Deep Tissue, Hot Stone and Anti-Cellulite Massage in Dubai

The short answer

A full body classic is AED 400 at all three UNIQUE PERSONA salons, and deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox massage are AED 500 at all three. Downtown Dubai adds an hour and a half version of the classic at AED 600.

Above those sit three more, each at two branches rather than all three. Hot stone is AED 550 at Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina. Honey is AED 550 at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah. A Signature massage is AED 600 at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah. Only Dubai Marina has all three.

Shorter massages sit alongside them at AED 100: foot, and neck and shoulders, at Downtown Dubai, and foot, head, and neck and shoulder at Palm Jumeirah, where the rows state thirty minutes each. Dubai Marina prices its foot massage at AED 120 and lists it with the pedicures rather than under body care, and its neck and shoulders row at AED 250.

Below is the menu as it is priced, and what each of these massages means as a technique. What any of them will do for you is a question for the therapist on the day. If there is a medical reason behind the booking, it is a question for a doctor first.

What is on the massage menu?

Eight full-length body massages appear across the three branches, and only four of them are on every list.

The labels vary between branches, which matters if you are scanning a price list for a particular row, and Dubai Marina varies most. It drops the word massage from most entries, so deep tissue reads as Deep Tissue, and its AED 400 row is called Relax rather than Full body classic. Whether Relax is the same treatment under another name is not something the menus settle, so ask if that is the one you want.

The two branches carrying honey spell it differently, Honey Lift at Dubai Marina and Honey Lit at Palm Jumeirah, and the two carrying the Signature write it as Signature Massage and Signature full body. Downtown Dubai files everything under a category called Body Care, Endosphere and Wrapping, where the other two use a plain Body Care heading.

That heading covers more than hands-on work. Endosphere therapy is listed in the same section and is a device treatment, not a massage.

What is the difference between deep tissue, hot stone and anti-cellulite massage?

These are technique names rather than promises, and each describes how the work is done.

Deep tissue is the term for massage worked at firm pressure with slow strokes, reaching the deeper layers of muscle and the connective tissue around them.

Hot stone uses smooth stones heated in water, rested on the body and worked across it in the therapist's hands. The heat is the defining element of the technique and the reason it has its own name and its own price.

Anti-cellulite describes vigorous, repetitive work concentrated on the areas where cellulite tends to show, usually the thighs, hips and buttocks. The name describes where the massage is directed and how briskly it is worked, not a result it is guaranteed to produce.

Full body classic names the area rather than the method: the whole body, with no particular technique or target attached to the row.

Honey massage takes its name from what it is worked with, honey applied to the skin.

Signature massage is a house name rather than a standard industry technique, so what it contains is worth asking about directly when booking. The same goes for Relax, the AED 400 Dubai Marina row.

None of these names tells you how a session will feel. Pressure that one person finds firm another finds light, so say what you want before the therapist starts rather than partway through.

What does a massage cost in Dubai?

AED 400 buys a full body classic at all three branches, allowing for the Relax naming at Dubai Marina. AED 500 covers deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox massage, and that figure is the same at Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah.

AED 550 buys hot stone at the two branches that list it, and honey at the two that list that. AED 600 buys a Signature massage at Dubai Marina or Palm Jumeirah, and at Downtown Dubai the hour and a half classic.

Massage is priced flat, which is worth knowing if you are used to reading the hair and nail sections of the same lists. There, the price often moves with the level of the master you book. A massage costs what the row says regardless of who performs it.

The shorter treatments are AED 100 at Downtown Dubai and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Marina prices its foot massage at AED 120 and its neck and shoulders at AED 250.

Which branch has which massage?

The AED 400 classic and the three AED 500 massages are on every list. The differences sit above and below them.

Downtown Dubai has the full body classic at AED 400 and an hour and a half version at AED 600, deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox at AED 500, and hot stone at AED 550. It is the only branch with the longer classic, and the only one carrying neither honey nor a Signature. Foot, and neck and shoulders, are AED 100 each, with the foot massage listed as an additional service.

Dubai Marina has the widest list: the AED 400 row under the name Relax, deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox at AED 500, hot stone and honey at AED 550 each, and the Signature Massage at AED 600. Its foot massage is AED 120 and sits in the pedicure section rather than with body care, and its neck and shoulders is AED 250 against AED 100 at the other two. It is also the only branch listing Face Plastic, at AED 550.

Palm Jumeirah has the full body classic at AED 400, deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox at AED 500, honey at AED 550 and Signature full body at AED 600. It is the only branch of the three with a head massage. Foot, head, and neck and shoulder are AED 100 each for thirty minutes. There is no hot stone row on the Palm Jumeirah list.

