Russian & Turkish Baths

I have been coming here for years, both to this location and the Miami Beach Location. After trying every single spa in NYC, Russian & Turkish bath will always and had always been my number #1. They are the real deal! Super hot rooms, relaxed atmosphere, you leave feeling refreshed! The treatments are amazing! Thank you for being in NYC !

You want a foofy spa day? You want robes and soft towels and scented candles and herbal water?
Definitely don’t come here.
Come here if you want an old-​school, legit Russian and Turkish bath. It’s rough around the edges (like, a LOT), it’s grimy, and it’s no frills, but it’s the true experience. The ice plunge is the coldest I’ve experienced at any Russian bath across the country, and the Russian sauna is by far the hottest. Confused about why people are pouring buckets of cold water on their head in there? Give it a few minutes and you won’t be. Kudos if you can last in that sauna for more than 10 minutes. The other saunas range in temperature, but are generally pretty mild.
Co-​oed. Clothes are required except on days when it’s all male/​all female. Patrons are generally very respectful and there to get the full experience. The staff is 100% legit and hilarious — super gruff and perhaps off-​putting at first, but they are a riot. Platza treatments are aggressive, to say the least, but it’s a spectacle.
So if you think you’ve been to a Russian bath, I’d say you don’t know what it’s really like until you come here.

Very old place that needs a complete renovation and a lot of cleaning. All installations are very old and seem to have never been renovated.
The price is very very expensive with regards to the service and cleaness

This is a pretty ghetto bath house. Everything from the lockers to the walls are pretty rundown. The rooms are hot though so two stars for that. My favorite part is that rooftop since I can actually breathe and there’s less people hanging out there. Overall, I would not pay full price admission for this place but if you haven’t been to a bath house yet, I recommend it as a starter.

Take a step back in time and experience life from a different perspective at the Russian & Turkish Baths. It’s a bit overpriced (at $ 40) so plan to spend at least 2 hours there to try out each of the five saunas and steam rooms with an obligatory jump into the ice-​cold pool after each one. (You gotta go in the pool for the full experience. Really!)
My favorite was the Eucalyptus Room; it makes your lungs feel great and is so refreshing! Any of the hot rooms will certainly cleanse your body of toxins and give you energy for the rest of your day. But make no mistake about it: the place has been a NYC landmark for generations, a and it’s also an off-​beat, shabby, basement retreat for men and women, young and old. The towels are threadbare, the sleeveless «robes» are one wash away from the rag bin, and my Croakies must have been worn 5,000 times before I stepped into them. The tiles, the fixtures, the stairs, the plumbing, the lighting, the signage — just about everything feels like a late 19^th century dive, and yet somehow that’s all part of the place’s allure. No one at the R&T Baths cares how it looks; how you look; or who you are; and everyone feels invigorated when they walk out the door. There is one important concession to modernity however: each of the five hot rooms has a digital thermometer outside the door telling you the temperature inside, which on the day I visited ranged from roughly 105 to 120 degrees.
As others have written here, make sure you bring your own swimsuit. And unless you are famished, skip the R&T Baths snack bar and try one of the many eateries in the area.
Interesting fact: The place actually has two owners who take turns at the helm, and there are some minor differences between «Boris» weeks and «David» weeks. Check out this NYT article all about the co-​ownership.

Russian Steam Baths is like a little piece of heaven in NYC.
The terrific heat helps rid your body of accumulated toxins and stress.
They do provide full length robes, shorts, towels, rubber slippers, locker.
A lot of customers wear bathing suits.
Russian Steam Baths is a great place to relax.

Kind of a confusing setup. But everyone is really nice and the food is good. I prefer the mud to the oak leaf. The oak leaf is a little rough for sensitive skin. There are three or four steam rooms and a sauna. I don’t do the cold it because it’s just too cold but people who are seasoned banya goers seemed to enjoy it.

