I was extremely pleased with the massage I received here! I came in a bundle of stressed knots and Ben really took his time working on the areas that needed the most TLC. He's great: He made sure he was using the right pressure, answered some of the questions I had relating to neck pain, has great taste in music, and just made the whole experience a very comfortable one (quite a feat since I normally ask for a female massage therapist). Clearly, I can't rave about him enough!
I've had a few massages in my time - some at home and overseas, some pleasant, some that made me feel like I would be doing the walk of shame, some that put me to sleep, and some that left me feeling sore - and the whole experience at La Riva ranks as a 4.5 in my book. A few negative points:
-very small spa, almost non-existent waiting room area
-I found out my appointment time had to be pushed back 1.5 hours before I was supposed to be there
-a little far if you don't happen to live next to the strip
-didn't accept credit cards (good thing I used a Livingsocial voucher - it only hurt them because I couldn't leave a generous tip)
This might be key factors for a few people, but it didn't really bother me, thus the 5 rating. The room in which the massage took place had a nice ambience and was clean (which matters more than the waiting room in my opinion), and while I was waiting, the staff provided me with water and seemed welcoming. Concerning the wait, I luckily didn't have anything scheduled after the appointment so I was completely fine with it. Plus, I appreciated that they left me a text and voicemail. As for distance, it's a little bit of a pain, but I will definitely be making more appointments with Ben.