C3 Wellness Spa
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Your first massage here is $85. After that a full hour is $110 for Swedish, $125 therapeutic and $130 deep tissue. Every length and every price is written on this page, so you know the cost before you pick a time.
3001 Hillsborough Street, Raleigh. Open until 8pm on weeknights.
The short version
Most spa sites near you hide the rate behind a form or a phone call. That is a waste of your afternoon, so the whole price list sits further down this page in plain text. If you are looking for affordable massage in Raleigh, comparing the numbers is the fastest way to see where we sit.
Massage here is done by licensed North Carolina therapists in private treatment rooms. If your massage is part of treatment for an injury or a diagnosed condition, it may be billable to your insurance instead.
What it costs
Your first massage or facial with us is $85 for a full hour. Every massage below costs more than that, so on a first visit you save. After that these are the everyday rates. Prices below are per person.
| Treatment | 60 min | 75 min | 90 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish | $110 | $130 | $150 |
| Therapeutic | $125 | $140 | $160 |
| Deep Tissue | $130 | $150 | $170 |
| Craniosacral Therapy | $125 | · | $160 |
| Cupping Therapy | $130 | · | $150 |
| Hot Stone | · | $150 | · |
Deep tissue costs more than Swedish at every length, because it takes more out of the therapist. Members pay less than all of it: Platinum is $80 a month and includes a 60-minute treatment.
| Treatment | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Prenatal | 60 min | $110 |
| Reflexology | 60 min | $110 |
| Lymphatic Drainage | 60 min | $110 |
| Aromatherapy | 60 min | $125 |
| Visceral | 60 min | $99 |
| Stretch Massage | 30 / 60 min | $50 / $100 |
| Thai Massage | 60 min | call for price |
Thai massage has no single-session rate set in the booking system yet. Call (919) 616-7868 and the front desk will quote you before you commit to anything.
Picking one
Read the two or three that sound like your problem and book that one. If you get it wrong, tell your therapist at the start and the session can be adjusted.
Long, even strokes at light to moderate pressure. This is the one to book if you want an hour of quiet, or if you have never had a massage before.
The middle ground. Your therapist works the tight spots you point out, at a pressure that stops short of deep tissue. Good for general stiffness and desk posture.
Slower and firmer, working into the layer under the surface muscle. Suits stubborn knots, lifting soreness and old injuries. You may feel it for a day afterwards.
Heated stones are laid on the back and used along with hands. The heat gets tight muscle to let go faster than pressure alone. Popular in winter.
Side lying and supported with bolsters, for the second and third trimester. Book this rather than a standard massage if you are pregnant, and bring any note from your doctor.
Pressure on specific points of the feet, worked in sequence. You stay clothed apart from shoes and socks, which makes it an easy first appointment.
Very light, rhythmic strokes that move fluid rather than press on muscle. Often booked for swelling, puffiness and recovery after a surgical procedure.
Gentle, slow work on the abdomen and the connective tissue around it. People book this for digestive complaints and for restriction left behind by scar tissue.
Swedish pressure with essential oils chosen at the start of your session. Say if you are sensitive to scent or pregnant, because some oils are left out.
Cups lift the tissue instead of pressing into it, which suits backs that do not respond to hands. It leaves round marks that fade over several days.
Very light contact at the head, spine and sacrum, with almost no pressure. Booked for headaches, jaw tension and a nervous system that will not settle. You stay clothed.
Your therapist moves your limbs through their range while you stay passive. Clothed, no oil, and useful before or after a hard training block.
What happens
Arrive 10 minutes before your start time. Those 10 minutes are for paperwork, getting undressed and a short talk with your therapist, so your booked hour stays a full hour on the table.
Your therapist will ask what hurts, how much pressure you want and what to leave alone. Say if you are pregnant, recovering from surgery, on blood thinners or sore from an accident.
Then you are left alone to get on the table under the sheet. Undress to whatever point you are comfortable with. Plenty of people keep underwear on and the massage works fine either way.
You stay draped the whole time. Only the part being worked on is uncovered, and it is covered again before your therapist moves on.
