Review: Wilshire Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 3/5

Cruisiness: 3/5

Price: $15 before 10:00pm, $20 after 10:00pm

Pros: Open 24 hours, convenient to public transportation, unlimited towels, clean, lots of nudity

Cons: in a basement, so seems claustrophobic (and it's hard to find); problems keeping towels stocked, whirlpool a little too hot

Wilshire Spa is in the heart of Koreatown, but it attracts both Koreans and non-Koreans. In fact, both times I went, I'd have to say that the non-Koreans outnumbered the Koreans.

The place is a little hard to find... while the address says it's on Wilshire, the entrance is really on Mariposa Ave, and the signs say "Wilshire Health Club" or something like that, NOT "Wilshire Spa". It confused me for a bit. It's only a block away from the Wilshire/Normandie Purple Line station if you want to take the subway, or there is validated parking. (I haven't used the validated parking, so not sure how long they validate for)

The spa is male-only. (Actually, there is a separate, female spa in the same building, but they have two different entrances.) There's no Jim Jil Bang. There is what appears to be a restaurant, but it was closed both times I was there, so I'm not sure it's ever open.

Once you enter, you walk down the stairs to the large locker room and find your locker. At other spas they have recliners in a separate room for relaxing; here, the recliners are in the middle of the locker room. So that's kind of weird. There's also a separate sleeping room, though, with heated floors. The sleeping room is nice (and the cruisiest part of the spa, at least when I was there) but it is unfortunately located directly across from the restroom, so you get to hear flushing and bodily functions. 

The spa itself is fine... while the walls are tile (instead of marble or granite like one sees at other spas), it's kept clean. There's a hot tub, which was a little too hot for me to tolerate for very long. There's a cold plunge, too, which is nice and cold, but I hate the fact that it's uniformly 5-feet deep (with a ladder but no steps)... so you really have no choice but to fully plunge into the cool pool. I don't really like that because I'm a runner and I often go to these spas to soak my legs (and only my legs) in the cold pools after running, but here it's all or nothing.  There's also a rock pool with a waterfall, the pool is closer to room temperature, I think. 

In terms of saunas, there are three: a regular dry sauna, a steam room (a tad too hot, but not horribly so) and a "Yellow Ocher" room, which is basically a dry sauna but not as hot.

Another amenity that I like is that they have a urinal in the spa area, so one doesn't have to go out to the regular restroom when they want to pee. It's just a little thing, but it's much appreciated by me, and I wish more spas would do this. (I'm looking at you, Century Spa and Wi Spa)

While there are unlimited towels, they kept running out of towels the last time I was there, which was kind of annoying. The towels are small, not large enough to wrap around your waist. Which is good for the voyeurs and exhibitionists, as everyone was walking around naked.

There really isn't a whole lot of cruising going on in the spa area. I'm not sure why; there seems to be plenty of opportunity in the "Yellow Ocher" room and the steam room especially. However, the action in the sleeping room makes up for it, at least when I was there... a lot of jerking off and more was going on when I was there.

One other note: I got a massage there on one of my visits, and it was probably one of the most painful massages I've ever had. (and I've had theraputic deep-tissue massage techniques before for sports injuries that are pretty damn painful)... I was looking for something more relaxing, so I wasn't very satisfied with the massage.

Wilshire Spa

3440 Wilshire Blvd. (Entrance on Mariposa)

Los Angeles, CA 90010

http://wilshirespa.com/

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/

Shoutout!

My original inspiration for starting this blog was my accidentally stumbling upon a similar blog covering the many day spas of Las Vegas. The blog is here: http://mensspaguide.blogspot.com. Worth checking out if you're headed to Vegas. And despite the similarity in URLs, I came up with mine before realizing the similarity to the Vegas blog's.... it was completely random, honest!

I like visiting a spa at least a couple of times before typing out a review, but I'm hosting an out-of-town guest for the next week, so I won't be able to visit any spas again for a few days. I do have one spa in mind that I may type up a review for (mostly because I don't intend to visit it a second time... you'll have to wait for the review to understand why!) but I might be kind of busy, so you'll have to live with what I've typed up so far.

And, is anyone reading this? I'd appreciate a comment or two!

