Cortiva Institute

In preparation for my official start date as a new permanent employee, I thought what better way to pamper myself than with a massage… at a reasonable price (I’m not trying to spend all my new found income!). Cortiva Institute for the bill perfectly! I took advantage of their Redeye newspaper $ 10 off coupon (that I’ve been wanting to check out.) & I’m so glad I did! The deal comprise of a 60 minute classic massage from a student therapist, mine was Danielle & she was amazing! Her touch was professional, correct and oh so soothing; she made me feel very comfortable, safe & overall happy! & afterwards you get another $ 10 off coupon for your next visit! OK Cortiva, you have a return customer in me & I can’t wait to bring my friends! Thank you for a wonderful massage experience!

If you want to get a great massage on a budget this is the place to go. Very serene atmosphere and friendly staff. I got a classic massage from Ms. Joy (one of the students) and she was AWESOME! Very kind and attentive to my needs and requests during the massage. The cost is great bargain too! I highly recommend her and highly recommend this place!

Always solid, rarely less than very good.
I go for student massages, and did again with E. She was confident, strong hands and very good. Especially given the cost of these.
Highly recommend.

Pretty decent 50 minute massage from their student clinic for $ 40. 10 minutes to discuss what you’re looking for so it’s essentially an hour from start to finish.
Compared to other «schools»… The décor is very modern and relaxing. It isn’t one of those places where everyone is in one room separated by curtains. Each session is in a private room with dim lights and soft music.

Had a really great therapist-​in-​training named Jarvis who was short on words, but really focused on my pain points. Will definitely come again!

Nice atmosphere, great price at $ 40 for a one hour massage. No tips allowed. My massage student was great, very professional and a great listener. She was clearly still learning — very light tough, even with encouragement for more. Next time I’ll be more forthright. Overall — good place for a good price, although I expect the experience will vary significantly based on which student you get off course. I’ll definitely be back!

This was my first visit to the school since I’m from Texas and just visiting. Overall, I was quite pleased with the result and left feeling relaxed. My student therapist was perhaps a bit timid, with a gentle touch (I generally prefer a deeper massage to really work out the kinks) but she was pleasant and professional.
The school itself seemed quite nice, but no unnecessary luxuries were present. I typically don’t spend the money on high end spas and instead focus on places with the best quality massage. Considering the overall experience and the end result, I feel like I got my money’s worth. Ultimately, that’s all I can really ask and next time I’m in the area I’m likely to make a trip back here.

I had a great massage with a student, Angel. She was attentive and kind. Angel didn’t talk too much (which is always a huge pet peeve of mine during a massage) but still asked the appropriate questions and checked in with me throughout the appointment.

I booked a $ 40/​one hour student session. I was a little nervous about this, but had no reason to be. The massage I got was just as good as ones I’d had at pricey spas.
The reception area and rooms are nice and clean, typical of any other place you’d go. There’s no steam room or place to shower off if you’re interested, like spas might offer.
You don’t get to choose the gender of your masseuse and you aren’t allowed to tip.
My masseuse was very nice and attentive but talked too much. She probably asked me 10 or 15 times over the course of an hour if the pressure was OK. While I appreciate that she wanted to make sure I was comfortable, it was annoying. During my massage, she also wanted to talk about how heavy of a bag I carry around, which I would’ve preferred to discuss at the beginning or end. Nevermind that I said from the beginning that the only thing I was there for was to relax.
I’d gladly come back since the price is right and the massage was good.

This is a review on the massage, not the school…
Well I had been thinking of getting a massage for quite sometime. But you know, life obligations got in the way so the idea went on the backburner for awhile…
So then a few days ago I found the coupon in Red Eye for a massage. I cut it out and figured, what the heck give it a try!
My appt. was today at noon with a lovely masseuse, Vanesa.
I wasn’t quite so nervous getting undressed and under the covers as I first thought I might. Vanesa was very professional, asked questions, did a great job and put up with my chatter lol. I guess your supposed to be quiet through a massage lol!
I’ll definitely make every effort to fit more massages into my schedule! I feel great!

Whatever you do, don’t go see Troy. If everyone found out how amazing he is, then I’d never be able to book with him. He knows my knotty areas in my back and somehow magically gets them out.
And, Cortiva is affordable as far as what you could pay for a massage. Troy is a professional so the rate is $ 85 for an hour, but considering what you could pay at a fancy spa, that’s a deal. Highly recommend.

