Review: East West Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 2/5
Cruisiness: 1.5/5
Price: $10 before 10pm (I forget if it's $15 or $20 after 10pm)

Pros: Cheap; unlimited towels; open 24 hours
Cons: Small; parking is limited; small; cramped; oh, and did I mention small?

So I read a post somewhere about East West Spa, and how it was only $10. I wasn't planning on stopping at a spa that particular day, but I happened to be in the neighborhood so I decided to try it.

The place was pretty small. They managed to get two different temperatures of hot pools in there (plus the obligatory cold plunge, steam room, and sauna).  But there really isn't really a whole lot of spare space in there. The seated showers are situated in the middle of the room, with the pools and saunas and upright showers surrounding it. I mean, I'm not a modest guy AT ALL, but I think I'd feel a little self-conscious washing down in the middle of the room like that.

The pools are pretty small, one of them could probably only fit 3 guys without getting inappropriately cozy, and the other wasn't that much bigger. The sauna was a decent size, but the Korean television that you could watch from the sauna was kind of distracting. The steam room wasn't all that large, but considering I never saw more that two other people in there at any one time while I was there, it was probably fine.

Otherwise, the facility was fine, and clean enough. The tile on the floor was unusual in that there was a pattern of high tiles and low tiles, making you have to watch your step so you didn't trip or stub your toe. It was odd. The relaxation/sleeping room had recliners facing a TV (with Korean programming on)... doesn't seem relaxing to me. There may have been a darker sleeping room too, but I didn't see it.

Another thing, the parking lot is this crammed-full clusterfuck. I just parked on the street around the corner. Make sure you read the parking restrictions signs before parking (as one should do everywhere in LA)

As far as cruising, this place really isn't the place to go. When I was there (mid-afternoon on a weekday) the crowd was almost entirely Koreans. There's not a lot of places to play; glass windows and doors on the steam room and sauna make sure you have little privacy. That said, the only reason I gave it a 1.5 instead of a 1 was because when I was there, there was some (very minor) play going on in the steam room when I was there, between the only two white guys in the spa. So I guess it's possible, but it's difficult to get any amount of privacy while you're there, so I'd recommend going somewhere else if that's what you're looking for. That said, if you're just looking for the basics of a Korean spa, for $10 this place is a pretty good deal.

Also, it's men only, so no Jim Jil Bang


East West Health Center
901 S Western Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90006