I think it’s crazy the entrance fee is $ 40 and the place is small and feels kinda like a dingy and damp basement. There are only a handful of sauna rooms and with a small range of temperature and variety in terms of setup (no fancy stuff like different types of minerals, stones, or an ice room). There’s a cold pool with ice cold water and no one was in it when I visited. I dabbed my feet in it and immediately got out.
I actually had also purchased an oak leaf body scrub, but when I saw what it was from people getting it (not in a private room but rather in one of the heated sauna rooms, no less) I decided you couldn’t pay me to get it. The room was extremely hot and the idea of getting hit by an oak leaf broom just didn’t seem so appealing; and I think I would’ve passed out.
The place is pretty small; the layout is L shaped and there isn’t too much room in either hallway. The changing rooms are upstairs and are kept bare minimum style. They do provide locks so at least you won’t have to bring your own padlock. I can see this can be a convenient place to get some hot steam and relax, but I’d rather pay a bit more and go to a more high-​end spa with better facilities and more service options.

Dirty, the staff straight up ask me how much i was going to tip after a treatment. The receptionist acted in a way that convince me that she hates her job.

I came here last Saturday afternoon with my boyfriend (with a groupon). The entire place feels dirty, like nothing has been updated or cleaned in years. It was not relaxing, and not even worth a $ 5 admission (so I was pretty sad I paid $ 40 for 2 groupons).
Once you enter, there are a bunch of chairs and a food/​drink counter (presumably, the «restaurant» that the website says they have). You check in, and are asked to put your wallet and anything of importance in a shoebox size locker. The women’s locker area is extremely small, but fine. No amenities whatesoever.
Downstairs area is where the saunas and one cold pool are. It was very crowded, with many people just sitting around outside the saunas, I believe to cool off. but because it was so crowded, it wasn’t a relaxing experience at all. the saunas are ok – not bad, but not great. and the entire area smells. a combination of b.o. and chlorine. the cold water pool was dirty — you could see leaves (don’t even know where that came from) and brown stuff floating in it. We sat in each sauna for 5 minutes just because we paid for the groupon.
Then we went upstairs to the rooftop — it was nice that weekend so I thought we could at least lounge and relax on the rooftop chairs. NO. the roof is worse than the downstairs area. the lounge chairs were made of peeling wood. felt absolutely filthy and disgusting.
Save your money and go to Aire Ancient Baths or even Spa Castle. I wouldn’t return to this place if you paid me.

***Groupon Deal review***
I bought a Groupon deal that covered entrance fee and an oak leaf treatment. I was a little disappointed by the lack of space. But I was more disappointed at the oak leaf treatment and the hard sell to tip after. Also, the treatment was quick and wasn’t really that relaxing or effective, in my opinion. Overall it was an experience but I wouldn’t do it again.

Everyone loves this place or so they say — when talking to patrons they say said they had other places they liked better but say some variation of «if I remember and prepare for the level of grime here, I’m fine when I get here» — Yikes.
I found the front desk person to be more interested in talking to the guests than interacting with me. Didn’t bother to tell me where things were or how they work. I had to to back and ask where everything was. Don’t go here if you like, want, need customer service. The repeated request to buy massages didn’t bother me as it bother others — I’m fine with multiple no’s.
The temps of the steam/​hot room was perfect, that’s all I liked about the place. The older men definitely want to engage and talk — a quick no ends that as well — no problems. There are eucalyptus leaves everywhere including floating in the cold pool, this definitely lends itself to the grimy not clean feeling. :(
Overall, the new yorker love old things and ‘in the know’ things so I can see why folks like this place. I didn’t hate it but I am not returning.

I have been coming here for quite a few years and as of late it seems a little less relaxing — there’s always room for improvement:
****They’ve hired/​fired a particular masseuse for inappropriately touching women — he has been hired/​fired more than once. (Previous reviews, most removed)
****Security is only present during Men-​Only hours and never the rest of the time as I’ve seen the absence on my other visits. This is biased and homophobic.
I think it would be the opposite: «a man in a room full of women, excited. A woman in a room full of men, terrified.»
I’ve seen the newest young guy — Dustin — interact with patrons; he’s too pervasive, eager… needs some people training.
— Provided or not: PLEASE wear foot protection! I bring my own. (There is no such thing as common sense: being barefoot in combination with moisture is a proven way to spread fungus; Athlete’s Foot/​Jock Itch — be considerate!) A lot of room to slip and REALLY cause injury (hard tile/​pointed corners/​water/​soap/​leaves everywhere), but that also depends on the type of footwear you choose.
— It’s mostly coed (men get more hours):
While everyone is equal, some places should not be coed, rather designate full DAYS for genders as there are plenty who agree with the sentiment on both sides. I think a place as such should be more fair, less phobic; especially when it’s open to the public:

Operating Hours per week: 79
Men’s Hours per week: 9
Women’s Hours per week: 4
— The building is paid for/​owned, not sure why the prices continue to rise unless it’s based on property taxes? $ 43 (after taxes) just to walk in the door is steep. The split ownership is silly, all ego.
— Hydrate, train yourself, and build up, especially if you’re new to this. On Boris’ shift, the rooms are much hotter than Davids’ shift — also depends on the Dept of Safety; either way, I don’t suggest starting in the hottest room.
— There’s cold water everywhere, great for the immune system, but I dodge the pool because there’s way too much chlorine in it — thank the DOH for that.
— The atmosphere is exactly what it’s supposed to be: a place to sweat, not something glamorous and uncomfortably bright; steam room is way too bright and smells moldy but, for those reasons, I don’t use it. Sometimes the Dry Room is too bright.
— I don’t mind the invite/​request for massage, but should only have to say «no» once.
— Most of the staff is pretty nice, the majority of the place is clean: buckets could be changed/​washed more frequently, especially in the steamed rooms, they start to smell.
— Though they could use quite a few improvements, it’s still a good place to help you live a little longer.
— L.O.

Always bring your own flip flops (is what I do!) even though they do provide them & wear a bathing suit or their robe and you are all set. This place isn’t modern, but it’s NYC and you get what you pay for! This place rocks. I am most comfortable going with friends simply because I don’t want to talk to anyone — I want to get in my zone and so I go with friends who also want to keep talking to a minimum. For the price, it’s easy to go for just a few hours and feel the benefits — like, you can totally take a long lunch and run back to work. Well, as long as work doesn’t mind wet hair — although there are blow dryers.
Always an experience, the heat does wonders to your immune system in the winter! Bring your own essential oils but it’s best to ask those around you if they are ok with your oil selections.
My favorite is the ladies only time — just wish my schedule would cooperate — I wish they’d add another ladies only time ;)
Great place to take your out of town friends!!!

Im a businessman who is stressed out, over eats, drinks to much, doesn’t sleep and chases women all night. I have been coming here at the bath house for over 20 years !
That’s why Im still alive !!!

This place is AMAZING. Truly renews me physically and mentally. I first started coming here about three years ago.
One thing: you won’t enjoy this if you’re looking for a fancy spa experience.
The staff is wonderful and warm, and so are the patrons. Great facilities. Definitely bring a bottle of water and if you want, some salt or sugar scrubs from home or a face mask. They sell all that here but nice to bring your own.
The masseuses will solicit you, but are up for bargaining about the price. Play hard to get on a slow day and you can make some awesome headway on their prices.
This feels like a really genuine experience and community.

I had my hesitations upon first entering, but my visit to the Russian & Turkish baths turned out to be restorative and refreshing.
It may appear dingy on first glance – all the baths are in the basement – but it seems to add kind of a more old-​school, authentic feel. The spa attendants all kinda hang out in swim shorts and flip flops and sit around the main hall, and once or twice they asked if I would like a platza massage or salt scrub etc. and I felt they did so in a considerate and not pushy way.
Different hours/​days are designated as co-​ed/​women or men-​only; I went during co-​ed hours since it requires that all guests wear either swimsuits or the robes that are provided free of charge. I actually felt more comfortable than I would’ve expected to, and I felt that everyone there was very respectful of this rule and of others’ personal space (the saunas can get crowded!).
There’s no explanation of the different rooms, you just go in and see what you like. Personally I loved alternating between the cedar sauna, the aromatic steam rooms and the ice pool. Upstairs, the roof deck is also a bit dingy but I actually felt like it was a nice spot to wind down and breathe in some fresh, crisp, autumn air before finally checking out. You’re allowed to bring food and drink up here from the main floor, and I noticed another guest enjoying a bottle of champagne while reading a book, which I wanna remember to do next time!
After leaving, my skin felt cleansed, the pores of my face cleared, and my muscles relaxed. I only got to spend an hour and a half on this visit, but it was still worth it. If you plan to go, strive to make it maybe a 3 hour visit to fully enjoy the experience. I’ve already bought a pass to go back again, and I can’t wait!

