I'd like to know what the basic charges are for a single massage. They list costs for multiple massage coupons or cards.

What's the minimum tip, if any is stated?

Is it like most of the higher end places where the boy is naked throughout, showers with you ...

Not exactly "details," but it would be nice to hear from several people who have visited the place concerning the number of boys on duty at any given time, if they have a common physical profile or have a variety of physiques & sexual orientations.

I know that's a lot and will take time before reports come in, but as I say I don't have a lot of time in Bangkok to experiment so I depend (at least initially) on a consensus of opinion to direct me.

It would be nice if Bento provided some pictures of the boys who are working there ... and not pictures of very sexy boys who probably have nothing to do with the place ... and listed prices & tips on their website.

Probably the best place I've been is Hero and I know they don't even have a website, but just about every report I've read has been very positive, which is why I went there in the first place. The only thing I have against them is that their popularity has turned the place into something of a madhouse.

Senso has had mixed reviews, but their website was well done ... showing their nice facilities and photos of many of their masseurs.

Bento hasn't had time to garner many reviews and their website leaves a lot to the imagination.

Incidentally, I emailed both Senso and Bento with a couple of questions. Senso replied promptly. So far, Bento ... nothing. That has nothing to do with the potential massage experience, but it does say something about how business-like they may be in responding to customers.

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First response - are you taking this a bit too seriously?

Here goes re Bento:

- It's new, it's very nicely set up, and it's very clean
- It's website is not that bad, but it's not perfect, the graphical style and the written words are in Thai approach/style. It's very probably constructed/written by a Thai person so it's not the approach/style you'd expect if it was constructed/written by a farang. This is Thailand, run with the local ways.
- Manager said they will probably put more pictures of the masseurs on their website at a later date. Who knows whether this will eventuate, and to be honest I don't see this as a way to 'judge' the place.
I can also share that many venues don't and never will put pictures of their masseurs on their website (e.g. HERO, I know that the owner of HERO has a strong personal policy of respecting the privacy of the working boys. Also: there are venues which put pictures on their websites without the permission of the person concerned, and there are venues which have pictures on their website and have other boys available who's pictures are not and never will be shown on their website. Plus, I'm aware that several years back when some 'entertainment' venues started putting pictures of 'workers' (girls or boys) on their websites they were told instantly by the police to remove the photos.
- Bento has parking, easy to park, very close.
- The manager is friendly, polite, business like but not pushy, seems to be a good listener and replies specifically to the question asked, seems to be very genuine, speaks good English, manager is not the owner. I asked him to call me when the 'student masseur' I took was working again. He did call me back about three days later to politely tell me the young man called him to advise that won't be back for about three weeks because of exams.
- Yes, the masseur did give good massage, and although he told me he was straight, he did try very hard to give good service and he did get hard quickly. It was his first day and his first customer. He told me that it was the first time a person (male or female) had sucked his cock and it felt good, and he moaned very loudly. For Thai boys I suggest this is not an indicator that 'he is therefore gay'.
- What level of service you might receive from other staff is totally unknown, as with every other venue.
-Yes, the masseur did shower with me before and after the massage, I suspect he was an intelligent, open, and very inexperienced kid who was looking for a new experience of showering with another person, something he said he'd never done before and I suspect he wanted to be 'a bit naughty'. Initially he stayed just outside of the 'range' of the shower and it was obvious he wanted to get within the shower range but at first was reluctant to remove his towel (very normal Thai behavior) and when he did he kept his hand over his plumbing for the next 5 minutes then slowly relaxed. I believe this has nothing to do with 'the policy of the house' it was a young man going through a new experience in life.
-I have no idea whether it's the policy of this venue for the masseur to shower with the customer, and let's be honest, whether it's the policy or not, it's ultimately case by case and whether the massuer feels realxed or not to do this. Let me also share that I have one farang acquaintance here in Bangkok who complains about this again and again, and what he never realizes is that he's so rude, demanding, intimidating and aggressive, the massage boys / off boys avoid coming anywhere near him / they are frightened of him. My ultimate point here is that working boys are human beings not programmed robots.
- I don't know whether every room has an attached bathroom. I didn't inspect every room.
- If my memory is correct the cover charge was 600Baht for one hour, but don't take this as accurate.
- Coupons and memberships are just marketing gimicks. This is a business, and they are going to try any approach which brings a return. In marketing theory, the concept of coupons / memberships etc., is something that any business should try. Why? Because the owner should be realizing that 99% of businesses cannot survive purely on first time / only time customers. They need to try various appraoches to try to entice customers to return. Plus, many Thai customers like the idea of 'member cards', and feel very proud to show off their wallet full of member cards.
- On the one day I visited most of the masseurs were, I guess, early twenties, they were all wearing dark track pants, some also had singlets, some had no cover on top half of their bodies, but not sure if this is a 'uniform', I've only visited once.
- Perhaps 40% of the boys had Essan appearance, which I like, and the rest were a mixture of various Thai facial profiles (also to my liking).
- All masseurs had nicely defined bodies (but not muscleboys), most were perhaps a little taller than average height but whether this is a 'policy' of the house I don't know.
- There was one Essan appearance boy, very good body, very obvious ladyboy. Not my style, but clearly what some customers would be looking for.
- The student who was my masseur had perhaps a more Chinese Thai appearance. This was not what attracted me, his cheeky very masculine cuteness and gorgeous cheeky smile (my opinion of course) was what attracted me. He was a university student, very pleasant and very polite, and he spoke fairly good English and politely mentioned that he was very happy to have a chance to speak to a farang.
- Manger did mention that the owner was trying to find more student types. I guess for Thai customers this has a definite meaning but I don't know what this means although I have lived in Thailand more than 20 years.
- I was not told about minimum tip (but please don't assume that the manager deliberately did not mention it), but maybe there is a minimum tip. The tip I paid made the masseur very happy, but I will not disclose what I paid, other than to say that I'm not stingy but I don't believe in 'fueling inflation'.
- I don't see how anybody could comment on number of maseurs available at any one time, and let's be fair, how could any venue totally manage this item?

