Review: A Touch of Class in Bangkok, Thailand (CLOSED)

In the time that this website has been online I have reviewed numerous Bangkok oily massage parlors. All of these shops generally operate on the same basis with only minor variations. Prices are nearly uniform across the industry with a few shops charging a little more or a little less than the competition. With rotating staff the only aspects that set one shop apart from another are things like customer service, room quality, and overall level of service.

Although there are certainly pretty gals to be found on staff at almost every shop, oily massage parlors aren’t necessarily known for hiring the most attractive women. They’re more service oriented and easy to navigate which contrasts them to rip off shops and tourist oriented go go bars with ever rising prices.

Most oily massage parlors in Bangkok have a bit of history. Some have been around for ages and others have been started by former masseuses who split from some of the better known shops. A Touch of Class is one of the newest oily massage parlors in Bangkok. I’m not sure who started it or when but it first came on my radar sometime in 2014.

A Touch of Class is easy to find. it’s located on the “U” shaped alley that shoots off of Sukhumvit Soi 24. It’s only steps away from EZ Massage 1 which I reviewed back in 2013.

With so many similar shops in the field A Touch of Class aims to be different. Their website says “When you walk towards our place, you will immediately see that our girls are different – they are beautifully dressed, they won’t scream and shout “welcome” or “massage” at you or try to drag you into our place – our girls have – “A Touch of Class””. It also says women are paid more than they are at other shops and that they are given health insurance and language lessons.

I have no way to verify whether or not most of these claims are true. One thing I can verify is that A Touch of Class probably has the best looking woman of any Bangkok oily. That doesn’t mean that every woman they employ looks like they came straight from Asia’s Next Top Model but on average they appear younger and prettier than their counterparts elsewhere. There are always exceptions. There are some stunners on staff at other massage parlors and there are a few women on staff at A Touch of Class that I don’t find attractive. I can only speak in general terms based on my own opinion.

The facilities at A Touch of Class are also nice. The lobby is big and clean and the women are friendly without being pushy. Well the women on staff are friendly at least. Some of the people on management seem to be more interested in their cell phones than their customers. This is in reverse of what is often seen elsewhere, with the masseuses being the ones interested in their phones. If I had to chose I guess I’d take interested service providers over interested managers.

Everything is pretty much standard in terms of operations though A Touch of Class seems to favor letting customers pick from a live lineup rather than showing them a book of airbrushed photos. At some places customers have to ask specifically to see the women in person.

Rates are normal for the industry. A one hour full service massage with everything included goes for 2000 Baht ($63 US) in a standard room. Better rooms that include things like bathtubs or jacuzzis go for a little more. Nuru massage mat play is an option too. Couples massage is also available starting at 2500 Baht ($78) for one hour and apparently they do serve single ladies.

The shop’s website says they accept credit cards along with cash. This would further set them apart from other places. In practice however it seems that the management is either unable or unwilling to actually use their credit card machine, if indeed they have one at all. This could just be a temporary thing but I can’t go to the shop every day to check on the status on their machinery.

Fitting with a relatively new place the rooms at A Touch of Class are nice and clean. The more expensive rooms aren’t so much better that they deserve a higher price in my opinion but it makes sense that a shop would charge more for rooms that cost more to put together.

Service is always hard to judge at any place with a staff of several women. Different women come and go and may offer better or worse service than one another. Even an individual gal can offer better or worse service depending on the day or hour or even how they feel about the customer they’re dealing with. Some places offer a virtual guarantee of good service. It would surprising to get bad service at a place like Cherry or Bamboo for example.

Generally speaking it seems that the women who work at A Touch of Class have more to offer in terms of their looks than their physical performance. Some of the prettiest women may not offer oral service of any variety even though it’s considered a standard at every other shop of its kind.

It’s often said that the best looking women tend more toward poor or limited service while the less attractive gals go the extra mile. This supposedly applies not only to working women but women in general. I’ve never put a lot of stock in this since my experiences have contradicted it time and time again but at A Touch of Class it does ring true.

I have no serious complaints about A Touch of Class. The women are for the most part very pretty, the place is big and clean and the prices are reasonable. At the same time I can’t say that any of this is enough to blow me away. If a standard of stellar performance was the norm I would probably give this place a very high score. As it stands I don’t think it deserve more than three stars.

Note: A Touch of Class has closed. Another shop has opened in same location that offers the same kinds of service. I hope to review it soon.