Saturday, April 27, 2024

Gay Saunas and Bathhouses in New York City 2024 Guide

bath house nyc

You seat yourself on a plastic nautical high-back chair — like the ones they rent on European beaches — and you eat food off a backyard-style glass table. On a Saturday afternoon, you sit closer to people than you would at a communal table. Your perspiration starts off as a damp treadmill dew, salutary evaporation to keep your exterior cool. But as the minutes pass, your sweat becomes more viscous, mixing with the skin-softening secretions of your sebaceous glands.

Weekday

My back has been killing me, so I tried the 90-minute massage, which was fantastic. I requested my masseuse focus on my lower back, and he was attentive to my needs. Time flew by, and by the end of the session, I got up from the table and felt like I was floating.

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Monthly Wellness

After I got home from Bathhouse (around 11, way past my usual weeknight bedtime), I fell into eight hours of blissful, uninterrupted sleep, which is rare for me. Overall, I really enjoyed my experience, but I think I would have had a harder time unwinding if I had gone alone. It’s definitely nice to have a buddy to wander from steam room to sauna with, especially since you’re committing to a large portion of your day.

AIRE Ancient Baths

New York houses some of the best bathhouses that you can find around the world, and these places are getting more popular. Elevate your experience with limited-time offers crafted to enhance your well-being. Explore a range of options, from seasonal specials to exclusive member perks and thoughtfully curated packages. Like the Mermaid Spa, Wall Street has gained a reputation for its Eastern European dishes (“The kharcho is absolutely out of this world,” says Eater’s Ryan Sutton).

Infrared Sauna

I would go again based on the services, staff and restaurant, especially with a friend who was in need of some serious pampering. If you’re not looking to break the bank, head to cityWell in Brooklyn for an affordable and accessible outdoor oasis. You’d never guess from the exterior, but their secret backyard features soaking tubs, saunas, rain showers, hammocks, a fire pit and a yoga platform. Services and treatments are by appointment only and the boutique bathhouse is open rain (or snow) or shine. I would not recommend going to Bathhouse looking for quiet, bliss, and the typical spa-sounds playlist.

BOOK A VISIT

It was my first time entering a sauna, and I tried out all three (tropical, dry, and a steam room). My favorite was the tropical one since I still felt the most comfortable there. This place ensures you of elite treatments like massages, facials, and scrubs. The facilities here include a starlight steam room, tropical and dry saunas, heated marble hammas, and three thermal pools.

bath house nyc

The Russian exfoliating treatment takes place in a 180-degree room, where you’ll get smacked with a bundle of oak leaves (called a venik) and lathered up with soap. The oak leaves contain a natural astringent said to remove toxins from the skin; the thwacking boosts circulation. Bathhouse provides elite level treatments for those who want to look, feel and perform their very best. Best in class massages and scrubs are available for individuals and couples.

Wall Street Bath & Spa

One amazing feature of this place is the on-site restaurant and bar where you can enjoy breakfast, dinner, and cocktails. This beautiful place with a sleek and modern design provides you with the perfect atmosphere to engage in recovery practices that make life better. Take a ride with me as we explore some of the best bathhouses in New York City.

Russian Steam Room

And although New York apartments are often small, there are plenty of bathhouses to maintain your bathing ritual. If you’ve ever dreamed of soaking in a picture-perfect claw-foot tub, head to Juvenex in Midtown to unwind. The spa is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week and combines Asian, American and European spa remedies. Excessive heat stimulates sweating, thus removing unwanted materials from the blood and improving the work of the kidneys. Sweating releases excess water and salt from the body and opens the skin pores, cleaning it and making it softer and fresher.

