Review: Wi Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 3.5/5

Cruisiness: 1/5

Price: $15 (sauna only), $25 (includes Jim Jil Bang)... but there are specials all the time.

Pros: Nice clean facility, open 24 hours, large sauna area, plenty of towels

Cons: Valet parking (I HATE valet), kids running around

Wi Spa is probably the most popular Korean spa in Los Angeles. The facility itself is huge... even the locker room is like a maze. But one of the reasons for its popularity is the huge Jim Jil Bang, which is always bustling with couples and families. 

But I'm not here to discuss the Jim Jil Bang. So, let me get down to business on the men's spa. As I said before, the locker room is huge. And so is the rest of the spa. While the men's spa area doesn't have the multitude of saunas that Century Spa has, the pools and saunas they do have are all pretty large. They have three pools (hot, warm and cold) and a dry sauna and steam room. They also have an area with a warmed floor to rest... the experience is kind of like the clay sauna at Century Spa, but it's out in the open, not in an enclosed room. 

One big plus for me is that the steam room manages to stay fairly consistent, temperature-wise. At other spas, the steam rooms generate steam until the temperature reaches unbearable levels, then the steam shuts off and the room cools to be more bearable; then the steam kicks in again. At Wi Spa, the steam room somehow manages to stay steady... the steam does kick on and off, but it never gets too hot or too cool. It's nice.  The warm pool is also a great temperature... warm enough that you couldn't sit in there all day, but not unbearably hot. (The hot pool, on the other hand, I can only stand for a few minutes)  

There's also a relaxation area and a sleeping area, both with dozens of recliners. The only difference between the two area is that the sleeping area doesn't have a TV. (The TV is muted in the relaxation area though)... both area are busy though... I was in the sleeping room last night, and there were probably a dozen guys in there, sleeping. 

However, both times I've been there, there has been zero cruising vibe. And it's not that there aren't gay guys there... my gaydar works pretty well, and I was sensing a lot of guy guys. And a lot of very attractive guys too, all naked (not nearly as much covering up as at Century Spa). It's just that (1) it seems like all the gay guys are there with buddies or boyfriends or whatever; (2) the gays are generally outnumbered by straight guys (both Korean and not); (3) there's enough of a crowd that there's no opportunity to be alone anywhere; and (4) there are kids there.

Wait, kids? Yep. The first time I went (on a weekend afternoon) there were tons of (mostly) preteen kids. I think that, in general, fathers are supposed to stay with their kids, but the kids I saw seemed to be pretty much unsupervised, to the point of being annoying occasionally. I mean, I think it's kind of cool to expose kids to nudism and make them comfortable with their own bodies. But at least make sure they behave! (e.g. swimming laps in the warm pool is unacceptable)

But all in all, it's a nice spa, and (other than the kids) perfect for those who want to visit a spa without the cruisiness.

Wi Spa

2700 Wilshire Boulevard (at Rampart)
Los Angeles, CA 90057

http://www.wispausa.com/

Century Spa today

I just got back from Century Spa... damn, there were a lot of hot naked guys there today.

Review: Crystal Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 2.5/5
Cruisiness: 1/5
Price: $30 (includes Jim Jil Bang)


Pros: Quiet, clean, Aveda products in the spa
Cons: More expensive than most other spas, only the basic spa features.


A friend of mine texted me a few weeks ago saying he had heard of a relatively new spa that was really nice, and asked if I wanted to join. So I met him there and checked out the spa... and while it was nice hanging out with my buddy, I was disappointed in the spa itself.


The men's spa only has a sauna, steam room, whirlpool and cold plunge. It's fairly small, but there were so few people there that it never felt crowded. The sauna was a little hotter than is normally my liking, but my friend likes it hot so he enjoyed it. The spa area is laid out sort of linearly; once you leave the locker room you pass the showers first, then down a hallway past the steam room, then up a short flight of stairs to the sauna and pools.  


Because you walk right past the steam room to get to anything else, and there's a large window there, there's no opportunity for playing... but the place is so dead that it's unlikely you'll meet anyone to cruise with anyway... other than me and my friend, I don't think anyone (only 3 other people when I was there) in there was gay.


The showers and sink area are equipped with Aveda products, which is nice. But it doesn't justify, in my opinion, the extra money it costs to get in. 


The spa is on the third floor of the City Center shopping mall... I had trouble finding the place when I got there; the mall doesn't do a good job of providing directories of the place. There's validated parking in the mall. 


Crystal Spa
3500 W. 6th St, Suite 321 (@ Mariposa... one block from the Wilshire/Normandie subway station)
Los Angeles, CA 90020
http://crystalspala.com/