Nuru massage in Amsterdam, decided by the shower before anything else

Where it comes from

The format comes out of the Japanese bathhouse tradition, where the original medium was a preparation made from seaweed, and the word itself describes the quality the gel is prized for. What travelled out of that tradition was the principle rather than the setting: a slippery medium, a waterproof surface, and contact across the whole body instead of at the hands. The bathhouse itself did not travel, which is why the modern version is a hotel room with a sheet on the bed and a shower afterwards, and why the plumbing question ended up being the one that decides the booking.

The technique

Gel is warmed and applied to both bodies rather than to one, which is what makes the glide even. The movement is continuous and long, using the whole length of the torso and the limbs, and it relies on the sheet staying in place, so the surface matters more here than in any other oiled format. On a larger frame the sheet needs a wider footprint than a standard bed provides, which is one of the main reasons this format is moved to the floor. Weight is carried along the body rather than pressed down through it. Any named area is kept clear, though on this format it is worth saying that a truly sore region is often better served by booking the oiled version instead.

What to expect

Setting up takes longer than any other format and that is normal. The waterproof sheet goes down over the bed or over the floor arrangement, towels are banked at the edges, and the gel is warmed before anything begins. She says what her session includes and where her limits sit before the sheet is even unrolled. Once the work starts it is continuous, because the gel is what makes the contact work and breaking away from it loses the effect. Expect to be warmer than you anticipated and to feel heavier and lighter by turns, which is the gel doing what it does. It finishes with a shower. That is part of the booking rather than an afterthought, and it uses real time.

Who it suits

A guest with a good bathroom and time to spare. Anyone who has done the oiled format and wants a different sensation rather than a longer one. It suits a tall guest well provided the arrangement goes on the floor, where the sheet has room. It suits least a guest with a cramped shower cubicle, a room with a bath and no shower, or anyone for whom standing under water for a few minutes at the end is difficult.

Benefits

The gel spreads contact over a very large area at once and removes friction almost entirely, which produces an unusually even, continuous sensation that the oiled format cannot reproduce. For guests who find hands-and-pressure massage too localised to switch their attention off, the sheer breadth of the contact here tends to do it. It is also warm in a way people remember, because heated gel holds temperature much longer than oil does.

At your address

Nuru massage in Amsterdam is arranged outcall to hotel rooms and apartments across the centre, with arrival in forty to sixty minutes once an hour is agreed and the room details are settled. Airport hotels at Schiphol are taken separately with the travel time agreed first. Everyone involved is twenty-one or over, and the therapist sets her own limits at the start of the visit.

Length

Sixty minutes is tight once the setting up and the shower are counted, and guests who book it at that length often say so afterwards. Ninety is the sensible minimum and the length this format is usually taken at. Two hours leaves room for a slower start and an unhurried finish, and is the common choice for anyone who found the first one rushed.

Related formats

Body-to-Body Massage · Soapy Massage · Tantra Massage · Sensual Massage