Review: Century Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 4.5/5
Cruisiness: 5/5
Price: $20 ($25 with Jim Jil Bang)

Pros: Huge; great amenities; almost entirely gay clientele;
Cons: Stingy with towels; sleeping room is perpetually (permanently?) closed; guys tend to be overly modest and cover up with towels.

Ah, Century Spa. I've been to this one more than any other spa in LA, and for good reason. While, at $20 admission, the price is higher than some other spas, you definitely get more for your money here.

In terms of amenities, most spas have a bare minimum of a hot pool, a cold pool, a dry sauna and a steam room in the men's area. Century Spa has a cold plunge pool, a hot whirlpool (but not too hot), a hotter "tea pool", a dry sauna, a steam room, a mist sauna, a cold sauna, a clay sauna and a marble sauna. This gives you plenty of options for sweating and relaxation. The clay sauna and marble saunas are warm, but not as hot as the dry sauna or mist sauna; their purpose is more toward relaxing. You can spend half an hour or more in the clay sauna (laying down and resting is encouraged in there) without getting heatstroke. The huge whirlpool is warm enough without it being too hot to stand more than a few minutes. There is also an outdoor patio where you can sit and cool off. While there's supposedly a sleeping room upstairs, it's always been closed when I've been there. There is also a "meditation room" upstairs, which I guess can double as a sleeping room (or just sleep in the clay sauna). The meditation room has floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the pools in the men's area.

I've heard complaints from others about the sauna and steam room not being hot enough... I disagree about the steam room; when the steam is going it can get close to unbearable in there. As for the dry sauna, yeah, I guess it could be hotter. The mist sauna seems a little hotter than the dry sauna, though.

One of the dumb things, in my opinion, about the layout is that the showers are pretty much as far away from the lockers as you can get; Since you are supposed to shower FIRST THING when you get there, it'd make more sense to put them nearer to the entrance of the spa. The body scrub area is in a little dark room behind the showers. There are three tables in there. There's a curtain between the showers and the body scrub room, but if you're in there getting a scrub, you're on display for anyone else in there who's also getting a scrub. One time when I was in there getting a scrub, the guy next to me looked like he was enjoying his scrub a little too much, haha.

When you arrive, you're given a small towel and two bath-sized towels. They occasionally bring out more towels (to the cubby area next to the clay sauna where the robes and shorts are located) but when a stack is brought out, they go quickly. Possibly because of the lack of towels, guys tend to keep their towel with them all the time, and the preferred way to carry it is around their waist. So, because of that, the voyeur aspect of the place is less than most. (Don't worry, though. I always parade through with no modestly whatsoever!)

But don't get me wrong--despite the apparent modesty, there's a LOT of cruising going on here. I'm not sure why it is, but Century Spa has become the de facto gay spa in Koreatown... so much so that it's rare to see actual Koreans use the spa. I'm not sure how it came to be (I heard that Century advertised in gay magazines) but I'm not complaining. The size of the spa and the sheer number of different rooms and saunas make consensual play fairly easy here; I have never been to Century Spa and not had some kind of action. While for the most part, etiquette rules and guys don't just go to town without making sure that everyone is ok with it, it's pretty easy to establish mutual interest.

Popular places to play are... well... pretty much anywhere except the pools and the dry sauna. (The dry sauna is located right inside the entrance to the spa area, with floor-to-ceiling windows, so there is literally no privacy)... The steam room gets action in the back (away from the windows), the outdoor patio gets tons of action, the clay room gets quite a bit, the marble room gets a little, and even the meditation room gets plenty of action. I've even played around in the mist sauna before, which also has a lot of windows and doesn't really strike anyone as being particularly private.

Despite all this, I want to urge people to watch what you're doing and who you're doing it in front of. Century has a great thing going right now and I don't want it to be ruined by people who are reckless about who they cruise or show off in front of. But seriously, guys, it's a Korean spa... stop wearing your towels all the time and show off your goods!

There is a Jim Jil Bang here that recently opened, but I've never checked it out. There's also a full gym downstairs with a lap pool, which I've never used.

Century Sports Club & Day Spa
4120 W. Olympic Blvd (at Crenshaw)
Los Angeles, CA 90019
http://centurydayspa.com

Note: their website SUCKS and all of the photos were taken years ago, before an extensive remodel... the interior looks NOTHING like what's represented in the photos.

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