Between slow walkers and “train traffic,” New York City can be a stressful place. Luckily, it’s also home to plenty of Korean spas, or jjimjilbang, to help locals unwind. Not your typical spa experience, the jjimjilbang is often multi-floored, gender-separated, equipped with TVs and napping areas, and exactly what you need to relax in New York City.
You’re going to want to set aside a full day to experience Spa Castle, open from 8 am to midnight. Families and frat bros alike love this College Point place for its year-round water park, fitness center, and seven themed saunas. Note: Spa-goers uncomfortable with full nudity should skip the Castle’s first floor, where patrons can enjoy gender-separated nude bathing and showers.
As it’s open 24 hours a day, seven days a week (including on major holidays), K-Town Sauna provides relaxation whenever you need it. Its two-floor facility is furnished with dry and steam saunas, a nude area, lounges, and much more. Tip: Don’t miss the sauna’s dining area and juice bar serving Korean treats.
The same team behind Spa Castle also brings you Premier 57, a relaxing oasis in Midtown. Here, gold-paved saunas, a swim-up full-service bar, and a firm “no shoes” policy make this place feel like New York’s top attraction. Best of all, a day pass, which includes all this and more, will only set you back $75.
Dare to bare it all at New York Spa & Sauna, a straightforward spot known for its gender-separated hot and cool nude baths. If you prefer to cover up, the spa provides uniforms to be worn at its Korean-American food court and co-ed sleeping room.
More familiar to non-Korean audiences is Juvenex Spa, which features European and American treatments, such as facials and massages, in addition to Asian remedies. It’s the latter that shines, however—literally, in the case of Juvenex’s dome-like saunas constructed from 20 tons of Chinese jade stones.
An upscale experience hidden in Manhattan’s Koreatown, Aura Wellness Spa infuses centuries-old Eastern therapies with the Western world’s most cutting-edge luxuries. The 12,000-square-foot (1,115-square-meter) Asian-style spa has won awards thanks to its Crystal & Jade Steam Grotto, microdermabrasion facials, and couples massages.
Regular massage recipients will love Spa 32, a Koreatown nook boasting what may be the city’s most affordable quality massage. Take advantage of Spa 32’s 24-hour policy, and enjoy a luxurious oil shiatsu deep tissue or hot stone massage before or after work (or even on your lunch break)!
