Century Spa update

I went to Century Spa on Friday night and I had a few comments:

- There are signs everywhere telling people to shower before entering the pools, and warning that anyone who doesn't will be kicked out. Which I agree with, but it still bugs me that they even have to put the signs up... I mean IT'S COMMON SENSE. That said, as I was leaving on Friday night I saw two guys come in and go straight for the tubs without showering first. Eww. Maybe they need a big sign right in front of the stairs to the tub. 

- Also, a new sign stating that no smoking is allowed on the patio. Excellent! (For me at least. I guess it sucks if you're a nicotine addict)

- I met up with a couple of friends there and we ended up going upstairs to the restaurant to eat. It was my first time there, and it was pretty good. I also got a chance to check out the Jimjilbang. It seemed ok (and was absolutely deserted on Friday night) with like 5 saunas of varying temperatures. I still hate the idea of having to wear clothes and sweating in a sauna though. 

- Back to the men's area, it felt like the temperatures were cranked up on several saunas: the marble sauna felt warmer (but I actually liked it), but both the mist sauna and steam room were way too hot. The steam room would have way too hot steam going for a while, then it would shut off and cool down (almost too much, and the steam would mostly dissipate) before turning back on. I've been to other spas that do a much better job at maintaining a constant temperature; I wish they'd do the same. 

Review: Joy Spa, Hacienda Heights

Amenities: 2.5/5
Cruisiness: 4/5
Price: $15

Pros: Unlimited small towels, not too expensive, three pools
Cons: Seemed kind of dirty, or at least in need of a revamp

I "came out" to a friend of mine regarding this blog over the weekend: I knew that he reads the blog so I confessed to him that I was the author. And... he'd already figured it out. There were a few subtle clues that he picked up on, and he recognized my writing style, and that made him pretty sure it was me. Anyway, it was funny.

Part of our conversation was about Korean spas and how (as I discussed in an earlier post) it's supposed to be this Korean cultural thing (and, to a lesser extent, other Asian cultures) but gay guys are using them to hook up without discretion, thereby being disrespectful to the Asian guys. Which I totally agreed with, as I pretty much said in my previous post. Anyway, this becomes relevant later...

So I was on my way back from being out of town over the long holiday weekend and I figured I'd give one of the other spas in the San Gabriel Valley a try. I basically flipped a coin and decided to check out Joy Spa. It's in a strip mall on Hacienda Blvd, fairly nondescript from the outside.

I paid my $15 to get in, and entered the locker room. It's a big locker room, with lockers along the walls and recliners in the middle facing a television. Kind of like Wilshire Spa. There was only one sink in there, which was odd; even the smallest spas I've seen have multiple sinks.

Unlike most spas, the locks here aren't electronic, so you have a big metal key on your wristband. Not as bad as Lions Spa though, where it makes noise when you move around. So I'm thankful for that. Unlimited small towels are folded and stacked next to the door to the wet area.

Inside the wet area, there are standing showers (6 of them I think) to the right, followed by 6 more seated showers beyond that. On the left are the pools: cold, warm, and hot. The pools were decent size; the middle one had a capacity of 8, the others seated 5. Across from the pools (and next to the seated showers) was the body scrub area. There was absolutely zero privacy there... if you're getting a scrub, anyone in the pools is going to get a full view of what's going on.

Past the scrub area is the steam room and the sauna. The steam room wasn't large; it could maybe seat 6 or 7 comfortably. The sauna was a bit bigger though. Both the sauna and the steam room were at good temperatures: hot enough, but not TOO hot. One thing about the sauna, though, was just that it seemed dirty. The wood was old and was showing its age. The door was supposed to be clear glass but what was probably years of moisture and splashes made it partially opaque on the lower 2/3 of it, with no apparent effort made to get those water stains off. And in parts of the sauna, when I put my towel down, the color from the wood transferred to the towel, looking kind of like skid marks. Uhh, no thanks.

After exploring those rooms for a bit, I headed back to the locker room and found two rooms: a sleeping room (with recliners), and a room that was kind of a clay room (had clay walls), kind of a marble room (had a marble floor) but was hotter than those respective rooms at Century Spa. It was the kind of room I'd expect in a coed Jimjilbang, but it was nice to have one off the locker room where I could be nude.

The clientele varied while I was there: when I first got there (mid-afternoon) it was almost entirely Asian guys. Which was pretty much what I expected, being Hacienda Heights and all. Oh, there were a couple of kids there too, at least briefly. Eventually, though, the crowd changed to probably half-and-half Asians and non-Asians. Then as afternoon started to turn into evening, it got more and more crowded, and I think the balance turned more Asian. And this big group of youngish, tattooed Asian guys came in.

