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Beach Spa
Rating Details »
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- No
- By Appointment Only:
- No
31 reviews for Beach Spa
My biceps were hurting like crazy for 4 days
after an intense weight lifting...
took ibuprofen to ease my pain...failed
took 2 ibuprofen...failed
my body knew what i needed, a HOT BATH!
so i gave Beach Spa a try for the first time
since they lowered their fee to $15 (great deal!)
and wow...their food was amazing.
I ordered Chicken Katsu ($10) So Good! and very generous portion!
My Lovely Wife ordered Kalbi Tang (I think it was $10) - also pretty good.
So much better than some Korean restaurant. it came with good Banchan (side dishes) as well.
Food was beyond my expectation that I forgot about my muscle pain.
Tried fried eggs as well, but the egg was too soft. Imperial has better fried egg in my opinion.
Oh yea, and the Spa was really good too.
My muscle pain was completely gone after 20 min of hot tub.
I like this place better than Imperial in Garden Grove.
A gf of mine convinced me (not much convincing there) to go with her to this spa recently. Not really knowing what to expect, I went there with an open mind. This place is clean, the people are pleasant and helpful. I ended up truly enjoyed the full body scrub and massage, Korean style. The massage strokes are a little faster and harder than your Swedish massage, but it felt wonderful. I am definitely a fan! Too bad we were short on time and did not have a chance to fully enjoy the all the facilities like the various pools, rooms and the coed area with a café that serves traditional Korean dishes. I will definitely come back to this place!
And yes, you are fully nude during the scrub and massage. This is something you need to be aware of if you are not use to being nude in front of other people. For me, I do not have a problem with it as long as it is appropriate and in the right setting ; )
Now that I've become a housewife (for now) I make time to pamper myself every Thursdays to come to Beach Spa. One good thing I realized upon entering this place a couple of weeks ago after being absent for a while is that the price went down.
It used to be 20.00 for the bathhouse section and 25.00 to use the whole facility, including the jim jil bangs (co-ed hot rooms). Now to used the whole facility it is only 15.00 and they having a sale of 10 entrance tickets for 125.00, which I am seriously considering.
The facility is still clean and nice, like I expressed earlier in my review if you get passed the naked part it's an awesome place to unwind. I absolutely love coming here to use the dry steam room which detoxifies you, jacuzzi, cold tub, and rotating from one room to another.
The food here is a bit expensive compared to the Imperial Spa in Garden Grove, but it's not too bad considering you can practically spend a good amount of time here relaxing your body.
If you are in the Fullerton Area do try this place out...for 15.00 for entrance fee you can't go wrong.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/2/2009
Beach Spa is very clean and the atmosphere is nice. If you want to relax your body for a couple of… Read more »
I was so pleased when I found Beach Spa cute little day spa near my home. They offer everything I could ever need or want. I went there to have a facial and found a new product line Eminence. This is a line from Hungary. I will go back for all my spa needs. I will recommend Beach Spa to all my friends.
Recommendation: Relax..
Just a note, if you like to go to saunas and you like to relax, this is the place to me. My bf and i decided to check this place out because there is a common area to chill. Of course, the shower and the massage, the jacuzzi, and the cold pool is separate, but there is a common area where you meet in the middle for a relaxing drink or some desert along with going to those nice hot rooms to lay down..then after you can go to the cool off room where it is a bit chilly but not too cold.. it was really nice and the price is not bad. I believe it was $25/person for the formentation pkg. Anyways, check this place out if you are in the area or in some need of pampering. :) Note: you will have to be naked in front of a bunch of people (of course your own sex) and you will see a lot of naked people too. hehe.. so prepare yourself, esp. if you haven't been to an asian spa before.
