Most people who search for English speaking massage Amsterdam listings have one worry, and it is language rather than massage. Finding a service that works in English is easy, because English is the working language of the city's visitor economy. What visitors actually want to know is more specific. Will the person who answers the message understand me? Will the therapist? What if my English is basic? What if I would rather speak French or Spanish? This guide answers each of those questions, based on how bookings to hotel rooms are handled here.
English speaking massage Amsterdam: the simple answer
Every one of the forty-five therapists who work with the house speaks English. So does every coordinator on the booking line. Messages are answered in English by default, confirmations are written in English and the conversation in the room can be in English from the first greeting to the last. Dutch is never required at any stage.
For a visitor, that means the booking works exactly the same whether you are from London, Chicago, Seoul or São Paulo. You do not need to learn a phrase, download a translation app or ask the hotel to call on your behalf.
Writing the booking message in simple English
Many of our guests speak English as a second or third language, and the booking was designed with that in mind. A message does not need full sentences. Four pieces of information are enough, and they can be written almost as a list:
- the area or street of your hotel, for example "De Pijp" or "near Museumplein";
- the length, for example "90 minutes";
- the format, for example "sensual" or "nuru", or simply "first time";
- the time, for example "tonight 22:00" or "now".
A message like "Jordaan, 1 hour, sensual, now" is perfectly clear. The coordinator replies in short, plain sentences too, and uses numbers for times and prices rather than words, so there is no confusion between "fifteen" and "fifty". An example of a complete request sits on the booking page.
Other languages on the roster
English is shared by everyone, but many therapists also speak another language, often as their first. Across the roster you will find French, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Italian, Romanian, Portuguese, Dutch and Greek, and single speakers of German, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Croatian, Serbian, Latvian and Lithuanian.
If you would feel more comfortable in one of those languages, write it in the first message: "French speaking, please" is enough. The coordinator will tell you who is free and speaks it. Every therapist profile lists the languages she speaks, so you can also choose directly. Availability depends on the hour, and a guest who asks for a particular language at four in the morning may be offered an English-speaking therapist instead, with a clear explanation.
Numbers, money and the deposit, explained clearly
Misunderstandings about money are the ones that matter most, so the house writes figures in digits and repeats the total, the deposit and the balance separately in every confirmation. A single guest with one therapist is quoted 180 euros for sixty minutes, 270 euros for ninety and 360 euros for two hours, always written as numbers. For a couple sharing one therapist, the hour is 360 euros.
If this is your first booking, a deposit of half the fee is paid in advance after confirmation. The same applies to bookings made more than 24 hours ahead, sessions of three hours or more, overnights and any booking with two therapists. The deposit is paid by card, Revolut, Wise or crypto; the balance is paid to the therapist when she arrives, in cash, by card or in crypto. If any word in the confirmation is unclear, ask. A coordinator would much rather explain a sentence twice than have a guest guess what "balance" or "deposit" means. The glossary entry on the deposit gives a plain definition.
In the room: language and comfort
Very little talking is needed during a session, and what is needed is simple. Warmer or cooler. Slower or firmer. Music or silence. These are easy to say in any level of English, and a gesture works just as well as a word. Therapists who work with international guests every night are used to guests who speak slowly, search for words or mix languages, and they adapt without making anyone feel awkward.
If there is something important you want her to know before she arrives, such as an injury, a sensitivity to certain oils or a strong preference about the room, write it in the thread. The coordinator passes it on. Our guide on what to tell your therapist before she arrives gives examples.
Why English is the default here
The house works almost entirely with visitors: tourists, business travellers, couples on a city break and people passing through on long trips. Very few of them speak Dutch, and many do not speak English as a first language either. English is the one language that nearly all of them share, so it became the working language of the line, the roster and the website.
That choice also affects the tone. Messages avoid slang, idioms and abbreviations that do not translate. Times use the twenty-four-hour clock when there is any risk of confusion. Addresses are repeated back to confirm them. None of this is special treatment; it is simply the way a service used by people from many countries has to work.
Travelling as a couple who speak different languages
Couples do not always share a first language with each other, let alone with a therapist. In that case, write in whichever language the person booking is most comfortable with, mention the other language in the first message and let the coordinator find the closest match. Very often both partners are comfortable in English, and the question answers itself.
Arrival, in any language
The practical side of arrival needs almost no language at all. She messages when she is on her way and when she reaches the building. You reply with the room number. She knocks. The arrival time is forty to sixty minutes from the moment she sets out, anywhere in central Amsterdam, and the confirmation states it in numbers.
If your hotel uses key card lifts, a very short message such as "card lift, I come down" is enough, and she will wait by the lifts in the lobby.
What the coordinator will ask you
Guests sometimes worry about being asked questions they will not understand. In practice the coordinator only ever asks a handful, and they repeat from booking to booking. Which area is the hotel in? How long would you like? What time? Is this your first booking with us? Would you like one therapist or two? Is anyone else in the room? Each can be answered with a word or a number. If a question is not clear, reply with a question mark, and it will be rephrased more simply. Nobody expects an elegant reply, and a guest who writes "yes 22:30 two hours" has answered perfectly. Replies that mix two languages are also understood more often than guests expect, so there is no need to translate every word.
The same patience applies after the confirmation. If something changes, such as a later return to the hotel or a different length, a short note in the thread is enough. Write it in whatever English you have, and it will be understood.
Telegram instead of WhatsApp
Some visitors, especially from Eastern Europe and parts of Asia, use Telegram more than WhatsApp. Bookings work in exactly the same way there: the same short message, the same English replies, the same confirmation with the total, the deposit and the balance written out. Choose whichever app you already have on your phone, since installing a new one in a hotel room at night is one more small obstacle nobody needs.
Small cultural differences, and why they do not matter
Visitors from different countries arrive with different habits. Some expect to take their shoes off at the door, some offer tea, some shake hands and some prefer a simple hello. None of this causes any difficulty. Therapists who meet guests from dozens of countries each month are relaxed about greetings and small customs, and there is no local etiquette you need to learn first. Tipping is a common question from American visitors in particular: tips are not expected, and the guide to tipping in Amsterdam explains what is normal.
A note on reading this site
Every page on this site is written in English, in sentences that aim to be clear for readers whose first language is something else. If a word on any page is not clear, a short message to the line will explain it, in plain words and without any hurry.