Four hand massage in a Schiphol hotel room

Four hand massage puts two therapists with one guest at the same time, working in step. It is 360 euros an hour, and it changes the density of the hour rather than its length. In an airport hotel room the question is space. Three adults need a bed that can be reached from both sides and enough floor that nobody is stepping over luggage. A king bed standing free of the wall, or two singles pushed together and made up as one, usually works. A standard double pressed against the wall does not. Business-park hotels in Schiphol-Oost and Schiphol-Rijk and aparthotels near the airport tend to have the room for it, and the reply to your first message will say whether yours does. Every two therapist booking is confirmed with half the fee ahead, as is every airport visit.

Where it comes from

Several traditions use two therapists on one person. Ayurvedic practice in India has long included oil treatments given by a pair working in rhythm, and Hawaiian lomi lomi is sometimes given by two practitioners at once. The four hand format offered in cities today borrows the idea of synchronised work and applies it to oil massage.

The technique

The two therapists agree a rhythm at the start and hold it. Strokes are mirrored or complementary, one on each side or one at each end. Pressure is kept equal so neither side of the body feels heavier. They communicate with small signals rather than words, so the room stays quiet.

What to expect

They arrive together, set up the room in a few minutes and each states her own limits before the session begins. One therapist usually works the upper body while the other works the legs, and they move in step so that the strokes feel coordinated rather than doubled. At times they mirror each other on either side of the body. The effect is hard to follow with the mind, which is part of the point: attention gives up tracking and the body simply receives. When the time is up, both pack their things away and leave the room tidy.

Who it suits

The guest with a short evening who wants as much as the hour can hold. Someone who has booked single therapist sessions many times and wants something different. A guest in a large room or an aparthotel. It does not suit a compact room or a twin room with narrow beds.

Benefits

Twice the hands in the same hour means the whole body is covered at once, and guests with little time often find an hour of four hands more complete than two hours of one. The coordination takes the mind off the day faster than almost anything else on the list.

Length

One hour is 360 euros, ninety minutes 540, two hours 720 and three hours 1,080 for a single guest. The eight hour overnight with two therapists is 2,880. Half goes ahead on all of them.

In the room you have

Four hand massage with two therapists in Schiphol airport hotel rooms by arrangement and in central Amsterdam hotels, outcall only, 360 euros an hour.

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