Are you thinking about spending a day at a bathhouse in New York City, just not sure where to go? You’ve landed on the right page to make that decision. I am going to give you an honest Bathhouse review.
I am not sure why I delayed my plans for a full body massage this past year but as I was looking to get one, I couldn’t help but look for an experience rather than a 50-minute session. I remembered Bathhouse in Williamsburg and started looking into treatments and prices. I booked my treatments and showed up on my Birthday week to treat myself.
I am going to start off by saying that I wasn’t paid to write this review. This isn’t a collaboration or an ad. This is just my experience after spending a day at Bathhouse. I was thoroughly impressed.
Just like you, I too, read reviews online before coming in. While, we all show up on different days and times and have different experiences, I am not sure I agree with most of what was said about this place. So, before I give too much away, let’s dive in.
This blog post is a Bathhouse Review after spending a day in their Williamsburg location. If you’re planning a visit, stick around.
#1 Check-In
Check in at the front desk was very smooth. It was a cozy area with a rug, pieces of art, a plant and a couch. I showed up super stressed out because I wanted to be there a full hour before my treatments were scheduled, but couldn’t. The staff tell me the instructions, hand me clean towels and a locker fob. Behind me at check in was a collection of beauty products including masks, and snacks. On my left was a fridge with drinks for sale and next to it a selection of swimsuits. I make a right and enter the women’s locker room.
From Left to Right: the Bathhouse from outside, the entrance, on your way downstairs to the spa.
#2 Locker Room
The space has 4 bathrooms, 3 shower areas, three sinks and a corner for blow drying your hair. Shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion are all available. Women’s products, q tips, and hair ties are available as well. I pick a locker, get a pair of slippers, change into my swimsuit, use the USB port in my locker to charge my phone and off I go.
I’ve gone to a lot of yoga studios and gyms in NYC, some more over the top than others. I accessed my locker pretty frequently during my stay, and I thought the bathroom area was clean and was frequently attended to by staff during the day. I take the stairs down to the baths to start my day.
Left: Locker room. Right: Locker room sinks.
#3 Amenities
The amenities at the bathhouse include; three thermal pools – one tepid (94°F), one heated (104°F) and one cold (52°F), two saunas – tropical (humid) and dry, a starlight steam room, two heated marble spaces for you to sit on or lie down, a shower place for you to use as you enter the space, a water refill station, and finally some extra towels. These are all included in your entrance fee, 45 USD for early bird, 55 USD for weekdays, 70 USD for weekends and 45 USD for night owls, as I write this. This fee is waived if you sign up for any treatment and I wouldn’t recommend skipping the treatments.
Left: Heated marble. Right: Tropical sauna with Bathhouse slippers.
#4 Treatments
As you use the amenities, they ask that you sit in the lounge area on the left of the stairs closer to the scheduled time of your treatment. The best part about my stay were the treatments. I highly recommend getting into the sauna before your treatments. It warms your body and opens your pores. I get a full-body 50 min deep massage by a very seasoned therapist who had been doing this for 15 years. I was so tense and had points of tenderness but focused on my breathing. I was a different person by the end of my session. But don’t take my word for it. The room was a regular massage room, as you’d expect but the bed you lie on is warmed, which I found to be very soothing. I really enjoyed the music that was played, it was nothing like the cliché spa playlists you hear.
Following my massage, I had 40 minutes until my Hamam. I go into the room, there is a huge piece of marble that you are asked to lie on, buckets of warm water are thrown at you. It is a really nice experience, especially as it followed my deep massage. Next, I am scrubbed head to toe, then washed with more buckets of water, dried down, and a soothing oil is applied to my skin. I am asked to not dip into the pool for at least 10 minutes to allow for my skin to absorb the oil. I give it 20 minutes; I am glowing and feel like a million bucks.
Left: inside the bathhouse spa overlooking the treatment rooms. Right: The hammam scrub treatment room.
#5 Size
This is relatively small bathhouse and it can get crowded pretty fast. I visited on a Thursday and I checked in pretty early so it didn’t affect my experience and enjoyment. Lots of people come in and use the amenities alone, so that’s where most of the traffic comes from. I did hear a little bit of noise when I was getting my massage. It didn’t affect my experience but I thought that maybe those getting treatments should have access to a private and dedicated area. There is also no lounge area so people who are coming to spend a day with friends do not really have a space to hang out and chat. Instead that is done in the saunas and the single space where the pools are, at the heated marbles, which can be quite disturbing for those trying to relax. Overall, if you come in early in the morning on a weekday, you will have no issues.
#6 Restaurant
The restaurant was a pleasant surprise. You do not need to change, you put a robe on and get a table. The food was Mediterranean and Scandinavian inspired. I have the chicken kabob with pepper paste and black hummus on toast. Something about being in saunas makes me very hungry. I followed this with a chia pudding with passion fruit and a cup of coffee. Their cocktails are pretty popular, but I skipped those as I wanted to continue using the saunas. The restaurant is open to the public, so it isn’t just for those spending the day at the bathhouse.
From Left to Right: Chicken kabob, toast with black hummus, chia pudding and a latté.
#7 Price
You can check the prices online for more accurate and updated information. But as I write this, the full body 50 minutes massage is 170 USD and the hamam 30 mins treatment is 125 USD, if you buy these as a package, it will cost you 240 USD. As I mentioned before, you entrance fee is completely waived when you sign up for a treatment. I do think the price point is unmatched with any of the bathhouses or spas in the city. The quality of the therapists is top notch. I think if you were to get this treatment in a spa for a 50-minute treatment, you would pay just as much if not more. I think it is a steal, because of the quality of the services and your access to the amenities, no matter how crowded. I think it comes down to whether you want a single session treatment or spending a full day doing nothing but relaxing.
#8 What to bring
-Bring your bathing suit. Hopefully you won’t forget this, but in case you do they have a small selection of bathing suits.
-Make sure to bring with you a bottle of water. You’re going to be drinking a lot of water during your stay. There is filtered water available for you.
-Bring a book as you can read inside, although there really isn’t much of a lounge area. But you can sit or lie on the heated marble or sit on the few seats available.
-If you’re into sheet masks, bring one with you. Your pores are going to love it after you step out of the sauna.
For comparison, I haven’t really gone to other bathhouses in New York City. I will be trying out different ones besides the new Bathhouse location in Flatiron. I was told that the new Flatiron location Bathhouse is huge, it was a renovated garage with a VIP pool just for those getting a treatment. Now we’re talking.
This post was a Bathhouse review of their Williamsburg location. What are your thoughts? Please leave a comment.
As always, thank you so much for stopping by and reading.
See you next week,
Girl on the Upper East Side
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