Aight peeps. Jimchilbang is the co-ed korean sauna. What should you expect in a jimchilbang? 1. Being naked with your fellow men or women (but only in the separate locker rooms of course). 2. Hot, warm, and cold baths. 3. Old grandpas asleep in lounge chairs, naked next to those baths. 4. Various mineral laden sauna rooms. 5. Hopefully a cold room. 6. TV's and chairs to sleep in. 7. Awesome korean food that tastes even better after sweating your ass off. 8. Cool shorts and t-shirts to wear in the common areas.
I came to Beach Spa with my fiancee, and unfortunately we'll remember the day as the one when Michael Jackson died. In fact, we heard while laying in a hot sauna room and overhearing old ajumas saying "Oh my got!! Mic-hael Jacksone!". Sad.
As for the spa itself. It's not as great as the mega-saunas found I've been to in New Jersey. But this one is nice enough. It has 2 sauna rooms, a common room where you can sleep on the heated floor and watch korean movies, and numerous lounge chairs to sleep in. The cold room and the baths are nice. And the korean food... oh so good. Especially the pat-bing-soo (shave ice). Go here, and for $25 you can chill out for several hours. It's fun!
OK, let me preface this by saying that I absolutely love spas. It all started on my trip to Japan a few years ago...I went to an ofuro or onsen every other day, I think. So incredibly amazing, relaxing, and wonderful...I had absolutely no problem taking my clothes off in a place where it is completely and culturally acceptable to get naked in front of complete strangers and bathe together. But then I came back to the States and chickened out because...well, you know...it's just weird to get naked in front of your friends here. Know what I mean? So when I finally got the courage to go with one of my Korean-American girlfriends to a Korean spa and get naked, it took me back to those wonderful times in Japan...
$25 to get in for the day. It's kind of small, but it's so relaxing to hang out in the sauna...I usually go early so that I can stay all day (you know, to get my money's worth. $25 doesn't grow on trees, you know!). There's a place in the middle where you can order food...and I must say, there's actually a pretty large menu...there's also a nap room and a room where you can watch movies. I guess my only problem would be that I will probably run into someone I know, but it hasn't happened so far! Phew...
I used to FEAR that time of month...
No, not THAT. But that time when my mother would hype up and get excited for that weekend that she gets to take her poor daughter (me) - no wait, DRAG her poor daughter to Beach Spa for a nice, bonding experience. Nice, bonding experience to my mom means pretty much grating my body's skin off to "rejuvenate" and get rid of dirty, dead skin. It's like a horror movie, seriously.
This is really not a place for the weak. If you're self-conscious about your body and you're truly frightened of waltzing around in your birthday suit in front of strangers, you need to MAN UP. This is typical Korean culture, plus let me tell you something to ease your thumping heart: most of the people you will encounter in the sauna will be old, wrinkly and have slingshot-shaped breasts. Erm, the women do at least.
For first-timers, try this: Shower first, sit in a sauna and sweat out all the liquid your body possesses, rinse off with cold water, wear the adorable pink uniform (or blue for boys) they provide, go out to the co-ed jjimjilbang, eat the MOST AMAZING BOILED EGGS EVER (with salt, of course!), proceed to the kal-gooksoo (think noodles in a gooey soup), then end with patbingsoo (shaved ice with red bean and various fruits)... it is SO good. I really like the food in here. It's the redeeming factor in my hellish experience.
My mom is no longer in America, so I don't go anymore. MWAHAHAHAHA. I would never go with friends, but if there really was a day that I just wanted to lounge in a sauna and lay on heated floors while watching TV, I'd totally go.
Try it out, especially if you're not Korean! It'll be a fun experience for you. Just don't take your mommy.
This place was great. I will definitely go back with my wife.
It is very spacious and clean. It was not very crowded the time that I wend (Wed evening).
I arrived about 1/2 hour prior to my appointment for a scrub and acupressure massage. I wasn't very clear on the protocol, so just kind of tried to figure it out. Since I only had 1/2 hour until the appointment, I didn't have much time for sauna beforehand, so I showered, shaved and brushed my teeth with the razon/toothbrush provided. Took a quick dip in the hot and cold pools and then it was time for the scrub.
