and privacy

Do not photograph or record her, at any point, for any reason. It is the one rule that visitors from some countries do not think to consider, and it is absolute. Equally, the house does not share anything about you: the booking thread stays in the thread, and the hotel is told nothing. The privacy page explains what is kept and for how long.

When the time is up

She keeps track of the time. When the booked length is up, the session ends, and she will usually take a few minutes to tidy her things and gather her towels. If you would like more time and she is free, you can ask. Any extension is agreed there and then, at the same hourly rate.

If you want to stop early, because the tiredness has caught up with you or for any other reason, say so. The session ends, and the full fee for the time reserved remains payable, since the hour was held for you and cannot be offered to anyone else at that point.

A thank you at the door is all the goodbye that is needed. There is no expectation beyond the agreed fee.

After she leaves

Drink some water. Take a second shower if you want one. If you have just flown in, this is often the moment the body finally accepts it has arrived, and many visitors sleep better on that first night than they expected to. If you would like to book again later in the trip, write in the same thread; once the house knows you, a same-day hour or two at a city address is paid in full on arrival with no deposit.

Hotel staff and the corridor

Newcomers sometimes worry about what the hotel will think. In practice, staff at a large hotel see guests come and go with visitors all day and pay no attention. At a small family-run place, the owner may say good evening at the door, and a polite reply is all that is needed. If you meet her in the lobby, walk up together as you would with any friend visiting; if she comes straight up, leave the door on the latch only once she has written that she is in the corridor. Keep voices low in the hallway late at night, as you would anywhere.

Couples

If you are travelling as a couple and both want a session, say so in the first message, since the format and the rate differ. Shared between two guests, one therapist costs EUR 360 an hour; with a therapist for each of you it is EUR 720 an hour. Both people present must be twenty-one or over, and both should be comfortable with the arrangement before she arrives. The couples page describes the format.

A short checklist

Shower before she arrives, and dress simply.
Clear the bed, warm the room, switch on a lamp.
Have the balance and a photo document within reach.
Meet her in the lobby if the lift needs a key card.
Pay the balance at the start.
Listen to her limits, and mention any injury.
Phone on silent, no photographs.
Say so if you want more time, or less.

That is all there is to it. The first visit page covers the booking side, and the FAQ answers the practical questions that remain.