This was my first time getting a massage at the Cortiva Institute. I actually found this place via Unilocal and based my decision to make my appointment off of previous reviews — -plus this place is conveniently located downtown near my work.
I actually made and paid for my appointment online (always a convenience!) and opted for the $ 40 swedish massage w/​one of the students. About 30 minutes after scheduling my appointment, they called me to let me know that they had one of the students (I assume the one that I was scheduled with) had called off and that they would be scheduling me with one of the professional instructors for the same price ($ 40) instead which I thought was super cool of them.
The place is actually not what I thought it would be – it didn’t look like a school/​teching facility at all… They lead me down a long hallway into an individual private room which had tranquil music and was dimly lit. Nothing fancy whatsoever. just very clean and plain. The instructor that massaged me (Jessie) did an amazing job and asked me a lot of questions before we got started on what my problem areas were. I really felt like she actually knew what she was doing and was very attentive. She focused on exactly what I wanted her to (upper back/​shoulders) and I came out feeling super relaxed after. I’ve had many massages at different spas throughout the city, and I can definitely say that this place wasn’t bad at all.
If you’re looking for a non-​pretentious, no-​frills, inexpensive and convenient place to get a massage, go here. Like I said, I had my massage done by one of the professionals and not a student, but I wouldn’t doubt the students do just as good of a job. I’ll definitely come back to this place soon!

I’ve been here a number of times for professional massages (student clinic sounds great, but the times never seemed to work out for me).
Every time I’ve been here, I’ve had an amazing massage. The therapists definitely know what they’re doing and they do it well. And it’s much more of a «spa» like atmosphere than I think I expected the first time I went. Nice individual rooms, some of the therapists use aromatherapy, etc.
They do try to sell you on future massages and why you need to come back, which is why I rated it 4 stars out of 5. But really, why wouldn’t you want to come back?

My review is based on my recent massage, i go for relaxation purposes only and thats what i judged my experience on.
I went for a student massage on a Sunday after scheduling the appointment just the day before. When we arrived students were ready and waiting. I was escorted to a private room, which I loved versus other places that have you in a room with others separated by a curtain (soma). The room was dimly lit, with tranquil music in the background. The student I had was Sophia, she was soft spoken but asked often about the level of pressure and my comfort level. She was gentle yet firm and I was really relaxed to the point I fell asleep. I was disappointed when my 50 minutes was up. After you get dressed you are giving water to drink and a evaluation form for the student.
I will definitely come back and hopefully my experience will be the same.

I think this review can be summed up in a single sentence:
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR.
As most of you know, if you’re looking for a professional massage, this is not the place to go. Sure, I knew they were massage students going in, and I originally thought I was lucky that I had a student who was a month from graduating (hence, on the more experienced end of the spectrum), and I’m still extremely underwhelmed. I have the knots in my neck to prove it.
Personally, I think it’s worth paying the extra money and going to a professional — specifically, LPAC comes to mind.

I have seen promos in the local city papers for massage deals and on a cold and busy week before the holidays this past season I scheduled myself a student massage for a great price.
The staff and environment was professional and cozy. I had a very nice massage by a young woman student who was very educated and did a wonderful job listening to what I needed and did everything and more.
I left feeling relaxed and ready to suggest the Cortiva Institute to others!

Cheap massages… by students though. That was the problem, I think. At least for me, who needs a little more abuse than what I’ve been given each time I’ve been there. I know, it sounds kind of dirty and S&M-ish. The S&M review comes later.
Three times visited and really all I got was a glorified rub down. Every person that I’ve had was very nice, professional and good at what they do.
I’m not sure if that’s the rule for the student massage or what, but I told them, «Screw the nice stuff and everything you’ve learned. I want you to do what YOU want to do. Let’s see what kind of creativity you’ve got behind those fangers.» I was going for the Bruce Llee «don’t think, feeeeeeeel» motivational approach for my massage by the third time.
Alas, no luck. The girl was either too scared or too intimidated by my enthusiasm for pain. But still, a nice experience and good for the price.
Don’t think I’ll go back anymore… especially when I can go to the Pain Stop where they remind this wannabe tough guy what it feels like to cry in your birthday suit.