The scrub was great. I was expecting sandpaper, but it wasn't too rough at all. I was a bit self-conscious at first, but that passed quickly.
The acupressure massage was very good. I had Cindy, who did an excellent job. It was not as strong of a massage as I am used to. I usually get a deep tissue / sports massage and I think I prefer that to work out the knots/kinks/stress, but acupressure was great too.
It would be great if they offered a variety of massage styles, but this place is as much about Korean culture as it is about spa services, so they should definitely keep the traditional elements.
I wanted to get something to eat at the cafeteria, but since I don't speak or read any Korean, I was a bit confused. I went to the common (co-ed) area and felt a little funny because everyone was wear some kind of loungewear and I was wearing the shorts and robe that they provided me. I didn't see where to pick up the other clothes, so I just went back to the men's side.
I would definitely like to try this again. Perhaps after a few visits, I will get the hang of it. I'd like to understand the protocol a little better (e.g., is it better to arrive early and sauna/steam for an extended period before scrub and massage or to sauna/steam after the scrub and massage). Also, I will study up on Korean menus so that I can get something to eat and relax in the co-ed part of the spa and have lunch with my wife.
I will definitely recommend this place to anyone.
So far, Beach Spa is the best substitute to what Koreans call Jjimjilbang. It's Co-ed for the dry sauna part. You can even eat Korean meals, or veggie around in front of TV in the common area. They have two rooms (only two!?) with very very high dry heat, and one ice room to cool off. The standard in Korean Jjimjilbang is to have at least three or four rooms if you are at a small place, so having only two rooms kinda bugs me, but then, I am not in Korea, so there. =(
My hubby and I ended up all the way in Fullerton from Redondo Beach second time, after finding out that Aju spa in Gardena is an all men's facility and for me, we'd have to go our separate ways. I called a bunch of numbers in K-Town-LA to see if there's any coed ones, but no luck. Seriously? No co-ed Jjimjilbang in K-Town? That can't be right.
When I was getting my scrub, I realized that I really am Korean. Being completely naked in front of these scrubbing ladies and let them scrub my skin until it turns to pink, and be totally ok with it, is a very very very Korean thing. When my hubby got his scrub last time, tho, he was very satisfied. I mean, after getting the scrub, you really feel refreshed!
The women's area has one warm tub, one hot tub, and one cold tub. Still not enough. The area also has one dry sauna and one steam sauna. Like all other bath joints do.
If my hubby starts the craving for steam room again, I might go to the one in Garden Grove next time instead. The place I know (I don't know the name) isn't co-ed, but they have both male and female facilities. I remember it having a little more variety than Beach Spa, or am I wrong? I think, tho, that Beach Spa is a bit cleaner than the way I remembered the Garden Grove one.
And does anyone know what the progress is for Riviera Health Spa that was supposed to open in Torrance last year? We went to the location, only to find out that they are not open yet. Dang it!
sauna rules!! it calms your body and mind.
you know that life is bitch, so you need to have a place for your relexation.
Beach spa is one good place. you can wash your body, get sauna, and also eat food. i love dduk bok e and red bean shaved ice!!!
however, if you can't handle being naked, i don't recommend it because everyone is naked in there.
Pros:
-clean
-the food they serve tastes great
-movie room
-cold room
-co-ed so you can drag your boyfriend along with you
Cons:
-stinking expensive $25 a pop (pay the extra 5 dollars the sauna alone is not worth $20)
Love it! After a long day of stressful work, I always look forward to coming here to unwind, soak in the hot tub, and sweat out my stress in the dry sauna. I highly recommend this place to everyone.
You can also get food here, how great is that? Sweat and unwind, and pig out on some delicious snacks afterward.
My wife and I have been going here for about a year now. We continue to enjoy the facilities. However, do not come to this location past 9PM, because, even though Beach Spa closes at midnight, the staff starts to kick you out as early as 11:30PM (men's side) and as early as 11:15 (women's side).