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This is where the banya differs from its American analogues, those piney, wood-paneled rooms at Equinox where suburbanites unwind after watching Dr. Oz for an hour on the elliptical. And while the ultimate result is that you will, at some point during your multi-hour session, become wonderfully relaxed, the process of getting there is a rigorous mental and metabolic affair. ➽ Nonbinary, queer, and trans shvitzers should head to Bushwick. The HotBox Mobile Sauna is a wood-burning Finnish sauna on wheels, currently parked next to popular bar the Narrows. Events include karaoke nights, when you can enjoy kombucha and beer during breaks from the heat, and it recently hosted Bed-Stuy’s Dyke Soccer team for a postgame sweat. A regular at both calls Spa Castle more Disneyfied (LED saunas and rowdy bachelorette parties) and King Spa (which plays Korean soap operas on the TVs) more authentic.

Between baths, guests can lounge on heated marble stones, sip herbal tea, and fully absorb the tranquility of the space. No list of NYC bathhouses would be complete without this East Village institution. It has a storied past that dates back to 1892 that includes celebrity devotees (like Frank Sinatra and Mark Ruffalo) and is riddled with family conflicts. The brothers who co-owned the space have since retired, but their successors continue to run the business on alternating weeks, an arrangement based on a suspicious feud (you can book David’s shift or Boris’s shift online). Don’t worry, all the drama is left at the door, and you can enjoy and relax with amenities such as saunas, steam rooms, a cold plunge pool and a roof deck.

Enjoy unlimited access, priority treatment, and exclusive perks, including Birch & Oak Private Club entry, complimentary valet parking, and savings on luxury amenities. Relax and take your mind off things in the surrounding lounge chairs. The goal of the spa isn’t culinary enlightenment or showing off one’s abs in expensive athleisure. You come to the banya for cleansing, restoring, meditating, and socializing in cheap used swim trunks, which are provided free of charge. As part of your account, you’ll receive occasional updates and offers from New York, which you can opt out of anytime.

The thoughtful design (much of the facility is outdoors!) and carefully chosen treatments make this unpretentious bathhouse an oasis of wellbeing. World Spa’s main floor plan includes over 13 different experiences, including Japanese-inspired onsen pools, Moroccan & Turkish Hammans, cabanas, a snow room, salt room, a grand banya, cold plunges, as well as jacuzzi and heated pools. The glassed-in entryway acts as a smoking atrium for jolly shirtless men, and leads into a covered beer garden and hockey-themed cafe. Inside, the main, fluorescent-lit pool room fills with sounds of splashing and socializing from crowds of Eastern European families. Saunas and steam rooms are also coed, and massages and platza (a traditional Russian sauna treatment) can be tacked onto the experience.

World music is pumping, people are laughing and speaking loudly, and all amenities are in a shared space (besides your treatment). (It’s hard not to, as the space is compact.) Cleanliness is one thing that I am usually paranoid about when I go to spas or shared bathing spaces. Bathhouse felt, looked, and smelled very clean—staff are constantly replenishing the water dispenser, clearing abandoned towels, and wiping down surfaces.

This expansive, elegantly designed space is a celebration of global bathing. Each area within the spa is thoughtfully designed around a different cultural bathing tradition, allowing guests to experience relaxation from around the world without leaving the city. East Side Club, the city's lone traditional gay bathhouse survivor. From massage-based establishments masquerading as spas to the lively world of gay sex parties, New York City offers a plethora of choices for those looking to explore their desires in a safe and welcoming environment. You will get special services like private soaking tub, complimentary beverages and seasonal fruits, a Korean-style scrub, and massages. Even though I’m a mere 25 years old, I definitely felt like a rejuvenated 23-year-old when I left.

"Marble is so cold, wood helps you feel warmer." The great quality of steam also helps to feel warmer. Mermaid Spa also offers Russian platza with soap or venik - a leafy bundle of birch or oak twigs. The facilities here include a heated swimming pool, steam and rain showers, traditional Japanese soaking tubs, a relaxation lounge, treatment rooms, and personalized spa concierge services. The working from home aspect of life has made it difficult for me to separate time for relaxation, and this day was an exercise in working against that. To be frank, I have not had a lot of experiences in spa or luxury environments, so again, I was trying to understand how I should behave.

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