But here's the thing... it seemed like the Asians were being more cruisy than the White and Latin guys. Usually, I go in with the assumption that most of the Asian guys are at the spas for the cultural aspect, and most of the non-Asian guys are there to see penises. But it seemed like a lot of the Asian guys (actually MOST of the Asian guys) were looking to play more than the white guys, at least until the tattooed gang came in. So anyway, so much for my friend's observation that it's the Asians that are being disrespected when white guys come to play!

Oh, I forgot to add: there were signs all over the place warning that anyone participating in "inappropriate behavior" would be kicked out and banned. Kind of tacky, actually. But it was being widely ignored, as far as I could tell!

There was this super cute young Asian guy that I could tell was trying not to get a hard-on (and failing! Ha!)... we fooled around a little bit but it started getting crowded and I'd been there long enough anyway.

Anyway, the place is fine, I guess, if you like Asian guys and you happen to be in the area... but I wouldn't make a special trip out there, to be honest.

Hacienda Joy Spa
2020 S. Hacienda Bl. Suite H 
Hacienda Heights, CA 91745
http://haciendajoysauna.com

[CLOSED] Official Spa Buddy Posting Open Thread, Part 2

Hey guys,


NOTE: I started a new post because the other one was getting too full of comments! So use this one 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 (Dec. 21), wearing a black digital sports watch and my key on my left ankle. And carrying a green water bottle."
•  BAD: "I'll be at Century 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.

(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.

100k Pageviews!

Some time in the past 24 hours, this blog hit 100,000 page views. I have no clue how many actual readers that translates to, but thanks!

I was thinking of having a contest or something to celebrate, but I don't really know what to do. So everyone should just go to a spa on their own to celebrate!

Review: Natura Spa, Koreatown

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

Pros: Clean, unlimited (small) towels, relatively inexpensive
Cons: Small, basically just minimum spa amenities

I've been meaning to check this place out for a while and finally got around to it. It's in the "Wilshire Galleria", which I guess used to be an old department store, but is now a weird little mall that's chopped up into smaller stores. The first time I went there (on a weekend), I took the subway (the Wilshire/Vermont station is only a block away) and the second time (on a weekday) I parked in the lot, which is free with spa validation.

To get to the spa, you have to take the elevator. There aren't any stairs I could find; I usually like to take stairs if I'm only going a floor or two, but it didn't seem like an option. Both times, the front desk staff were friendly. One note... I've been to two different spas on Mondays after work where they didn't have body scrubs available. I guess the scrubbers take Mondays off or something. Just warning you.

So anyway, the spa is small. I mean, similar to East West Spa small. The wet area consists of 7 standup showers, maybe 12 sit-down showers, a steam room, a dry sauna, a warm pool and a cold plunge. And the small body scrub area. And not much room for much else. Outside of the wet area, there's a cooling room (like an ice sauna) and a sleeping area with both recliner chairs and a warm stone floor for sleeping. Oh, and the sleeping area is super dark. The sauna and the steam room are both pretty good size, as is the hot pool.

The clientele both times I went was probably about 80% Asian, presumably straight, so there aren't a whole lot of cruising prospects. But both times I went, there were a few non-Asian guys that seemed interested. The dry sauna and steam room have large glass windows, so unfortunately, there are not many safe places to play, only in the far back corner of the steam room and the sleeping room, but both times I was there both rooms were busy enough that it was nearly impossible to really get anything going. There were even more non-Asian guys that didn't seem to be doing any cruising at all, so really, this isn't the best place to do it. (Even though some of those guys were hot!)

It's a great place for checking out other guys though, as the towels they provide are hand-towel sized, so you can't wrap them around your waist. Everyone was completely nude. Just try not to stare and make guys uncomfortable. ;-)

There's a separate woman's spa, I think, but there's no coed area to hang out if you have a ladyfriend. There's also a restaurant and a gym... I guess you need to being workout stuff for the gym. I think. One thing I liked about the locker room area is that they had ice water with slices of citrus in it, so you got tasty water. :-)

All in all, it's not a bad spa if you're looking for something not so cruisy (like Century) but a little cruisier than Wi (and with no kids running around!)


Natura Spa
3240 Wilshire Blvd, Suite B
Los Angeles, CA 90010
http://natura-spa.com

Spa Etiquette: It's all about respect

OK, serious subject here for a moment. This post has been on my mind for a while, and I finally decided to sit down and actually write it down.

I've been both hearing disturbing reports (through comments on this blog) as well as witnessing certain behaviors myself that are downright inappropriate for Korean spa settings.

So let me just say that Korean spas aren't sex clubs!  When I talk about cruising and messing around on this blog, it should be assumed that I mean DISCREETLY and with the consent of everyone involved (including everyone within sight)... if you want to have open sex without worrying about who sees what, there are other places for that. Like here. Or here. Or here.

I go to Korean spas primarily to relax, release tension, and to be in a nudist setting.  Yeah, if you're gay, checking out other guys comes with the territory, and sometimes there's mutual interest.

