Spa Castle features an outdoor deck with numerous pools to relax in
131-10 11th Ave., College Point, Queens
Monday – Friday, $35; Saturday – Sunday, $45
718-939-6300
www.nyspacastle.com
You’ve heard the rumors about an amazing Korean spa in Queens, and we’re here to tell you that they’re absolutely true. Spa Castle, previously known as InSpa, is a treat for all five senses. The massive 100,000-square-foot complex in College Point features five floors of heated baths, pools, waterfalls, saunas, food and drink, massage, a sleep area, and more. Upon entering the facility, men and women are separated, given shorts and a T-shirt (don’t forget to bring your own bathing suit to wear underneath), and begin their journey stark naked in Healing Rooms (one for women, one for men) filled with multiple pools of water of varying temperatures, from cool to more than a hundred degrees. Men can also take a seat and give themselves a shave. After that, you head upstairs and proceed at your own pace, stopping off in an outdoor bade pool, holding on as powerful aqua jets shoot against your back and shoulders, letting a powerful surge of water fall down from above on your head and body, relaxing in a soothing Hinoki bath made from three-hundred-year-old pine, getting a foot or full-body massage (for an additional fee), or taking a nap in a dark room with comfortable lounge chairs (and, for some reason, individual televisions, which are not extremely helpful if you’re trying to sleep and the person next to you is watching some stupid program).
Healing saunas range from boiling hot to freezing cold at Spa Castle
The second floor is sauna heaven: seven saunas of varying sizes and styles. Each of the saunas is lined with different rocks, minerals, and other materials — from gold, jade, and salt to natural herbs, infrared, and ice — with unique properties that help promote the mind-body connection in different ways, working on circulation, breathing, blood pressure, the immune system, digestion, muscle fatigue, and other physical and psychological life energies. Even light and color come into play as healing methods. After that, you can grab a cocktail in the Aqua Bar or sit down for a fine Korean meal in the Sky Restaurant while looking down on people in the outdoor pool section or gazing upon the Whitestone Bridge in the distance. We actually prefer going in the wintertime, letting the freezing-cold air stab at your body as you move from pool to pool on the outdoor deck, making your ultimate immersion that much more satisfying. It’s best to go by car; otherwise, you have to meet up in a parking lot in Queens, where a too-small shuttle can only take so many people at a time, and it’s a free-for-all, with no line, just everyone pushing one another out of the way to get in first. Returning is a similar experience as well. It’s also much more crowded on weekends and holidays, when children are running around everywhere, so plan accordingly. The basics are a mere $35 Monday through Friday, with food, drink, the workout room, and massage extra. You pay via a plastic band you wear on your wrist, which also operates the aqua jets (at no extra charge). You really will feel like a king or queen at Spa Castle, a glorious way to spend a day and feel like you’re a million miles away from the maelstrom of the big city.