The Russian tells you to lie down. He tells you not to touch the wall. His expression doesn’t change. It’s so hot that breathing is difficult, and it’s a strange kind of relief when he throws the towel over your head and face. He’s just doused it in freezing water but within seconds it’s heated through. That’s when the Russian gets to work.
Later he beckons you out of the pool with the surety of a conqueror. You toddle up the stairs to meet him. The towel goes over your head again, and when he removes it you are nose to nose and his eyes are ice blue and suddenly his face crinkles in a brief smile and it is more intimate than any sex act. You drift over to a bench. It’s that instant — you know the one — where reality slides away and everything is liquid. You are no longer corporeal, and you are entirely corporeal. Jean comes along and entire civilisations rise and fall in the time it takes you to lift your head a fraction to meet his gaze. He laughs with genuine delight and gives you a high-​five. «I wish you could see your face right now!»
***
I first came here in 2013 along with one of the roommates of my Airbnb host; she was a Somali girl, a stone fox, and the guy who brought us was clearly interested in her. I forget how she knew him. As part of his seduction mechanism he paid our admission, and he paid for us to have the platza. This is where you’re led into a dark room with stone walls and a furnace, the hottest room of your life; and you’re laid out on a bench and then soaped up and soaped down and more or less beaten with an oak branch while being stretched and manipulated every which way in front of disinterested onlookers who periodically wander over to a well and douse themselves in cold water. Afterwards you’re strongly encouraged to take a dip in a freezing pool. It was overall kind of terrifying, like something from Dante — or more accurately what I imagine Dante is like — and I honestly thought I might suffocate under my soapy face towel; and yet the following year when I was back in the city I brought a mate here and impassively watched her have the exact same experience complete with fear of death. When it was my turn I was way more relaxed about it, because I knew what to expect. Viktor, our masseuse, seemed amused by us. («Are you dead?» he asked my friend at one point. «Yes,» she told him.) It is basically the best thing you can do for yourself; afterwards you will feel more relaxed than you’ve felt in your whole life, and you’ll only want to eat clean and never again pollute your body with things like burgers and fries and hot fudge sundaes; and you’ll want to work out ²⁴⁄₇ so you can rock a bikini at the bathhouse and not care. I hadn’t packed a bikini so my airbnb host dinked me up Broadway on the handlebars of his cruiser so that I could buy one from H&M. New York City, man.
Somewhere along the way I was told that the business is co-​owned by two Russian families who years ago had a falling out, and rather than sell the business they alternate weeks managing it. Admissions are only valid during weeks where the business is run by the family whom you made the purchase from. At reception you’ll be given a lock and key, and the number will correspond to a locker but this system isn’t heaps obvious when you’re a rookie and you’re bound to mess up and pick any old locker to begin with. It seems like the dodgiest place on the planet, and in the changing/​locker room it feels like the walls are made of bedsheets and you better be comfortable getting stark naked in front of other people of your sex, but I can guarantee that it’s legit. If you don’t want the platza (but seriously, have the platza) you can just enjoy the regular sauna and steam rooms, which are various degrees of hot. It will rank as one of the more interesting experiences you can have in a city of interesting experiences.