I wish they would give a discounted price, past a certain time, since you get less time to enjoy the amenities.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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2/17/2008
I took my GF here for her B-day, and I was not disappointed. I've been to many… Read more »
This is probably the best coed jjimjimbang you will find in the US. My gf's and I went on a Saturday around noon sometime in late April and it was surprisingly quiet. It wasn't too crowded and all 4 of us were able to get an appt for the scrub, facial, and full body massage at the same time.
I was surprised at how I didn't hear the older korean women gossip about us since we are in our mid 20's and some of us has tattoos, piercings, etc. and we weren't all korean. I'm assuming this place has a lot of non-korean customers because we didn't get any gawking at our naked bodies - which was GREAT.
This is what we did: we arrived about 30 mins before our appts and we put our shoes away in the shoe lockers, then stripped down naked and put all our clothes away in our individual lockers. We then went into the hot water pool for about 15 mins and then went into the dry sauna for another 15 mins to open up our pores and waited for our names to be called. They called all of us at once and as soon as we laid down on the table, they didn't waste a min to scrub us down. After the scrub, they proceeded with the body massage - which I don't think is all that relaxing. The massage they give you is nothing like a Swedish massage you would get at an American spa. Their motions are fast - VERY FAST, and there were so many times where I found myself thinking during the massage, "can you please just slow down your hand motions so I can enjoy it??!!" It was the same thing with the facial - very fast hand motions rubbing against your face and I really don't think the facial was worth the money. I think the scrub, body and face massage took a total of a little over an hour and a half.
We changed into the clothes they gave us afterwards to check out the coed rooms and we took a peek into every single room and it was mostly filled with older Korean men and women so we didn't bother with it because we didn't want to sweat again. We decided to eat at the restaurant and although the food was a little pricey, everything we ordered was delish. Very Delish.
My gf's and I are def planning on going back and when we do, I'll probably skip the facial and stick with the scrub and massage. We may go there about an hour before our appt and spend some time in the coed rooms this time just to experience it. One thing for sure is I recommend you go into the coed rooms before your massage bc you'll be nice and clean after your massage and you wouldn't want to sweat after that again and have to take another shower.
So I packed up all my goods and headed out to Ktown for a Ktown JJim Jil Bang experience and couldn't find ONE! I must have gone in/called into at least 6 different places and asked if they had a Co-Ed area but only found out that the Saunas/Spas in Koreatown are all separate....
But this wonderful Beach Spa place is a Co-Ed Jjim Jil Bang which is great for those with significant others or opposite sex children. I would personally still go there even if I was with all females because it's clean and have all the modern facilities. There is someone constantly organizing and cleaning the shower/tub rooms. They even have an "ice" room to cool down which is really nice to go into after you sweat through your shirt in the Stone Rooms. There Shaved Ice BingSoos are yummy and they seem to come out quickly once ordered. I dialed #110 and my Fruit BingSoo came out less than 5mins.
We have been only paying the admission fee but I realized this time when I went you get 50% off your admission if you get a massage package which is a really good deal....
The stone rooms, resting & eating area is Co-Ed and everyone is fully clothed but not in the separated shower/tub rooms. So that is something to consider before going. Although, even if you do not feel comfortable it's worth trying because after going a few times you'll notice everyone minds their own business anyways. If your OK with it...this is probably the best place to unwind after a long day at work or after a long weekend of partying!
This is a great place to relax! There is a common area where you can order from a relatively large menu and plenty of things to do elsewhere. The layout is nice and clean and everyone is very nice and helpful.
Let me just say - I love this place! I've been to a Korean spa before, but nothing to this caliber. Being that I am not Korean... I had a bit of a hard time figuring out what to do, so I'll help you all out by detailing the perfect Korean spa experience. ** Keep in mind, this place is not for the timid. You are 100% naked!
