Nickel Spa for Men

So I read a few vey mixed reviews of this place and had no idea what to expect. Let me be brief and say that most people are correct in saying that it is not the most luxuries place in the back area, where the services are provided. The façade does feel a little more grand than the back. However, my massage was one of the best ever. Donald was amazing. And when he said deep tissue — he meant it. I think I might have shed a tear. Felt great afterwards though. Everyone was extremely friendly and professional. If u want all the frills you might want to go somewhere else. However bases on the quality of my massage (that is all I got and that is all I can comment on), I give this place a thumbs up!

Best thing about the place was Monica — does anyone know where she is now waxing?

I’ve been here a few times before and was beyond impressed with the service and quality of care that I received today. Jacob gave me a fantastic facial that I will definitely back for and took care of my Brazilian trim. This was my first experience and he made me feel totally at ease. This process puts you into some vulnerable positions so it is important to have someone who can guide you through the process and make you feel comfortable; if not you will feel awkward! I may even try waxing next time!

My first visit to Nickel was by chance several years ago. I found Nickel through Google and decided to try the spa’s services for waxing while visiting the city. I now live in NYC and am a regular guest, making a visit at least once per month. I love Nickel. Most importantly, I’m always comfortable and welcomed with warmth and professionalism. The location is absolutely perfect and I usually end up making a spa visit into a several-​hour break from my usual routine with some window shopping in Meat Packing and a coffee break at Think Coffee.
I have mostly used their waxing services and strongly recommend both Oksana and Marissa for any waxing you need done. (When I say any– I mean any. including the Inside/​Out wax!) I’m interested next in getting a facial, and I’m told the salon/​spa is adding new services in the coming year, such as some kind of VIP lounge and sunless tanning. I’ve also gotten pedicures and manicures (Rachel is highly recommended!) and have gotten haircuts. Of all these services, I have since looked elsewhere for my haircut. The salon associates do a fine job cutting hair, but I’m looking for more than fine here. I’m looking for a hair artist, so to speak — someone who is invested in helping me make new, cutting edge decisions about my hair and my overall appearance. I’m a performing artist and hair is important for defining image. So… I need someone who does more than just what I ask them to do haha… I need them to partner with me in defining my image.
Overall, though, I highly recommend Nickel. The staff is fantastic and everyone is invested in making sure I enter and leave satisfied. A lot of people aren’t happy with the facility’s re-​design, and I’m not fond of most of the choices either. However, the facility is under new management which is invested in turning around the appearance and perception of Nickel NYC, and that means a lot to me as a regular guest.
Nickel has so much to offer and I highly recommend visiting. The prices will be a bit above your average price, but then again the service is above average as well. This i not a luxury spa/​salon — at least not for NYC — and I think that most unsatisfied guests might be thinking that it is. That doesn’t mean the spa isn’t superior, though. It’s chic. It’s fresh. It’s contemporary. It’s far above average and it is, of course, tailored for men. If you know that and are expecting to pay for that, Nickel is perfect. You get pampered. You get the treatment. The staff is welcoming and professional. But it is still affordable for most NYC professionals.

This review is for Oksana who has performed my male Brazilian waxing twice now.
She has been professional, courteous and minimized the pain with good technique.
Considering my degree of hirsuteness, I would say it was reasonably priced.

A Horrid bad dream best left for people that read about it in glossy magazines and come from the midwest expecting the best. In addition to being old, claustrophobic, and uncomfortable, staff ranges from average to incompetent. Manicure and pedicure spaces are simply unacceptable — small, dreary and an after thought. The pedicurist — several on several occasions have been rough and tumble often nicking and hurting skin. The SPA gets a large gay male following, although those men in the know — in particular your A list chelsea boy does look elsewhere for services. The space is so uninviting it could be in a subway or a housing project. I think the sleep pods — which take up most of the space — are just dumb. Product is excellent however, and your simply better off buying some and leaving. There are other places to go in Manhattan that are far better and while those places may not have the gay following that Nickel has, they have the professionals.

