[CLOSED] Official Spa Buddy Open Thread Part 83 - Post-COVID Reopening edition

  NOTE: This thread is locked because there were too many comments! See the next post instead.

I decided to create this post specifically so you guys can post in the comments if you're looking for someone to go to a spa with, or meet up there, or whatever... makes it a lot easier than going through all the previous posts to see if people have posted there. So if you're planning to go and want to meet people there, you can post (or look) here instead!

A few guidelines...

(1) Post some information about yourself...physical description, age, ethnicity, interests and hobbies... I really don't care. I'm not going to force you to reveal everything about yourself, but I'm not going to drive all the way to Koreatown to hang out with someone that I know absolutely nothing about.

(2) Sign your name, nickname, user name, whatever you make up to identify yourself. It makes it a lot easier to reply  to you, as opposed to "hey, third person to reply to this comment"

(3) Be specific...

     GOOD: "I'll be at Century Spa from 7pm-11pm tonight (Nov. 2), wearing a black digital sports watch and my key on my left ankle. And carrying a green water bottle."

     BAD: "I'll be at the spa tonight. I'm the guy with a towel. Say hi!"

(4) If you want to talk to someone privately, leave some kind of contact information! It can be a blogger profile that you're logged into, an adam4adam or dudesnude profile, your email address, whatever. One idea is to post something on Craigslist... when you do that, they give you a throwaway temporary email address that forwards to your own email... it's useful if you don't want to post your email address here.

(5) Maybe make some mention of your expectations. If you're looking to jerk off (or more), say so. If you absolutely don't want to do anything sexual and just want to hang out nude with other guys, say so. Not everyone is going there for the same thing. Also remember that Korean spas are not sex clubs, so please consider moving it someplace else if there's mutual interest, and be respectful of those who don't want to see sexual activity.

(6) Be respectful. Don't be racist, ageist, etc... Remember that this isn't your private home, and you can't just tell a certain class of people that they're not welcome.

(7) Don't ask "What is [insert spa name here] like?"... I've written a LOT of reviews on this website, so why not read them first? Reviewed spas:

• Aroma Spa, Koreatown
• Beverly Hot Springs, Koreatown
• Century Spa, Koreatown
• CJ Spa, Northridge
• Club 1350, Wilmington [CLOSED]
• Crystal Spa, Koreatown
• Descanso Garden Spa, Tujunga
• East West Spa, Koreatown
• Grand Spa, Koreatown
• Hyundae Health Spa, Koreatown
• Joy Spa, Hacienda Heights
• I Spa, Irvine
• Lions Spa, Mid City [CLOSED]
• Meridian Spa, Commerce
• Midtowne Spa, Los Angeles
• Natura Spa, Koreatown[CLOSED]
• Riviera Spa, Torrance
• Royal Spa, Hacienda Heights[CLOSED]
• Seoul Sauna, Gardena
• Spa Palace, Westlake/MacArthur Park
• Spa Renaissance, Industry [CLOSED]
• T Health Spa, Torrance [CLOSED]
• Wi Spa, Koreatown
• Wilshire Spa, Koreatown 

[CLOSED] Official Spa Buddy Open Thread Part 82 - COVID edition

 NOTE: I started a new post because the other one was getting too full of comments! So use this one instead. 

ALSO NOTE: As of this posting, most spas are closed due to the pandemic. The only ones that I'm aware of being open are Hyundae Spa and Hacienda Joy Spa.

I decided to create this post specifically so you guys can post in the comments if you're looking for someone to go to a spa with, or meet up there, or whatever... makes it a lot easier than going through all the previous posts to see if people have posted there. So if you're planning to go and want to meet people there, you can post (or look) here instead!

A few guidelines...

(1) Post some information about yourself...physical description, age, ethnicity, interests and hobbies... I really don't care. I'm not going to force you to reveal everything about yourself, but I'm not going to drive all the way to Koreatown to hang out with someone that I know absolutely nothing about.

(2) Sign your name, nickname, user name, whatever you make up to identify yourself. It makes it a lot easier to reply  to you, as opposed to "hey, third person to reply to this comment"

(3) Be specific...

     GOOD: "I'll be at Century Spa from 7pm-11pm tonight (Nov. 2), wearing a black digital sports watch and my key on my left ankle. And carrying a green water bottle."

     BAD: "I'll be at the spa tonight. I'm the guy with a towel. Say hi!"

(4) If you want to talk to someone privately, leave some kind of contact information! It can be a blogger profile that you're logged into, an adam4adam or dudesnude profile, your email address, whatever. One idea is to post something on Craigslist... when you do that, they give you a throwaway temporary email address that forwards to your own email... it's useful if you don't want to post your email address here.

(5) Maybe make some mention of your expectations. If you're looking to jerk off (or more), say so. If you absolutely don't want to do anything sexual and just want to hang out nude with other guys, say so. Not everyone is going there for the same thing. Also remember that Korean spas are not sex clubs, so please consider moving it someplace else if there's mutual interest, and be respectful of those who don't want to see sexual activity.

