My boyfriend and I go back and forth on what we want to do during our weekends together. I mentioned going to a spa/sauna to him a few times, but we weren’t sure where to go. Settling on King Spa, a Korean-bathhouse in Palisades Park, NJ with a plethora of saunas, we walked into a pleasant surprise.

We purchased our tickets via Groupon (for less than $40), and drove to New Jersey for ultimate relaxation. To our surprise, the facility was packed – literally everyone from NJ and NYC had to have been there. However, the staff was fully equip and answered our questions, providing us with a spa ‘uniform,’ towel, and locker key/tab collector (as I called it). Soon enough, I went left and Kel went right, into our respective locker rooms. And thus, our journey into our first bathhouse began.

I walked into the women’s locker room with some thought as to what was behind the wall, but nothing compared. Women of all shapes, sizes, and ethnicities were fully naked. I wasn’t entirely shocked, but rather impressed by the confidence these women had. After I found my locker, stripped down and dressed in my spa uniform, I went on a 15-minute journey to find my boyfriend (who, was shocked and disturbed by the men’s locker room – LOL). We found each other in the food court and figured out our next steps.

King Spa’s food court had a variety of Korean-style dishes, and I basically knew what I wanted. This was Kel’s first time eating authentic Korean food, so I helped him with the menu. After about $30 on our meal (well worth it), we made our way into the Mineral Salt sauna.

King Spa's Gold Pyramid Sauna before a rush of people entered (timing is everything!)

The facility has 10 or so saunas, each modeled for a different purpose. My favorite was the Mineral Salt because it was not too hot, had a specific aroma (close to the smell of salt-water), and super relaxing. I felt my skin change in texture, including the area where I have a horrible skin allergy. After about 15-minutes, we walked out, grabbed waters, and went into the 23K Gold sauna (not my fave, but different). We eventually made our way into this incredibly hot room, where you needed a layered, quilt-like blanket to sit on. We lasted maybe four (yes, 4) minutes).

We eventually found our friends who got to the spa late. We split up, caught up with each other, and tried nearly all the saunas King Spa had to offer. There was even a place to nap with extremely comfortable recliners!

But the real fun (or rather, eye-opener) didn’t happen until we were about to leave. My friend and I were under the impression that there were pools in the spa. To our surprise, the water facility we saw online was the “spa” inside of the locker area. Here’s the kicker:

You have to be fully naked to enter.

When I tell you I’ve seen enough vaginas to last a lifetime, I’m not joking. My friend and I let down our towels (we’re good friends and this was the first time seeing each other naked – haha), showered, and got into the hot tub. The girls in the warm-tub next to us didn’t give a f*** and were all out. And the women in the larger tub (that looked like an ancient bath you see in textbooks, but smaller), were strutting their beautiful bodies in all their glory. After that experience, you probably won’t think bad of your body for a while.

It didn’t surprise me that my boyfriend and our friends had a great time. King Spa definitely was an experience, and I’m so glad we had the chance to enjoy it together. Oh, and after getting yelled at by the Valet for “standing” for like 5 minutes, we drove to Krispy Kreme. Talk about a sweet trip!