Santa Barbara Independent Best of Santa Barbara, Best Licensed Massage Therapist: 13-time winner — 2009 through 2018, 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Santa Barbara · Practicing since 1999
Massage aimed to correct and restore your body's wellness — not just relax it for an hour. Marlo reads the whole body, finds where the tension actually starts, and treats it there.
Reader-voted
Thirteen Best of Santa Barbara wins — including ten years in a row — decided by readers rather than judges. Most recently 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Bodywork Services
Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, Sports Massage, Cupping, Reflexology, and Swedish — drawn on as your needs call for them.
May include any of the following techniques depending on your specific needs: Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, Sports Massage, Cupping, Reflexology, and Swedish Massage. This treatment targets areas of chronic tightness to restore flexibility and circulation, thereby enhancing your overall health and well-being.
1 Hour
$160
1.5 Hour
$225
Everything in the Signature Massage, plus the fragrance and moisturizing benefits of Epicuren. Muscles relaxed, skin nourished.
Shower and exfoliate beforehand for best results.
1 Hour
$190
1.5 Hour
$240
Restores flexibility in the neck and clears restrictions behind headaches, sinus pressure, and facial tension. Includes scalp massage.
Ideal for frequent headaches or TMJ issues.
1 Hour
$165
New
Pricing coming soon · call or text for details
Focused acoustic pressure waves delivered to targeted tissue, used for stubborn, chronic soft-tissue problems that haven't responded to hands-on work alone.
Therapeutic light applied to injured or overworked areas to support the body's own recovery process. Pairs well with bodywork in the same session.
Targeted, hands-on work for injuries and problem joints — finding where the pain actually starts and restoring how the area moves.
A three-dimensional look at how you stand and move, followed by corrective bodywork and exercises to bring your body back into balance.
$45 each · book with your appointment
Both feet coated in Epicuren moisturizing lotion, then wrapped in hot towels for ten minutes. Noticeably smoother after one visit.
The back is bathed in hot towels, then covered in warm black Dead Sea mineral mud. Towels lift the mud away, leaving skin smooth and supple.
Fifteen minutes of mat stretching shaped around your specific needs. Can be added before or after your treatment.
Photo by Kelly Mahan
Marlo's Story
Marlo Tell has been practicing massage since 1999. After gaining experience in the spa industry, she started her own business in order to develop lasting relationships with her clients and treat their symptoms more effectively over time.
Marlo looks comprehensively at the whole body to identify weak points and combines various modalities in each session based upon the individual needs of the client. These may include Deep Tissue, Shiatsu, Trigger Point, Myofascial Release, Sports Massage, Cupping, Reflexology, and Swedish Massage. Marlo also specializes in treating specific issues such as Repetitive Stress Syndrome, Tennis and Golf Elbow, Hip Injuries, and Plantar Fasciitis.
After starting her massage business 20 years ago, she has successfully grown her practice in the highly competitive Santa Barbara massage market. The Santa Barbara Independent has named her “Best Licensed Massage Therapist” 13 times, including 10 years in a row.
Additionally, as part of her broad approach to wellness, Marlo prescribes exercises, stretching, and rolling techniques to help her clients strengthen weak areas and prevent problems from recurring. She prides herself in educating her clients not only about the importance of massage, but also about how to maintain and improve overall health and well-being. Marlo diligently pursues her own education in order to consistently provide her clients with superior service, the most up-to-date information, and the most effective massage.
Marlo has developed a proprietary modality of bodywork that she has successfully imparted to her staff through months of intensive training with top athletes. She works with triathletes, marathon runners, Olympian water polo players, tennis players, baseball players, Tour de France athletes, and NBA players.
Marlo's approach to promoting wellness as a means of avoiding sickness and injury has garnered her an incredible reputation for giving effective advice. She lives within Santa Barbara's wellness epicenter, working alongside top surgeons, physical therapists, trainers, and acupuncturists.
Who Marlo Treats
Marlo works with triathletes, marathon runners, Olympian water polo players, tennis players, Tour de France athletes, NBA players, and baseball players.
“For anyone who hasn't been to Marlo's massage, it's impossible to describe what you've been missing. Marlo's massages vastly exceed relaxing and healing; they are absolutely life altering. She zeroes-in on the underlying causes of pain and treats the problem at its source for a lasting cure rather than just relieving the symptoms. Marlo's massage is beyond simply feeling better. She improves the way you move, stand, sit, breathe and live your life.”
“I had sciatica for six months before I found Marlo. On a couple of occasions the pain kept me awake for five days straight. Most of her work was in my lower leg and up — she opened up the energy flow through the leg and nerves instead of just working the spot that hurt. Between that and her deep tissue work, the sciatica that had dragged on for half a year was gone in a month.”
Good to Know
Schedule an Appointment
Let bodywork open the door to a healthier you.
Tell Marlo what's going on and she'll find the right session for it.
Santa Barbara, California ♡
Occasional news, self-care tips, and updates from the practice.