meh. The was my first massage ever and it was alrite. The massage was itself was good. the masseuse told me about certain muscles that were tense and pinpointed on those areas. the décor wasn’t that impressive at all. I wasn’t expecting something grand but, the massage rooms had white brick walls and some large industrial bulb. 20 min in the“zero gravity chair” was apart of the treatment and its just this heavily padded chair that’s lean all the way back… I didn’t feeled extra relaxed. I think the chair was supposed to come back to position itself to signify that the treatment was done but, someone had to come in and get me. the service was alrite they were nice enough. I think its more of an in and out place. Doesn’t really seem like anything for a special occasion, which is a bit disappointing because it was a gilt city deal and I always go to gilt city for those amazing finds.

Appalled. Stay away from this place if you’re looking for skilled estheticians.
Typically, I go to Face To Face NYC for all my male grooming needs that can’t be accommodated at a typical barber shop. Before leaving on my most recent vacation, I decided to tend to a few hairy situations. Due to waiting to the last minute, I couldn’t get in to Face To Face NYC to see Sal or Enrique. I decided to try Nickel Spa, assuming that the experience wouldn’t be that much different (I couldn’t have been more wrong).
I had no problem booking an appointment for the same day when I called Nickel Spa. (sign number one… too much availability probably due to poor service). I showed up on time and was immediately greeted at the front desk by Jacob, my assigned esthetician. Jacob led me back to the treatment room (supposedly, this place has been remodeled/​renovated in the past year… it doesn’t show). Jacob was friendly, but soon I realized he was also unskilled.
After disrobing, Jacob began first by trimming… nicked me once with the clippers. OUCH! But then, it got worse. When it came time for the wax, he suddenly didn’t have the coordination to complete the process without asking me to help him hold and pull parts of my own skin. I found this to be odd as Sal and Enrique at Face To Face have never have asked me to do this and also because it just seemed unsanitary to have me touch freshly waxed skin without first having me clean my hands. I know it’s my own hands, but still, I didn’t want to increase the change of irritation or breakouts.
I could sense Jacob was struggling. He got so much wax stuck to my body that he had to remove it with a different solution. He also kept going over the same spots, over and over again without success. OUCH! And then finally, he simply gave up… citing that some areas of the body are just too difficult to wax.
I was part relieved (because I couldn’t stand the thought of him continuing on my now tender skin) but also part dumbfounded… surely I haven’t been the first person to request this service that was on their menu.
He apologized and told me that I would not be charged for the waxing, just the trimming.
Take note, if you’re looking for superior service, skilled estheticians, and satisfactory results, don’t waste your time and money here. Instead, book an appointment at Face To Face NYC (I highly recommend both Sal and Enrique there.) Nickel Spa really needs to better train the people they hire.

I give this place four stars based on the average of a 6 stars for the massage, 4 stars for place and 2 stars on the sleeping pods. I regularly get massages and decided to check this place out as liked yelo spa in midtown which has similar sleep pods and mattress like massage tables.
The place is pretty large as it looks like it is in a former bank building. They could have done more with the space as the two story lobby is taken up by the ad hoc pods which I will get to later. The manicure and pedicure areas look like they stopped midway through construction. I would have switched and given the nice lobby to the mani/​padi and built the pods in the back area.
The massage rooms were on the second floor. I like the lighting and the tables as I usually find massage tables too hard. Due to the softness the therapist does need to work harder to get same force and my therapist did just that as I suffer from constant back pains and I felt much better after wards. He did a great job of loosening me up so that the kneading achieved its goal.
My massage ended with a twenty minute nap in the pods which requires you to come downstair back into the light which defeats purpose of getting a relaxing nap at the end. I would have preferred to have stayed in massage room for the twenty minutes. The pod chairs are comfortable which is only reason this part got two stars. The noise from the street and the receptionist were easily heard in the room so could not relax. Also at end of twenty minutes noone came in to ask if I wanted water as the lights just came back on in the room.
Not sure on whole men only policy but I happily booked another massage and will leave napping to my couch.