What about lymphatic drainage massage?

It is on all three lists at AED 500, and it has a post of its own rather than a paragraph here, because the questions it raises are different ones. Swelling, recovery after surgery, and where a salon treatment stops and a medical one begins are covered there, along with how endosphere therapy relates to it.

Read lymphatic drainage massage: what it helps, and what it does not if that is the treatment you came for.

What are the shorter massages?

Foot, head, and neck and shoulders are priced separately from the full-length treatments, at AED 100 at Downtown Dubai and Palm Jumeirah. Dubai Marina is the exception on both of the two it carries: its foot massage is AED 120, and its neck and shoulders is AED 250, two and a half times what the same zones cost at the other two branches.

Duration is where they differ on paper. The Palm Jumeirah rows state thirty minutes against each of the three. Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina print no length at all beside theirs, so ask when you book rather than assuming the same half hour.

At Downtown Dubai the foot massage is marked as an additional service, which suggests it is intended to be added to another appointment. Whether it can be booked on its own is worth confirming with the salon.

Is facial massage on the same list?

No. It is priced separately and sits under its own heading at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah.

Both of those branches charge AED 290 for a thirty-minute classic facial massage and AED 340 for a fifty-minute one. Downtown Dubai lists a Classic Face Massage at AED 340 without a stated duration. Myoplastic massage is AED 600 at both Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, where the Palm Jumeirah row specifies ninety minutes. Face Plastic, at AED 550, appears only on the Dubai Marina list.

Those rows belong to the face and skin services list rather than the body one.

When is massage a question for a doctor rather than a salon?

A massage on a salon menu is a beauty and relaxation treatment. It is not treatment for a medical condition, and a therapist is not the person to diagnose one.

If there is a medical reason behind the booking, that reason belongs with a doctor first. Pain that is not ordinary muscle ache, swelling you cannot account for, a recent injury or operation, a skin condition over the area, problems with circulation or blood pressure, or a pregnancy are all reasons to get medical advice before booking rather than after. The same goes for anything you take regular medication for.

Tell the therapist anything relevant before the session starts, including where you would rather not be worked on. They expect to be told, and it is easier to say at the beginning than halfway through.

Where to have a massage in Dubai

All three UNIQUE PERSONA salons carry the body massage list, in Downtown Dubai, Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, with the branch differences set out above. The wider treatment list is on the body services page.

Frequently asked questions

Which massage should I choose?

That is a question for the therapist rather than for a price list. Deep tissue, hot stone and anti-cellulite describe three different ways of working, not three grades of the same thing.

Do massage prices differ between the branches?

Not for the four that appear everywhere. The full body classic is AED 400 and deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox are AED 500 at all three, though Dubai Marina names its AED 400 row Relax. The differences are in what each branch stocks: hot stone at Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina, honey and the Signature at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, a head massage at Palm Jumeirah only. Among the shorter treatments, neck and shoulders is the one priced differently, AED 250 at Dubai Marina against AED 100 elsewhere.

Can I have a hot stone massage at Palm Jumeirah?

It is not on the Palm Jumeirah price list. Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina both list it at AED 550.

How long is a massage session?

The body massage rows do not state a length on any of the three lists. The thirty-minute figure appears only against the shorter foot, head, and neck and shoulder treatments at Palm Jumeirah, and the facial massage rows give thirty, fifty and ninety minutes. For anything else, ask when you book.

Is a foot massage included with a pedicure?

It is priced as its own row rather than bundled, including at Dubai Marina where it appears in the pedicure section at AED 120. Treat it as an addition rather than something already in the price.

What is a Signature Massage?

It is AED 600 at both Dubai Marina, where the row reads Signature Massage, and Palm Jumeirah, where it reads Signature full body. The name is the salon's own rather than a standard technique, so ask what it involves when you book.

In short

Four massages cost the same wherever you go: a full body classic at AED 400, and deep tissue, anti-cellulite and lymphatic or detox at AED 500. Above them, hot stone is AED 550 at Downtown Dubai and Dubai Marina, honey is AED 550 at Dubai Marina and Palm Jumeirah, and the Signature is AED 600 at those same two. Downtown Dubai alone has an hour and a half classic at AED 600, and Palm Jumeirah alone has a head massage. The short foot, head and neck treatments are AED 100, or AED 120 and AED 250 at Dubai Marina.

The menu tells you what each massage costs and which branch has it. Which one suits you is a conversation with the therapist.