The Russian Sauna: It is not for the feint of heart. If you are a sauna connoisseur, and I believe I am, then you will appreciate the Russian Sauna's very high heat. There are many ritzy little saunas in SoHo for example, but none are able to offer the kind of intense steam room and dry sauna experience. It is old-school sauna-going, complete with some fantastic old-school russian cooking at the bar on the main floor. We had pelmeni, borscht, and herring in between sauna sittings. There is also an upstairs outdoor terrace which few people seem to know about, and it can be great fun to stand around in the snow nearly naked, watching steam come off your skin. I was delighted to see that there was a mix of people, young and old, East Village old-timers as well as tourist newbies. Everyone was really friendly! It felt like being part of a big party. The whole place is run like a tight ship, and then again if FEELS like a tight ship, so you can't help chatting with the people sitting next to you. Another wacky discovery was the main sauna room, the Russian Sauna, which is dark and cavernous. Now, I have been to a lot of saunas, but have never seen a heat room look like a medieval torture chamber before, complete with people getting beaten with oak leaves right in front of you. It was mighty good fun, as was dunking into the ice-cold pool afterward.
Some drawbacks: There are some question marks in my mind about the sanitary conditions of the place. The facilities can be described as "gently worn," and some of the sanitation you have to just take on faith. I don't say it's dirty, but you don't get that feeling of spic and span polish that you would get at your fancy SoHo places, by any means. another drawback is that they are quite crowded, and the space is tight. You're always maneuvering around someone or vying for a place to sit. I'm used to sauna being the kind of place where you can space out and dream away a few hours, but you can't do that with so many people pressed up near you. Quite a lot of sensory input for a place of relaxation. I also regretted the lack of places to really stretch out in quietude. If you do sauna right, you can get really sleepy in between sittings, and I really had nowhere to lay down for even a minute, and had to lean against my Accompanying Boy with my eyes closed. Not a bad thing, but still...