(6) Be respectful. Don't be racist, ageist, etc... Remember that this isn't your private home, and you can't just tell a certain class of people that they're not welcome.

(7) Don't ask "What is [insert spa name here] like?"... I've written a LOT of reviews on this website, so why not read them first? Reviewed spas:

• Aroma Spa, Koreatown
• Beverly Hot Springs, Koreatown
• Century Spa, Koreatown
• CJ Spa, Northridge
• Club 1350, Wilmington [CLOSED]
• Crystal Spa, Koreatown
• Descanso Garden Spa, Tujunga
• East West Spa, Koreatown
• Grand Spa, Koreatown
• Hyundae Health Spa, Koreatown
• Joy Spa, Hacienda Heights
• I Spa, Irvine
• Lions Spa, Mid City [CLOSED]
• Meridian Spa, Commerce
• Midtowne Spa, Los Angeles
• Natura Spa, Koreatown[CLOSED]
• Riviera Spa, Torrance
• Royal Spa, Hacienda Heights[CLOSED]
• Seoul Sauna, Gardena
• Spa Palace, Westlake/MacArthur Park
• Spa Renaissance, Industry
• T Health Spa, Torrance
• Wi Spa, Koreatown
• Wilshire Spa, Koreatown

Review: I Spa (aka Irvine Spa), Irvine

Amenities: 3.5/5 
Cruisiness: 1.5/5 
Price: $25

Pros: Unlimited towels, nice coed area, clean, lots of parking 
Cons: crowded, it's in Orange County, steam room was more misty than steamy. 

 What?!?! A NEW SPA REVIEW!?!?! 

 Hi everyone! It's been a while! I finally visited a new spa, and this is my first review of a spa in Orange County! 

I went to I Spa in Irvine. Which is called I Spa in some places and Irvine Spa in others, so it's kind of confusing. It's way out of the way for me (I honestly can't remember the last time I was south of Huntington Beach) but I decided to make the trek and give it a shot. First off, my navigation told me that it was in the shopping center with the Wal-Mart, so I turned into the parking lot and it was a clusterfuck because... Wal-Mart. I looped around the shopping center not seeing a spa. Then I decided to double check Google Maps, which told me it was across the street. 

 I found it, parked (there was plenty of parking), and entered the lobby. The lobby was a typical Korean spa lobby. I briefly pondered getting a body scrub, but I glanced at the sign and saw that it was $45 (which I guess is kind of typical these days, but I haven't had a scrub in a while), and decided to save my money. $25 entry, and I got my key, shorts and shirt. 

When you enter, you pass a dimly lit recliner area and a barber chair before you get to the lockers. Also, the passageway to the coed area. There are a lot of lockers in here, probably at least a couple hundred, in three rows. Opposite the lockers were glass doors and window to the wet area. And past the lockers was the vanity area and another relaxation area. I stripped and went to the wet area. 

Plenty of towels in the wet area. The standing showers were split into two sections of 6 showers each, one right inside the door from the locker room, and the other after you walk past the towels. Past the second set of showers is one of the two scrub areas. It's quite visible by everyone walking into the wet area. Farther along that wall are the seated showers (maybe a dozen or so) and then a second scrub area. In front of the seated showers and second scrub area are the pools: cold, warm, and hot pools. Across the room from the scrub area are the dry sauna and steam room. The other wall is a window that looks out to a little garden. I thought the garden was a nice touch, but it also made me wish there was an outdoor sitting area in that garden. Seems like a missed opportunity.

I soaked in the warm tub for a while. It was a good temperature, and the jets were really strong. Oddly though, there were only jets on one side of the warm tub. Also, it was on a dial timer (like Spa Palace) so occasionally the jets would stop and someone would have to go turn the timer dial again.

The steam room was a disappointment. It was really more like a mist room than a steam room, and it didn't really get steamy in there, only drizzly. It was hot though, almost too hot. I couldn't really tolerate it for more than a few minutes. 

The dry sauna was a good temperature, and the fact that it was more tolerable meant that it was by far the more popular room. At one point when I was there (Friday evening) it was standing room only in there, with probably a dozen guys. 

Even though the saunas and pools were plenty big, the wet area as a whole was pretty cramped, as there was not a whole lot of extra space. There were a total of four chairs (cheap plastic) to sit on, and rude people would just leave their towels on the chairs. The chairs seemed like an afterthought, just kind of placed with their backs to the cold pool. 

The crowd was mixed... maybe 1/3 Asian, the rest White or Latino with a few Middle Eastern guys. All ages... I saw guys that looked like college age, up to guys in their 50s or 60s. 

As for cruisiness... ehhh... There were several really hot guys. There was one super hot guy (looked maybe South Asian) that had a semi and definitely wanted to get something going with me but it was just too busy to get any privacy. Another cute guy later seemed to be checking me out a lot, but again, just too many guys to establish anything. Add to that the fact that the one scrub area has a direct line of sight into the sauna, and the steam room doesn't get steamy enough to obscure anything, and it's overall not a very good place to hook up. Maybe later at night when the crowds wind down and the scrubber goes home, maybe it'd be better? But yeah, during peak hours I wouldn't go here to play. The eye candy, on the other hand, is some of the best of any of the spas. 