I got a student massage from Becky this week, and I was super impressed. First, Becky sat down with me and we talked about issues I’d been having (back, neck, etc.). She then told me the sort of treatment she had in mind, which all sounded good.
And it was! She did a variety of things including stretches, Swedish massage, and myofascial release. By the time she was done, I wanted to melt. After, she showed me some exercises to do to help keep my muscles relaxed.
The rooms weren’t fancy and spa-​like, but that’s OK because it’s not a spa. There is low lighting, relaxing music, and a nice table, and that’s all that’s needed, really. It helped that the table was heated.
I’ve had massages before, some of them super expensive. For $ 35, I felt that I got more than my money’s worth. Becky was super professional and obviously passionate about her work. Too bad you can’t request a certain therapist-​in-​training when you book a student appointment, because she was top-​notch.
Highly recommended.

Last week student massage was $ 35 for 50 minutes. C’mon, people! You need to get on Cortiva’s good side. And by that, I mean email list. My student masseuse got this huge knot out that I’ve been nursing, and I think improved my immune system as well. Their low student rates are perfect for the unemployed and the stressed-​out in this economy. There I said it.

This is the worst massage school around because they admit people every six weeks and the problem with this massage school is that it’s on the quarter system. This means you’re having to learn Anatomy and Physiology, Kinesiology, and other courses in a ten week period. Not everyone is programmed to run like this which is why so many people flunk out. There’s no way you can actually learn a detailed science class like Anatomy and Physiology and Kinesiology in ten weeks because you have to read and process this stuff.
Not to mention the teachers are former students and I had made a complaint saying that if former students are going to teach the classes they need to be certified and licensed to teach. They need to be held to the same standards as teachers in the state of IL. I also had a problem with the cost of going to this school. They give you the choice of doing the 12 or 15 month program to give you time to get through, but the problem is that the quarter system does not work for massage therapy programs. The fact that they did it in this format is why so many people either dropped out or flunked out.
The attitude of the staff there is horrible because one in particular made me realize I could find better than to be at this school. They make you sign a contract and hitting you with a $ 12,000 tuition bill that you pay in monthly installments of $ 550 a month. The sad thing is that you’re spending more of the time and energy trying to keep up with the classes only to exhaust yourself out by flunking. The individuals who were in student services had major attitudes and they acted as if they were too busy to speak to me when I didnt do well in the classes I was taking because they were going so darn fast that it would be impossible to keep up.
It was after meeting with one of the administrators who’s name won’t be mentioned, but she acted pretty stank when I met with her to discuss my status at the school and she kept gazing at her watch and shaking her head until I stopped and asked her if I was holding her up from something. Yet she didnt really realize I knew she didnt want to be bothered and when I saw that I wrapped up the conversation and thanked her for her time and left.
I wouldnt recommend this school because they also screwed up because their student handbook wasnt updated with the correct name and titles of people working there. They offered to let me come back on a «trial» period to take their A&P class to reinstate me into the program. I declined because I had enough stress in my life and that was their way of trying to rectify the problem when they knew they messed up. I submitted a complaint to the state board of education and to COMTA which governs the statutes around massage schools and traning facilities.
This school is a waste of money for what crap they teach you because a real massage program will run on semesters and will allow you to work at your own pace so you can get through classes and not fail them. There’s other programs out there worth exploring that are much cheaper than $ 12,000 because for that much you paid for an associates and bachelors degrees along with chump change for a masters. If you want to be a massage therapist Cortiva isnt the place to do it because there’s far better programs out there that are more financially sound and will allow you to get throught it and not fail out.
Research any and all massage programs to make sure they’re accredited and also have a high graduation rate and licensure pass rate as well. Skip any program that has recruits that can’t tell you the cost of the program upfront. If you deal with that then I would be wary of them. Legitimate schools will tell you what it will cost to attend the school. Do a lot of research had I known what I was getting myself into I would have done better in researching the school before getting myself locked into a contract which is the school’s trap to get students «committed» to them financially. I wouldnt waste any time on this school they’re not worth the money to attend for a career in massage therapy. If you want to be a massage therapist stick to programs that are on the semester scale so at any time you need to leave you can restart where you left off. Cortiva doesnt function like that and if you have to leave for whatever reason you have to start over with a new class which is totally bogus.

Aromatherapy Hot Towel Massage (in the professional studio)
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.
aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.