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New Yorkers know good value when they find it, and the much-loved Graceful Spa is exactly that. An offshoot of Uptown's Graceful Services, Graceful Spa offers massage and skincare treatments in a setting that will be familiar to fans of the parent location: Eight tables are arranged side by side in one narrow room, separated only by white cloth curtains. This comes in handy for couples massages, but it also means that clients are privy to all nearby goings-on, so groaners and blabbers beware. The crew of petite Asian therapists and estheticians speak barely above a whisper, but when it comes to massage, their docility transforms into robust acrobatics. Assisted by steel bars bolted to the ceiling, therapists literally climb on top of clients to apply their full body weight to problem areas like lower backs and shoulders. The signature Graceful Body Massage incorporates Swedish and Shiatsu techniques with Qi Gong Tui-Na, an ancient Chinese practice that uses stretching and deep-tissue work to promote circulation and stimulate energy. Body treatments combine a sea-salt or sugar scrub with a paraffin, while facials include a mud mask and a soothing shoulder and scalp massage. — Sarah Walker

Seasonal (and cost-saving) packages such as hot stone massage for winter and exfoliating back facials for summer are listed on the spa's website.