When you enter, you'll be greeted at the end of the hallway with pamphlets of services. I opted for the 'Scrub Massage', which was $70 and an additional $12.50 for the facilities use. The front desk will then hand you a robe and a pair of shorts and a top. You'll then proceed to the 'locker room'. You undress and then proceed to the 'women's only sauna'. Before you use any of the amenities, you'll need to shower (keep in mind, you'll shower a minimum of about 3x).
After you shower (this is what you do while you're waiting for your actual service), you have the choice of two saunas, a hot tub, a warm tub, and a cold pool. I first tried the hot tub, got too hot, then went into the saunas. The saunas were truly an exhilarating experience. I felt my pores opening up before my very eyes!! So make sure you take advantage of all these things as this is what your $12.50 pays for.
In about an hour or two, a lady dress in a black bra and underwear will look at your number (a number is listed on the key for your locker) and pull you into the 'massage area'. The scrub massage was the best experience! With what initially feels like a Brillo pad, is used all over your body to eliminate any dirt by cleaning every single crevice of your body. It hurts initially but after a while, the cleanliness soaks in and you feel absolutely amazed. Once the scrub is over - you'll need to shower for your next part of the experience which is a massage. The massage is AMAZING! No other way to put it. These 50 year old Korean women sure do know how to use their hands. Included in the massage is a fresh cucumber mask which smells so good you want to eat it! Once the 30 minutes of massage bliss ends, you'll then be caressed all over with fresh milk. Ahhhh HEAVENLY!
So once again, you're going to need to shower. Once you're all fresh and clean, there is a co-ed area you'll enter on your right hand side. This area is a 'lounge like' area with a handful of additional saunas, a sleeping room (which I used), and even a little restaurant.
Aside from the slight language barrier (they all speak Korean) - this has to be one of my favorite places EVER! Make sure you clear your schedule as you can stay at this place until they close which is 12am on most nights.
Beach Spa is my new favorite Korean spa-especially since I live in S. OC (LA is a little bit of a trek)! It is super clean and modern with all of the typical aspects that a Korean spa should have: dry sauna, steam room, warm, hot, and cold pools, plus this really cool deluge shower head where you pull the chain and buckets of cold water pour over you (so refreshing after a steam!). I always go for the scrub & massage combo ($80) which includes a freshly grated cucumber mask and shampoo. The massages rock-where else can you use the great facilities, get an hour and a half treatment, eat lunch, and leave a generous tip for about $110?
I went there twice, and loved it. $25 for one admission into the shower area and co-ed sauna area. Clean, modern facilities, the necessities are provided (shampoo, conditioner, soap, scrub towel, lotion, hair dryer), and if you need something extra, you can buy it at the counter.
Make sure to check out the hot bath and steam room before going into the co-ed area.
The cafe/restaurant review: the dduk-bok-ee is good, avoid the kimbap (not worth the near $10), and get an egg (about a buck each)!! The shaved ice feels great after sitting in the heat. The shik-hye and cinnamon drink are decent, too. Haven't tried anything else yet.
The cons: I honestly don't like being naked in public, and there's no way around that here. I also didn't appreciate the hoodlums (groups of 3 or more kids in their late teens) talking in the co-ed sauna rooms about perverted stuff.
While it's very nice, I did not enjoy the services all that much partly because it was super crowded (Sunday, 5:30 to 9:00 PM), but also because the massage and scrub were extremely rough. I showed the lady my sprained foot (complete with bruise), yet she still went over almost as roughly as she did the other side. I had to motion again, but even so, she was not very careful.
Also, the rubber mats are really hard on your feet if you've just had a pedicure. They don't let you wear flip flops, so when you walk on the mats, they hurt. I was there for 3.5 hours, and after about the 1st hour, I started to feel the roughness as I walked over them continually to shower after each sauna, bath, etc. It's better to have rough feet going in.