This place has been around for so long that it may as well be a historical landmark. I was kindly informed a brief history of the place while experiencing my first legit Russian Bath house in one of the lower intensity Finnish cherry wood sauna rooms by a regular patron to the establishment. Apparently J Lo met P. Diddy here and Colin Ferrell is still a regular. The rest of his story was a blur as I dripped out all of the alcohol I consumed the previous night, any residue makeup, and the bagel I had that morning along with 4 thousand gallons of water. If you want to feel purified and like someone squeezed you like a ripe naval orange on a juicer, this is your thing. I mostly went because my Russian friend convinced me and there was a Groupon coupon for a discounted daily purchase on 2 day passes. So, I will inevitably be back. However, the guest passes were only applicable for a David Day. I was told that if I was new to Russian/​Turkish saunas I should not attend a Boris day unless I want to die. Boris tends to make the temperatures a wee bit significantly hotter.
When you first arrive, you check in any valuables and collect a lock for a locker. Don’t worry about your wallet, if you want to purchase anything it is put onto your locker number as a deposit you pay at the end. Grab a black cloth robe and a towel and head off to the changing rooms. I hear the womens are significantly smaller than the mens’ rooms. There are beds in the mens’ chambers. The womens you are basically changing in a dirty tiny closet of lockers with a single mirror. It’s okay though, this is only the in and out part of the whole experience.
Once done, you head downstairs in your swimsuit (most likely) unless you are bold and adventurous and decided to flash your nether bits and doo dads under the tiny cloth robes to everyone in your presence. Yes, you will see some small amounts of nakedness here. I opted to wear a suit. There are 3 sauna like rooms. The one I had mentioned earlier, the Turkish room which is significantly hotter. So hot that after two minutes inside I had to dunk my entire head in the available water hose hanging from the ceiling. Then there is the Russian room, which unfortunately was closed for renovations. Maybe some day I will learn what it means to die of heat exhaustion and feel true pain and pleasure. It is the hottest of the rooms and I hear barely tolerable. It is also the room in which if you want to pay extra to get a massage you can do so (beating all over your body with a large pile of twigs and leaves that smell very aromatic and are called a Venik). I hear its something like a cross between feeling cleansed and amazing as well as suffocating at the same time. A little too apprehensive to try that one quite yet.
There is a pool of ice cold water to refresh yourself. I could only go so far as knee deep in before having to run out. I know, pathetic. There are also two more rooms — a Swedish spa — this one is more steamy and misty and at a much lower temperature. You’ll get pretty soaked in here. Not my favorite of the bunch even though I am Swedish and partial to Swedish things. And finally the Aromatherapy room that smells insanely strong of Eucalyptus. If you are feeling sick and want those nasal passages cleared up, hang out in here for a few minutes. Dude, the room smells like vapor rub. Interesting again but I think my favorite room out of all of them was the lowest intensity Redwood hot sauna.
If you go upstairs there is a roof area where you can lie down and recover from this entire experience with some fresh air. The place provides mud masks or you can bring your own. There is also a food café area where you can purchase over-​proofed Russian beers and a variety of treats like pierogi. Nom. Overall, my experience and thoughts on this place are two thumbs up and 4.5 stars. My tolerance for enduring the heats are pretty low but I feel this place could be more fun with the right company.

Yo the people who work at this place are mad weird. They harass you for a membership even when you already said «NO» twice. The guys who give massage walk around harassing you for massages. It’s weird when a Russian guy says he can make you feel good. Not sure when the place got its last inspection but it’s mad dirty.