OMG I haven’t been to Nickel in a while, made reservation for me and my husband to get mani/​pedis. The place was re-​designed for the worst!!!
The nice salon for manicure has been changed and the Décor is awful, I feel like i was at a Chinese nail salon, not at the refined salon I used to go!!!
I won’t be going back there!!!
The white banquet where you seat to have the pedicure is SOOOO uncomfortable.

AVOID if you want a men’s brazilian
Here’s my experience. Signed up in advance and came to my appointment. So far so good– place good upscale and the front staff were friendly and considerate. offered me a drink. magazines to read. nice couches.
Then called in and went to my room. Nice space– clean, inviting, warm temperature. Waxer came and then is the disaster. He seemed a bit crude but that’s ok– a guy’s waxing place after all. he said my skin was inflamed and could only do part of the wax. ok I can understand that. However, he charged me for a full brazilian. He recommended a product for ingrown hair.
Then I proceed to the checkout space to pay. The ingrown hair product is waiting for me (good service). However, the desk staff had NO clue about the product. I asked what is it in and he simply shrugged and said «I don’t know.» No attempt to find out either.
So I left and went to Uni K Wax, where a complete brazilian was done and I was given advice on ingrown hairs. Plus that salon was less expensive!
Will never return to Nickel Spa. what a waste.

My first time here and I got the spa mani/​pedi. Would have maybe purchased the deluxe, but when I talked to the receptionist he couldn’t really tell me the difference between the two (not the best way to sell your product to a new customer whose will to maybe spend some money). Rosa did the mani/​pedi and she did a good job. A lil pricey for what they offer, but I would go back every now.
Three stars for the the value of what I got.

I’m not an expert on massages. Atmosphere was just basic and yes almost cold dreary as opposed to ‘zen’ like.
Front female clerk was friendly.
My masseuse was Donald and asked if I wanted a relaxing Swedish or deep (60 min) at which I said definately deep. He worked me over good. He was on time and I was done in 55min. I’d recommend him, not that I have others to compare to there. Would I go back to Nickel? I probably would explore other places for my next massage.

I love this place and if you give it a try, you will as well!
The service was excellent and according to my best friend who got the 50 min deep tissue massage Miguel has hands that will work out any kinks in your armor. I would highly recommend this Spa and I so appreciate the all male touch.

I had already booked a massage here before I read the reviews so I was a bit skeptical. However, I really enjoyed it. I was going to have a wax service but found out that they only use the wax (honey?) with the strips so I didn’t do it but the woman was very nice in explaining that it wasn’t the waxing I was looking for and I didn’t get charge for the service.
The massage was really great too. Typically when I get a massage I’m always left with a needling feeling to get right back to my usual massage therapst because the massage is severely lacking, not so here. I got a 60 minutes massage and was plenty happy with it. The only improvement I would suggest is giving the client a warm wash cloth to wipe off the oil from their body.
The building is a bit on the grittier side, however, I wasn’t expecting Canyon Ranch so it was fine. I also couldn’t here the outside music in the massage rooms. I especially liked the darkness of the rooms since I’m usually shocked by the light when rolling over.
Overall I would definitely come back here again.

Not the best place for haircuts. I’ve been here probably about 5 or 6 times, with mixed results. They can generally do an OK job if you know exactly what you want. A few times, I’ve come in asking for creativity (I have medium/​longer hair and just want to find a salon where I can say, «Make me look great» and leave feeling good). This has always resulted in something I could have gotten at SuperCuts for half the price. I’ve tried every stylist that works there. They do the cut, never pay any attention to the style afterward, leaving you to go home and ‘fix it’ as you want it before going out.
I’ve also tried it for nails and eyebrow waxing, both of which were much, much better. I would even recommend the salon for these services.
The space is fine for me, but as other reviewers have mentioned, the staff is very cold in a strange way. Never rude, they’re even sort-​of polite, but you just never feel at home. Not a friendly environment at all. Also, none of the stylists ever remember me, one even after cutting my hair 3x.
One more thing — the place is perpetually empty. Never more than one or two customers around, which isn’t helping the ambiance. I feel like I’m jumping aboard a sinking ship there. Not going back.