I will try it again during a less busy time. Then it would be relaxing. Also, next time I will be more prepared for the massage and scrub, if I get one.
I'm from NY so I was really glad I found this one. It's only 1/3 size of the one in NY, not a chain but a similar one called "Inspa". Beach Spa has a hot tub, warm tub, and a cold tub. They have 2 saunas in the women's spa room. In the coed louge they have 5 more unisex saunas and a sleeping room. There's a cozy restaurant, a barber shop, and a cafe, that's part of the spa. One more thing there's a facial spa as well. They also have massages, scrub massages, starting from $40 and up. Past $50, the admission fee which is $25 get 50% discount at $12.50. I only wanted to use the spas so I paid $100 since there were 4 of us. I went on a weekday Tuesday at 2:15 to about 8 p.m. They close around 12 a.m. and it's a whole day pass.
It was perfect for me here in California. I went to one before this one in L.A. (a smaller one--three saunas, a bathouse, a shower, and a hot tub) and I saw a call girl come out so I never went back there again. Fortunately for me she was an obvious one. This one: Beach Spa, however, I am.
I've seen flip flops on my trip and it wasn't so crowded so I suggest to "do" bring flip flops newer the better since the floor seems pretty clean and everyone else is barefoot to be considerate and "do" go during weekdays if you have the time. Otherwise on a weekend the place may get really crowded.
As a first time public bather, I prepped by reading the reviews. However, actually being in the midst of all that nakedness was quite a shock. These women are completely shameless. Lying down with legs spread out in the steam room... Is nakedness really a necessity here? Would bathing suits ruin the experience? I don't think so. The massage women wore regular underwear, black bra & panties. Why can't they wear shirt & shorts? Give them some dignity!
The pools are great - I started with warm, then moved on the hot and then to cold. It felt great. I found the courage to enter one of the steam rooms & it had herbal smell to it & felt fantastic. I noticed most women would jump into the cold pool after the steam room, without showering in spite of several signs to do so. I got the exfoliation massage. It was truly fantastic - made me feel like a child being scrubbed by mom.....except, they put the cucumber stuff on my face, which turned beet red afterwards. It was alarming. I went to the locker room & women gasped at the sight. ( My husband went to Rite Aid next door & got me some claritin.)
I may come back for spring cleaning once a year but the visions of naked Korean women are still dancing around in my head.... I may need therapy.
Beach Spa is located in the middle of a plaza and upon entering, you don't think it would offer much as the lobby is small.
You pay $25.00 for the spa/co-ed sauna or $20.00 for just the spa. You get your locker key and enter into the appointed spa (male/female).
It has all the amenities you'd expect in a spa:
-Warm Bath
-Hot Bath
-Cold Bath
-Standing Shower Room
-Sitting Shower Room
-Scrub Room
-Sleeping Room
-Sleeping Ondol Room (A room you can sleep in thats kept warm with lights and heated stones)
-Dry Sauna
-Wet Sauna
-TV Room
All those are provided soley in the non co-ed spas! You are also given towels, set of clothes to wear throughout the spa, toothbrush/toothpaste, soap, shampoo, conditioner, razor, shaving cream, gel, hairspray, mouse, lotion, aftershave, Q-tips, acces to a hair dryer, body dryer, scale, and probably more I am missing.
When you enter the co-ed area, the decor is phenomenal. They painted the ceilings (a la Caesar's Palace) like the sky and have made it look like a traditional Korean house with the outdoor courtyard in the middle. In the back area is a wooden patio area with a TV and patrons lounging around.
On one side is another sleeping room/movie room which plays movies routinely. There are three different sauna rooms offered in the co-ed area:
-Stone Room (Hottest)
-Wood Room (Hot)
-The Fridge (Chilling)
These are again, all co-ed, so its perfect for families/dates/friends.
In the front of the co-ed area and middle is the dining area and kitchen. If you want to order, there is a phone located in the middle. You dial "110" and it calls the front desk. You tell them your locker number and order TO THEM. The kitchen won't take your order.