Speak up during the session. Too much pressure, too little, a room that is cold, music you cannot stand: all of it can be changed in about five seconds if you say so.
Afterwards
If something still hurts a few days later in the same way it did before, tell the front desk. That is often the point to look at physical therapy instead.
Paying for it
When massage is clinically indicated, meaning it is part of treatment for an injury or a diagnosed condition, some plans will cover it. You pay a copay rather than the full self pay rate.
This is plan by plan, so the only honest answer is to have your details checked first. Send your insurance card and date of birth, and you will get a straight answer before you book.
HSA and FSA cards are accepted for massage either way. The 3.5% card fee that applies to normal card payments does not apply to insurance copays or coinsurance.
Before you book
At C3 Wellness Spa your first massage is $85. After that a 60-minute Swedish is $110, therapeutic is $125 and deep tissue is $130. At 90 minutes those are $150, $160 and $170. Specialty work: hot stone is $150 for 75 minutes, cupping is $130 for 60 minutes and craniosacral therapy is $125 for 60 minutes. Nothing on this page is an introductory rate.
Swedish uses long, even strokes at light to moderate pressure and suits general relaxation. Deep tissue is slower and firmer and works into the layer beneath the surface muscle, which suits stubborn knots and old injuries. Both cost the same at each length, so pick by what your body needs rather than by price.
No. Undress to the point you are comfortable with, and many people keep underwear on. You stay under a sheet for the whole session and only the area being worked on is uncovered. Reflexology, craniosacral therapy and stretch massage are done fully clothed.
Sometimes. When massage is clinically indicated as part of treatment for an injury or a diagnosed condition, some plans will cover it and you pay a copay instead of the full rate. It depends on your plan, so send your insurance details and get an answer before booking. HSA and FSA cards are accepted for massage regardless.
Ten minutes before your start time. That window covers paperwork, getting undressed and a short consultation with your therapist, so your booked time is spent on the table. Arriving late means you get the time remaining in the session, because the next appointment starts when it starts.
It should feel like firm, workable pressure rather than pain. Tell your therapist the moment it goes past that point and the pressure changes immediately. Mild soreness for a day or two afterwards is normal, much like the day after a hard gym session.
No, a couples massage needs two therapists in the room at the same time, so it is arranged by phone. Call (919) 616-7868 and the front desk will find a slot where two therapists are free.
Prenatal massage is offered for the second and third trimester, side lying and supported with bolsters, at $110 for 60 minutes. Book prenatal rather than a standard massage, mention how far along you are, and bring any guidance from your doctor.
No. Undress to the point you are comfortable with, and many people keep underwear on. You stay under a sheet for the whole session and only the area being worked on is uncovered. Reflexology, craniosacral therapy and stretch massage are done fully clothed.
Ten minutes before the start time. That window covers paperwork, getting undressed and a short consultation with the therapist, so the booked time is spent on the table. Late arrivals receive the time remaining in the session.
Two of you
Two licensed therapists working at the same time, so you both start and finish together rather than taking turns. Couples Massage is $240 for fifty minutes or $335 for eighty, and those prices cover both people.
Couples Immerse is the longer version in the suite itself, with its own air-jet tub, shower and screen. Eighty minutes is $400. A hundred and ten minutes is $450, and that one ends with a charcuterie board and a glass of wine each.
This is the one treatment you cannot book online, because the system holds one therapist at a time and this needs two. One phone call sorts it, usually in under three minutes.
Add to any massage
Small additions your therapist folds into the hour you already booked. Ask when you arrive rather than at the desk on the way out, because some of them change how the session is set up.
Diamond and Onyx members get one enhancement free at every visit. Call (919) 616-7868 for the current list and what each one costs.
Gift cards
A gift card covers anything on this page, the couples suite included, and it saves you guessing whether someone wants deep pressure or a quiet Swedish. It arrives by email, so it still works the night before a birthday.
Answer a few questions and we will tell you where we would start you, and why. It takes about thirty seconds and nothing you pick is sent anywhere.
Your first one is $85, on Hillsborough Street, open until eight on weeknights, with free validated parking.