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| LED light therapy sauna |
It's a shame visitors to New York tend to stay in Manhattan, and miss out on some of the other neighborhoods. Sometimes the most fascinating places are off the island, in the outer boroughs of the city.
One such place is "Spa Castle" - a 10,000 square ft Korean bath house and spa, located in College Point, Queens - in the shadow of the Whitestone Bridge.
I was taken there by a friend who's a "born and bred" NY city girl. Always open to new and interesting experiences, she's visited it many times and raves about the place.
Arriving for the first time at "Spa Castle", you might easily mistake it for a "Holiday Inn" or other mid priced motel - the building looks so nondescript. I was almost disappointed, but inside it's another story.
If you're up for a cross cultural experience - a kind of hybrid Korean/European spa in a New York City urban neighborhood - then this is for you.
The entrance fee is $40 for a weekday all day pass - which gains you access to all five saunas and the indoor and out door spa pools and jacuzzis. Parking is in a garage underneath the building and is free.
First off, each guest is given an electronic locker key to be worn around the wrist like a watch, and which can be swiped to purchase food and drinks or other, additional spa services, like full body scrubs or massages.
Once inside the changing rooms, you remove your shoes and lock them in a small locker. Your clothes and wallet and all electronic devices go in another one. You are now officially unplugged. The floor, like the rest of the place, is scrupulously clean, and everyone walks around bare foot. And that's not the only "baring" that goes on - but we'll get to that...
You are lent a couple of towels, and a "uniform" of pink T shirt and black shorts if you are female; blue T shirt and shorts if you are male. You must wear these if you are wandering around the five levels of the building; in the saunas or sleeping rooms or chilling out at the many different food service or bar areas.
If you are going to hang out in the co-ed indoor pool with the "swim up" cocktail bar (alcohol and non alcoholic options) or in the many different outside roof top heated pools or jacuzzis you must wear a swim suit.
But this is what defines this place as different to your usual "American" spa - there are several indoor single sex pools - and these are where you must hang out naked.
It takes a little getting used to, being stark naked in front of strangers, but on my visit, all shapes and sizes of the female form were represented, so really there's no reason to feel too self conscious.
In this space too, you can get a full body scrub, where you are literally laid out naked on a slab and scrubbed within an inch of your life, by the look of it. I thought I might do that next time...
But more than anything, it was so nice to see the multi generational Korean families - Grandma; daughter; children, all enjoying the warm, bubbly water, and all in the "nuddy" there together. It kind of made me feel sad that our culture is often so prudish.
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| The beautiful interior of one of the saunas |
Later, dressed in our uniforms, with our swim suits now underneath, my friend and I headed to try out the different saunas. There are detailed descriptions of the health and wellness benefits of each of the saunas posted - suffice it to say - we did it all.
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| The painted interior of the largest sauna |
Next, we headed to the roof and bobbed about in the heated outdoor pools and jacuzzi and laid under the different water jets strategically placed to benefit the neck; back; shoulder.
At this point, feeling ready for some lunch, we chose to try some Korean shrimp dumplings (delicious), from an extensive menu of Asian offerings (Korean and Japanese). There is also a menu of "regular" American food items, if you prefer, as well as a Starbucks - if you really can't forego a caffeine fix.
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| One of the roof deck outdoor heated pools |
Before we left for the day, we arranged a 30 minute private foot massage (for an extra $30) which was sublime. All I will say, is that when I'm filthy rich, I will have my feet massaged every day...
And you know, hopefully financial worries are a thing of the past. You see, I did spend quite a considerable time under the LED pale blue lamp in the "Light Sauna", restoring my "Prosperity"...
Don't you want to try it too?