But seriously, everyone should be following these simple guidelines:

• Do not jerk off or have any kind of sexual contact if you aren't certain that everyone around you wants to see it. Seriously, I've heard stories of guys at Century Spa in the upstairs meditation room jerking off in the window in full view of everyone downstairs. Personally I've gone into the sleeping room at Wilshire Spa and seen full-on blowjobs. I wasn't participating. I wasn't showing interest. Likewise at Lions Spa. That's not appropriate AT ALL. Not everyone is gay. And even if they are, not all gays want to see that.If you're the only one jerking off and everyone is ignoring you, you look pathetic. Seriously.
• Assume that anyone walking by or entering whatever area you're in does not want to see it. I, myself, have walked into, for example, the clay room at Century, and seen a guy just jerking off, without any reservations. Never mind that nobody else (there were 4 or 5 other guys in there) was participating. It was creepy. A comment that was left earlier today was about a straight guy who was intimidated into leaving the spa because of sexual activity going on at CJ Spa. This is not what I had in mind when I created this blog. If you're playing around (and, it happens, but maybe you should consider taking it back to your place), make sure you are in a position where you're able to stop and cover yourself BEFORE anyone accidentally walks into the room and sees what you're up to.
• NEVER, EVER touch anyone without their consent. Another time I was in the sleeping room at Wilshire, honestly doing nothing but resting, and the creepy guy next to me, out of nowhere, GRABS MY COCK. There's a word for that, and the word is "rape." He is really lucky that I didn't make a scene, but I was sure thinking about it.

Honestly, I doubt many of my regular readers are guilty of any of the above. But please, if you witness any of those behaviors, try to discourage them. Last thing any of us want is a crackdown, leading to arrests, etc.

And also? Most spas do have people keeping an eye out for that kind of thing. Despite the reputation that Century Spa has, I know the management walks around all the time looking out for stuff like this--I've seen it myself. None of the Korean spas are really "safe" places for sexual activity, so don't treat them like they are.

I'm interested in hearing others' perspective on this.

Review: Aroma Spa, Koreatown

Amenities: 4/5
Cruisiness: 1/5
Price: $15, with a spa treatment (waived if over $90 in treatments)

Pros: Big, plenty of amenities in the spa, not at all cruisy (is that a pro or a con?), pleasant staff
Cons: Either membership or spa service required


So a couple of months ago I saw a Groupon offer for $39 for a massage and spa pass for Aroma Spa. I'd never heard of the place, but I looked around Yelp and saw that it was a legit Korean spa. And I'm not going to pass up a $39 massage. So I bought it. I finally got around to using the Groupon a couple of weeks ago.

One thing I learned through reading up on this place on Yelp is that you can't just go in and pay for a spa entry; you have to either get a treatment, or get a membership. From what I understand, memberships are over $2000 per year. Uh, I don't go to the spas THAT much! But I had my $39 massage in hand (I think they're regularly $75).

The spa entrance is on the third floor of the building. I wasn't sure if they validated parking so I just found parking on the street. It's also a short (2-block) walk from the Wilshire/Western subway station.

An attendant showed me around, although the tour wasn't all that helpful as he barely spoke English. I found my locker and took off my clothes and looked around the spa. There were three pools: hot, warm, and cold. There was also a steam room, a dry sauna, and a "mud sauna", which was basically the same as the dry sauna (maybe slightly less hot) and had clay on the walls, and smelled a little like clay. There was also an ice sauna. The spa area also had a heated stone floor area for laying down. Back into the locker room area, there was a separate quiet relaxation room with recliners.

There were TV's in the dry and mud saunas. I was actually getting into this Korean soap opera (there were English subtitles) called something like "A Gentleman's Dignity". It was kind of silly. But I couldn't stand to be in the sauna long enough to figure out where the mystery teenager came from, and which of the "Gentlemen" in the show was his father. Still, some of the most interesting Korean TV I've seen! Haha.

The clientele was almost entirely Korean and middle-aged (although the fact that I was there on a Sunday morning may have had something to do with it). I saw one other white guy there when I first got there... he looked familiar; I'm sure I'd seen him at another spa before. But there was no cruising going on at the spa. The saunas and steam room could have been private enough to mess around, but there wasn't anyone there looking for anything. So this is definitely a spa to go to if you're NOT looking for other guys to fool around with.

My massage was great; probably the best massage I've ever had at a Korean spa (I had the "Swedish/Shiatsu combo massage"), although the women walking barefoot on my back still weirds me out whenever it happens.

I never explored the co-ed areas of the spa but apparently they have a full gym and a pool.

Oh, and I read an article recently (within the past few days) by Margaret Cho... She visited Aroma Spa and apparently they asked her to leave because the women in the women's spa were uncomfortable with her tattoos... so yeah, it definitely attracts the super-traditional Koreans.

Aroma Wilshire Center
3680 Wilshire Boulevard (at Serrano Ave)
Los Angeles CA 90010
http://www.aromaresort.com/