The shaved ice is delicious and I also agree with the previous poster in that you have to try the boiled egg.
I would definately go back here but the $25.00 is pretty steep. I say plan ahead and go there to lounge on a lazy Sunday where you can spend a few hours there. The other thing is that they're open to midnight 7 days a week!
my friend introuded me this plz more than a month ago and i've been hooked ever since!
great place to relax and chill with friends...
it's my 1st sauna experience and im absoluted love it!
the place has separate woman's (& mans') area that includes:
2 shower area ( sit down & stand up)
2 sauna rooms ( dry & w/mist )
3 pools ( cold pool, warm & hot bath)
in this area you can see people wears nothing... walking around nude.... it was kinda uncomforable at first cuz nothing i've experience before. but once you are uses to it... it's actually relaxing... release of all stuss... my favorite is the sauna... very hot but i jus love it. 10 min in there and 10 min out to the pool was an enjoyment.
also if you come with your guy. you can meet up in the center room that has another dry stone rooms ( hot, extremely hot, and cold room) i heard it is great for body to clean up on its own. jus dont forget to fill yourself some water to stay clear mind. it's in traditonally korean setting. very old. very traditional. there also media room and sleeping room. very nice and quiet. eating area served food, drinks, and all kind of shaved ices. i tried red bean & fruits shaved ice. it's so yummy. also sweet rice tea is something low cal. & great favor to replace the lost of body water.
love this place. usually goes there 3-4 times/month~
I did it. I made the plunge and decided to take a little visit to Beach Spa. When I first walked in, they did a great job of using gestures to show where I was supposed to be and what I was supposed to do. Yes, you are completely naked, but you get over it in about 2.5 minutes. I read up on all of the reviews, but I still wasn't quite prepared for the scrub part. The massage was great, except when the lady tried to pull my head to the end of the table to shampoo my hair by grabbing my neck and pulling up. I had trouble at the end of my scrubbi/massage because I wanted to go into the co-ed room, but I wasn't sure... "Do I take my robe? Walk in with the flip flops they gave me?" I wandered into the co-ed room, and wanted to order the eggs that everyone mentions, except the signs were all in korean and I had no idea how to even order. I wish I would have wandered around the co-ed part and tried out the different rooms. I tried, but was too nervous in case I accidentally walked into the men's section.
i have never felt so clean. i have never seen so many naked men at one time and yet, i still have never felt so clean.
we spent four hours here and in that time, i took at least four or five showers. they have a wet sauna, dry sauna, cold tub, warm tub, hot tub, nap room, heated nap room, lounge room, cold room, warm room, hot room, eating area, etc.
if you are not korean, you may feel out of place. if you are the random white guy walking around with a smile, please stop smiling so much.
I've been to the Beach Spa twice now. The first time was with a friend visiting from Toronto, Canada. She and I are both Korean but our experiences with Korean Spas are very different: she visits Korea often and frequents the many public spas and saunas there, whereas I haven't been to a public spa since I was 7 years old and dragged by my mother.
I thought it'd be a treat for her to go to a Korean spa since there aren't any in Toronto. I'm not quite sure why but I just assumed that people wouldn't walk around completely nude in the locker rooms and the shower areas because after all this is in the US, where public nudity is still scarce; seldomly you see a naked body at the gym locker but it certainly isn't the norm. When I realized that people do in fact walk around naked at this place I was both laughing and crying, I think it took me a good 15 minutes to get up the courage to go nude. My friend thought I was hilarious and she assured me that no one was interested in what I looked like naked. And it's true, after getting over the initial shock, I was quite relaxed and enjoyed the experience.
The second time was with my mother: this was a bit of an awkward situation too, I think the last time I was completely naked in front of my mother was the last time she dragged me to a public bath in Korea, when I was 7.