Espero pronto ir a este lugar

Ganz ehrlich? Nääääääää! Mir fehlten nach meinem Besuch echt die Worte… Wer schon mal in einem deutschen Hamam war, wird von den Zuständen des «Health Clubs» geschockt sein. So wie ich.
Es fängt schon beim Betreten des Gebäudes an: Im Hausflur muss man sich an Farbeimern und sonstigen Gerätschaften vorbei quetschen, um die winzige Tür zu den Bädern zu betreten. Dann die nächste Verwirrung: Anstatt in einen Wellnesbereich einzutreten stehe ich, ja wo stehe ich eigentlich? In einem Deli?!? Jedenfalls werden hier Sandwiches und Säfte verkauft und es liegen säckeweise Karotten rum. Dahinter sehe ich schon die ersten Menschen in Bikini und Badehose. Dubios, dubios. Aber egal, nicht abschrecken lassen! Mit meinen beiden Freundinnen checken wir ein und lassen unsere Wertsachen in den Schliessfächern an der Kasse. Deswegen konnte ich auch leider keine Bilder von den Räumlichkeiten machen aber glaubt mir, das war echt Slapstick und weit Entfernt von Wellness!
Die Umkleidekabinen (direkt hinter der Sandwich-​Bude) sind winzig (vllt 8qm?) und dreckig. Selbst mit Flip Flops hab ich hier schon Angst mir was zu holen. Dann geht´s die Treppe runter und es wird nicht besser… Viel zu viele Menschen auf zu wenig Platz, extrem heruntergekommene Einrichtung… Sch***, so hatte ich mir das nicht vorgestellt. Aber nun gut, wir haben jeder 35Dollar Eintritt bezahlt und ich will wenigstens eine Massage (kostet noch mal 55Dollar) haben. Eine Angestellte kommt auf uns zu und fragt in gebrochenem Englisch ob wir eine Behandlung wollen. Ja, wollen wir. Die beiden anderen Mädels entscheiden sich für das Ganzkörper Peeling mit Meersalz, ich hätte einfach gerne eine Massage. «You are 3? 3 people? Only 2 people here working today but Victor can take care of both of you. Victor very strong! Come, come.» Aha!
An dieser Stelle hatte ich die Hoffnung auf Entspannung bereits aufgegeben und bin eher wegen des Unterhaltungsfaktors geblieben. Und der war hoch. Wir wurden in 3 Metallboxen geführt die im Durchgang zwischen den Saunas standen. Natürlich oben und unten offen, damit man auch von draussen alles mitbekommt. Das scheppernde Geräusch wenn die Putzfrau mit ihrem Wagen vorbei kommt um die dreckigen Hantücher einzusammeln, möchte man schliesslich nicht verpassen. Dann, Auftritt Victor: Er deutet auf die Liege und sagt mir ich solle schon mal entspannen, er würde gleich wieder kommen. Dann geht er in die Kabine nebenan und beginnt mit dem Peeling meiner Freundin, er ist ja stark und kann uns beide versorgen…
Während ich versuche mich zu entspannen, checke ich den Raum ab. Besonders beängstigend finde ich den riesigen rostigen Nagel der direkt über meinem Kopf aus der Decke guckt. Relax! Aber auch der Gartenschlauch in der Ecke erinnert eher an Folterkammer als an Spa. Naja, wenn mir der Nagel den Kopf spalten sollte, kann Victor wenigstens gleich die Schweinerei abspritzen. Wie auf´s Stichwort kommt Victor rein und ich bin gespannt auf meine Massage. Doch stattdessen sagt er nur: «You want salt scrub, ja?» Und bevor ich etwas sagen kann bekomme ich einen Eimer Meersalz übergekippt. Soso, also doch keine Massage. Mittlerweile lache ich mich innerlich schon schlapp und schreibe in Gedanken meinen Unilocal Beitrag. Das «Nice, nice… very nice» von Victor während er mich einreibt, möchte ich euch natürlich nicht vorenthalten. Was zur Hölle ist hier eigentlich los?! Naja, lange Rede kurzer Sinn nachdem meine eine Seite eingerubbelt war verschwand Victor in der Kabine nebenan um meine Freundin einzusalzen (nice, nice), dann kam er wieder, rubbelte meine andere Seite ein und zum Schluss wurde ich tatsächlich mit dem Schlauch abgespritzt. Das Ganze dauerte statt der angekündigten halben Stunde nur 20 Minuten, kostete dafür aber den vollen Preis. Ach ja, und ich durfte mich natürlich noch selbst vom grandiosen Peeling Ergebnis überzeugen in dem ich meinen Bauch und meine Beine streicheln sollte. «Nice, nice, touch, touch». Danke, aber nie wieder!

Very dirty and very old.
I was also disappointed because there were no baths, except for a cold one, only saunas. For those who expect a Japanese onsen or a Korean bath, do not go there.
I have no idea if Turkish or Russian baths are supposed to be so dirty or to have only one bath but I do not think so.
But, staff is nice and nice roof top to go to after a very hot saunas.