Quotes:

1. "Rate card price for the massage...."

Not sure exactly what you mean by 'rate card'. If you mean the price stated on the 'menu', then I've mentioned that above, but for more details why not call the manager.

2. "Incidentally, I emailed both Senso and Bento with a couple of questions. Senso replied promptly. So far, Bento ... nothing. That has nothing to do with the potential massage experience, but it does say something about how business-like they may be in responding to customers."

I think your taking this too seriously. Why? Surely the ultimate test is the actual real life experience? I had a good (one time) experience. Further, Thais are not well organized in terms of who's responsible to monitor / reply to e.mails. This is life.

If you have further questions then why not call the manager, as I said above he is very friendly, a good listener and he speaks quite good English.

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The SGT forum had a bit of spamming recently from a massage place called "Candle Paradise Spa". I was a bit confused why it had a name similar to Candle T Spa. Has Candle T passed on, and been reincarnated thus?

I went to Soi Plukjit today and can report that it was Candle T Plus that passed on. Candle Paradise Spa occupies the same shop unit, i.e. No. 18/464.

Candle T Spa continues to occupy its two shop units, with 18/455 serving as its reception.

The two are said to be owned by the same person, together with Gents Spa, at No. 18/459.

All three seem to charge the same price: 900 baht for a 90-minute massage.

If my experiences at Candle T are to be relied on, the massage quality is usually very good. The boys however remain clothed (sometimes in shorts, soemtimes in T-shirt and shorts) during the session, and generally the happinness that one ends with is by means of a hand. However, more may be negotiated if the masseur is willing, I suppose.

Out of curiosity, could I ask others here, what was the furthest you have gone with a masseur from these shops - Candle T Spa, the late Candle T Plus, Gents Spa? Or for that matter, at its competitor along the next block - Sanctuary Spa?

__________________
My Shameless Thai blog: shamelessmack.wordpress.com

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Thanks for the plentiful information, scoops. I shall give it a try and report.

__________________
My Shameless Thai blog: shamelessmack.wordpress.com

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regardless of what they say on the web site I would not rely on them being open late - I went there just after midnight, there were only two guys there and they said they normally close about 11:00 or 12:00

bkkguy

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I'm not obsessing about Bento, but I was hoping to coax some fairly straight-forward information out of you about the boys & the massage. Obviously you're more interested in lecturing.

Some people manage to convey all the useful information needed in a paragraph or two, as this very long thread illustrates.Since it alone is approaching 660 replies and over 70,000 hits maybe you can understand the interest it generates... and I don't think people are reading it because of your supposed insight into marketing ploys or managerial nonsense. Possibly you've misundestood the purpose of this message board.

I have made a tentative arrangement for a boy from Senso to come to my hotel for a 2 hour massage, but was interested in Bento because it appears to be a high quality place and I am all for paying a bit more to ensure a quality performance.

I don't mind paying B4000 for some guy from Senso to come to my hotel for a good afternoon experience and I will probably spend more than that in the evening with one or two guys from the gogo bars.

I only travel up to Bangkok about once a month and I can usually only spend one night, so if I'm going to blow B15,000 to B20,000 on travel, hotel, massage & offing someone,etc., then I want it all to be worth the bother & expense.

I don't mind spending money but I hate wasting my time.


How very condescending you are.

I have a great deal of respect for the boys in the bars and massage places. It is because I am not demanding that I prefer places where it is the policy to do certain basic things. I always tip generously and do not throw hissy fits even if I find the boy inept.