The best time to go is during the weekday afternoons, it's a flat fee, doesn't matter if you stay 30 minutes or 8 hours, you pay $20 for the use of the shower, saunas, and the hot, warm, cold tubs and an extra $5 for the co-ed dry sauna area. They also offer extra services such as body massages, facials, etc.
It's definitely worth paying the extra $5 to fain access to the co-ed area. there is a small food stall where you can order food, all Korean fare and limited menu but tasty, especially after sweating buckets in one of the saunas. You can also have boba and crushed ice delivered from the cafe outside via a telephone located in the co-ed area.
This place is a great deal if you can get over the nudity factor. That's why I'm only giving this place 4 stars. If they made covering up optional I would have given it 5 stars. For $100 you get a complete body exfoliation, body oil massage, and facial and use of their complete facility. And they provide all the necessary supplies, shampoo, soap, lotion, hair dryer, even tooth brushes - all you need is a fresh pair of undies!
i like!
good date spot if you ever wanna see what she really looks like... smells like after sweating in the hot room..
and don't forget to pick up the phone to order the green tea, fruit, icee
i like
Update:
Decided to give some more info on the ritual followed when going into a spa like this. I'm fairly new at this and remember the first time I didn't have a clue.
When we you first get there you prepay and tell them that you either want the coed or the spa. If you do the coed it's $5 more ($25 I think) and they'll hand you a tshirt, some shorts to wear in the coed area, and a locker key. If you do just the spa you'll get just the locker key as the men's spa is nude only no clothes are given.
So the routine I usually follow is that I'll do the whole coed thing. I'll goto the coed area with a couple of towels that I grab from the mens shower room. I use one of the towels in the hot rooms to line the wood blocks (old school korean pillows) when I lay down. The other towel to wipe off the sweat. And then after 20 to 30 minutes I usually jump into the ice room next door for 10 minutes. Back to the hot room, etc. I go back and forth a few times. Somewhere in between this routine I might take a break and order some food or pick up the phone to order some shaved icee dessert (mention your locker number so they know who to bill, meaning you'll have to pay again on your way out).
When I'm done I go into the men's spa area. I do a quick shower before going into the tub (it's mandatory). I jump in the hot tub, then the cold tub. Back and forth twice and the final round I'll jump in the steam room (make sure to turn the dial to get the steam timer going). At all times, when I think I need to do a quick rinse I jump in the shower to rinse the sweat off. People kinda sneer at anyone jumping in the tub sweaty.
And that it's. I grab a disposable razor and tooth brush and take a final shower.
That's it.
i like this place a lot, but i only come here with my mom. it'd be very weird to go to a public sauna with my girlfriends, let alone running into them... anyway, this place is pretty much the only decent, clean Jjim Jil Bang in the area... they have a little restaurant/snack bar inside where you can order stuff like Dduk Bok Ki and oven-roasted(???) eggs... :) can easily spend 3-4 hours here. i haven't tried out their spa services though.
so my girlfriend and i entered the facility and were greeted by two flight attendant-looking women at the front desk. luckily i have been to this type of spa before (totally nude and i mean... letting it all hang out and be exposed!) so there weren't too many surprises. if you are first timer and/or don't speak korean, you need to tell the front desk person since they call your number in korean when it's your turn for a scrub/massage. i was struck by how clean the facility is. the floors, even the bathroom floors were so glistening clean! i loved the cold water pool with the waterfall option of having cold water pummel your back and shoulders. all in all it's quite a deal for $80- for access to everything, plus a full body scrub, cucumber facial and oil body massage. the masseuse has got some strong arms so if you want it lightly, tell her BEFORE the whole ordeal. i like deep tissue massage so i was a-ok!
so, my friend and i took our friendship to the next level seeing each other NAKED, my body felt like a baby's booty and my whole body is a shade lighter from all that dead skin sch-luff off! i'm a dark skinned korean gal who loves the beach! i'lllllll BE BACK!
p.s. next time allow 4+ hours to experience it FULLY!