Nickel Spa offers the most affordable massages and waxing services in its class. It is not a lavish pamper palace, It is just the basics executed in a chic atmosphere. What is so great about Nickel is that it is one of the few male only spa’s in an affordable price range. For the price Nickel is surely worth 4 stars. Unlike some all male spas, Nickel is extremely gay friendly.
…Oh, and just don’t touch the products; unlike the services the products are too expensive.

If you are looking for a luscious, pampered, «king-​for-​a-​day» experience, this is probably not the place for you. If you are looking for a spa that offers services as industrial and streamlined as their décor, then come to Nickel Spa.
I came for an hour-​long massage (I do not remember the name of the masseur, so don’t ask) and was graciously greeted by the front desk staff in their spacious, brightly lit lobby and store. I was offered tea/​water and was whisked away to the waiting area (two couches, perched in a dimly lit corner, facing the mani/​pedi area) and stared at the floor-​to-​ceiling grey concrete. I am sure some men would not be put off by the décor but I found the floor-​to-​ceiling grey concrete to be a bit too industrial and cold for my pre-​massage taste.
The very friendly masseur greeted me and ushered me up to the second floor balcony that looked out over the main lobby. From there, we entered the massage room and began the reason for the visit. One of the pics on Unilocal makes the massage room look like a hypnotically crisp, refreshingly blue oasis; the actual room was more of a dark grey, cold chamber with a washcloth draped over the wall sconce to block the light. GRANTED, I did not notice any of that when I was face down on the table with my eyes closed. During the massage, I noticed there was some faint, spa-​like music playing in the room; unfortunately, this relaxing music was drowned out by the pop music/​phone calls/​shoppers/​street noise echoing from the two-​story, concrete echo chamber lobby just outside my door.
Of all the aspects of the visit that did not meet my expectations, I can at least say that the masseur was well-​trained and catered the massage to my specific needs. My experience at Nickel was not bad or upsetting, just «ehh». If you are a man’s man who doesn’t mind the industrial feel and no-​frills atmosphere, this is your place; for those of us looking for that extra bit of pampering and retreat, perhaps another place would be a better bet.

I just had my third massage a Nickel; half off thanks to Groupon. The first with Sean was wonderful. The second, with a different therapist, was certainly decent. Tonight’s was completely unacceptable.
I was taken in 10 minutes late, left to wait on the table with just a bath towel over me for another 5 minutes and we ended on schedule. So, my hour massage barely lasted 45 minutes. When Oleg was through, there was no thank you, just a curt «we’re done». I’ve been to spas and have had massaged all over the world. This was the first time a therapist wasn’t waiting outside with water for me. He was just there waiting for his tip.
As for the condition of the place, I agree with all of the other comments. It is poorly maintained, dank and depressing. I won’t be back no matter what kind of Groupons they offer.

What is up with all the bitching and whining from the previous reviewers?
I agree with how the place looks, don’t get me wrong. Clearly they didn’t spend much money on the atmosphere or the ambiance. However, that is not why I went here. I went here because I wanted a massage. Which by the way was fantastic.
I would rather have a great massage at Nickel Spa rather than an average massage at any of the other places in the city that are all «prettied up» and over priced. The prices for the massage was very reasonable and well worth my coin.
I thought the staff were very friendly and helpful. They offered me the choice of tea or water. I chose the tea, which was only average. Then again, I wasn’t here for the tea.
Had the rooms been more «spa» like this would have been a five star rating for sure. If you want a great massage I highly recommend this place. Ask for Charleton as he was amazing.
It was a happy ending… without the «happy ending.»