If someone doesn't like taking his clothes off during the massage, that's fine, but I'm not going to pay B 4000 for him to smear oil on my back fully dressed. If the massage venue has policies in place then both the boy & I know what to expect. It isn't a date or a marriage proposal, it's supposed to be an erotic massage.

Most of the high end places obviously do instruct the boys concerning some basic procedures and their boys are anything but robots.

He's not alone. Possibly you're taking yourself a little too seriously. Certainly after years of living in Thailand I continue to find the boys to be far better company than the majority of farang who seem to think themselves experts in all things Thai and wander about with a chip on their shoulders.

P.S. I have to agree with Sextile's observation that the quality of this board has begun to nose-dive recently.

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Yes, please do. Just as a point of reference for those who apparently don't comprehend what's useful information and what's not, the following is a record of what you wrote after your visit to Senso... including body code, hair code and information on how the boy went about the work for which you were paying him. Useful, concise and something upon which someone might decide if he wants to give Senso a try. I look forward to something similar written about Bento now that we all understand the boys aren't robots.

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INTERIOR: Lavishly finished interior, with five rooms, all on the same ground floor. Massage room had ensuite shower, raised bed and full mirrors on one wall and the ceiling. Because the massage room was on the same floor as the lobby, and the walls thin, sounds from the TV and boys talking among themselves could be heard during massage.

Manager Khun Tam speaks conversational English. Select boys from a line-up. There were six the day I went (about 6 p.m.), mainly straight-looking, boy-next-door, or slim toned type, but one was distinctly hunkier. Despite the pictures on their magazine ads, I didn't think any of them had model-quality looks. If you're looking for slim, small, slightly femme boys, forget it.

Masseur worked in the nude. The guy that I had did an average job, applying good pressure but it was obvious he hadn't had much training - his repertory of strokes being somewhat limited.

He didn't shower me before massage, nor after. He merely shared the bathroom after massage, because he too needed to clean up - that's not the same as showering the client.

Price: 950 baht for 90 minutes aroma massage "with full service", said the manager.

690 baht for 60 minutes massage, "but this one without full service", he said.

I chose 90 minutes. It was obvious that they were not serious about offering a 60-minute product, and would be dismissive of any client who chose it.

In my opinion, the premium you're paying is for decor and convenient location. The selection of boys is limited and the service quality not necesssarily superior to other places.

__________________
My Shameless Thai blog: shamelessmack.wordpress.com

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Thank you for confirming what I suspected and providing coherent, useful information in an organized way. Sharing fairly objective information helps others to save some time & money even though there will always be a subjective element that we each have to evaluate on our own. Naturally it's still going to be a gamble, but the more you know the better your odds of success.

Next week I think I'll give Senso a second try and if that doesn't live up to its promise I'll head back to Hero the next time I visit Bangkok and give Bento a pass.Maybe it will improve with time and if we start reading positive reports here it'll be worth a visit then.

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In 3 weeks I'm back in Bangkok for 2 nights - one of which I'll visit Banana Club, the other, Hero.

Never been to Hero before, it will be an interesting comparison to my normal recommendation of Banana.

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[quote=scoops;671760]
Here goes re Bento: ... .
... .

-- Thank you for your more than detailed reply.

-- As an humble suggestion may I suggest that one does not post one's personal opinions about other respondents - PMs. would be better. Possibly our esteemed Moderators - for whom no one has an higher regard than I do - would consider this point?

-- Bibi. --

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Gee thanks for sharing.

I agree that putting photos and names of masseurs on the Internet is probably something that many of these boys would rather not happen, especially if they are students in Bangkok working part-time to fund their studies. Their fellow students would likely spend a lot of time on the Internet and there's a good chance they would be "discovered."

But at the same time, claiming the owner of Hero or any other sex-based establishment is sporting a halo over his head due to an abiding concern for his boys' welfare is a bit over the top. He's putting them in a glass cage where anyone can come in and oogle them and pick one out for sex. Of course the guys understand what they're getting into, though how well they understand the health risks is uncertain. Still the owner is lining his pockets by pimping them.

In any case you're just speculating on their motives.
Even if you asked them to their faces why they don't have a website or put photos on one, which I very much doubt you've done, they're bound to make a nice sounding excuse. You can't expect them to say, "I'm too lazy and cheap."

I'm in no position to point fingers since I'm one of those on the other side of the glass oogling, but neither the owner nor I can turn around and pretend to be pillars of virtue driven by concern for the boys' well being.

When most got started they probably didn't even understand the potential value of having a website and now, in the case of Hero, he's got all the business he needs, so he doesn't really need one.

It's a bit like Bush happily sending young guys off to Iraq to be maimed, killed and psychologically damaged and then banning news coverage of their funerals or of their mangled bodies "out of respect for their privacy."

It's all a marketing ploy.

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