The jimjilbang was pretty good, with a few saunas and a restaurant that looked really good. In fact, I saw that they had jjajangmyeon (noodles with black bean sauce) on the menu, which I'm not sure I've seen at a spa before and which I love. 

Overall, it's a pretty decent spa if you're in the area. I'm not going to drive down to Irvine on a regular basis just to go here, but otherwise I'd recommend it. 

I Spa (AKA Irvine Spa)
2332 Barranca Pkwy.
Irvine, CA 92606
http://www.irvinespa.com/

Health benefits of spas

Article on CNN discussing how saunas and hot tubs are good for you! In case you needed an excuse to go to the spa. https://www.cnn.com/2018/02/21/health/hot-soaks-saunas-can-relieve-pain/index.html

Sweat out the old, soak in the new! 2018 Edition

As I've done a few times before, let's do a New Years Day spa meetup!

When: January 1, noon-ish until late afternoon.
Where: Wilshire Spa, by popular demand

Rules:
- Don't wear a towel!
- Be respectful!
- Wear your key on your left ankle!
- Don't be that guy that's jerking when nobody else is interested.
- Be careful!
- Say hi to me!

I'll probably get there around noon or a little after that.

No more Tuesday discounts at Wi

Found out that, effective this week, they're no longer offering Tuesday discounts at Wi Spa

Review: T Health Spa, Torrance

Amenities: 2/5
Cruisiness: 3/5
Price: $10 $15


Pros: Plenty of parking, unlimited small towels, quiet, inexpensive
Cons: Some aspects seemed kind of run down for a "new" spa.

Note: I lowered the "Amenities" rating slightly since I originally reviewed the spa to reflect the change in price and the discontinuation of unlimited towels.


I just heard about this place a few days ago, so I decided to check it out. It's already so cheap that I almost don't even want to promote the fact that there's a couple of Groupons for it, as I feel like the more money they get, the more they can put into the place to make it a little nicer.

I walked in... wasn't really sure which door was the right one. (it's right behind the El Pollo Loco), got my key and went in.

When you first enter, you're in what looks like an office breakroom or something. Kind of disorienting. But the lockers were right beyond it, I found my locker and got undressed. I then explored a bit. Off the locker room area, there were three different sleeping rooms. One was a plain sleeping room, I couldn't see anything unusual about it. One had black lights and had a strange space mural painted on the ceiling. It was an odd room. And finally, there was a tiny clay/salt room with enough space for two people. The rooms didn't feel particularly warm; I mean, they were fine and I wasn't cold or anything. I just kind of expected them to be warmer. And the mats in all three rooms were really just six-foot-long rugs. Seemed kind of cheap.

In the wet area, there were 4 or 5 upright showers, and 5 seated showers. Also a couple of rain showers in the middle of the wet area. There was a hot tub and a cool tub, but the cool tub was taped off with caution tape for some reason, so I didn't go in. The temperature of the hot tub was slightly warmer than I prefer, but not terrible. There was also a steam room and a dry sauna. Both were great temperatures.

The steam room wasn't very deep, and wasn't very steamy part of the time, but the temperature was good so I didn't complain. My only real complaint about the steam room was that the benches were in an "L" shape, and along one leg of the L, the wall was this mosaic rock pattern... which looked great, but wasn't comfortable to lean your back against.

The dry sauna was a good temperature. My only complaint was that the wood on the backrest seemed worn and splintery. I didn't get any splinters, but I noticed it. The dry sauna smelled like fresh wood too. There was also an area in the back of the sauna where the bench opened into a large flat area, the size of maybe a queen size bed. I guess so you can lay down there, but it was kind of strange.

There were few customers there. When I first got there, there was only one other guy, and he left not long after I arrived. A few other guys arrived later, and it was a very mixed crowd. One thing I noticed was that, despite being a "Korean spa", neither the front desk person nor the attendant/scrubber were Korean. There were a total of four customers at its peak while I was there, and three of us were gay. (No idea about the 4th, but he was Asian and I don't think he was gay.)

It's kind of hard to play there because the wet area isn't really private. The sleeping areas are private, but there's no real warning if someone is coming in. That said, the fact that there aren't many customers makes it a little easier to play, but I wouldn't expect much to happen there if this place were to get much more popular.

All of that said, there were just aspects of the place that could have been improved. While it's supposedly a "new" spa, it was obvious they took over a spa space from a former tenant and just rebranded it, as there was a lot that looked kind of aged and they really wouldn't need to do that much to make it seem newer and nicer. For example, the baskets in the showers holding the shaving cream were rusty... c'mon, that's a cheap thing to replace. And the rough wood in the sauna, and the cheap mats in the sleeping room, etc.

But all in all, for $10 it's still a great deal. Hopefully they can actually make it work.

T Health Spa

1555 Sepulveda Blvd Ste P (Just east of Western)
Torrance, CA 90501

https://www.thealthspa.com/