Ok, I'll start from the beginning. While trying to figure out what to do last Sunday my boyfriend suggested checking out this place he saw on Groupon called Spa World. It's a Korean spa out in Centreville, VA, about 20 minutes away. We looked at the website and it seemed really awesome. ( www.spaworldusa.com ) It boasted all of these different Poultice rooms and a massive pool area with jets, jacuzzis, waterfalls and saunas-- all for a $35 general admission. The general admission gets you up to 24 consecutive hours worth of spa use as well. We went to Yelp and read all of the reviews of the place. It had great reviews, but mentioned the fact that nakedness in the pool area was mandatory. Well, we took a couple of hours to decide if we wanted to go and decided it would be worth it despite the awkward naked part. (Thanks in part to the fact that I wasn't having a "I feel fat" day.)
When you get there you pay the general admission fee and sign up for any spa services you want (or you can sign up later) and then they give you a uniform -of a thick karate uniform style material- consisting of a short sleeved shirt and shorts. Women wore orange uniforms, men wore yellow uniforms and children wore bright orange uniforms. They also give you an electronic key that is attached to a bracelet that is used for your shoe locker and your clothes locker. The key is also waterproof so you can get in the pool with it and it is used as as sort of a credit card if you want to purchase food or spa services.
First you open your shoe locker out in the entry way and put your shoes in it. Then you walk barefoot to the men and women's separate locker rooms. There you can either change into your uniform and head to the unisex common area, or get naked and get in the pool area that is attached to either locker room. I figured I'd get in the pool first. My boyfriend opted for the common area.
So, when I got in the pool area I saw about 10 showers lined up on the wall (with shampoo, soap and conditioner provided), a really big pool area in the middle, two jacuzzis and an ice bath in the back, a massage area on the far right, and this area where women were bathing while sitting on stools. I found out later from someone I talked to at the spa that the bathing area where women were bathing on little stools is actually a traditionally Asian way to bathe instead of using a shower. Over to the left was a dry sauna, a wet sauna, a "sunflower shower," and a drying-off area. There were signs that said you had to shower or bathe before entering the pool, so I did. I opted for the shower instead of the sitting area. Then I got in the pool, which is called a Bade pool. It was really relaxing and had waterfalls and jets in different areas around the pool. After about 30 minutes of the Bade pool and jacuzzi I went to change into my uniform and head to the unisex common area.
The unisex common area has a large open space in the middle with mats on the ground, televisions on the wall, a juice bar off to the side and a small restaurant. This is also where all of the Poultice rooms are. There are 7 Poultice rooms with descriptions of what they are supposed to do to you:
In the rooms there are little wooden blocks for you to lay your head on or softer "pillows." You can use these to lay down in the rooms or sit with your legs crossed. Each room had an electronic thermometer on top of the door that told you how hot or cold the room was. I liked to go into a few hot rooms and get a good sweat on and then cool down in the Ice Room.
After checking out a few rooms we took a break and had a smoothie from the juice bar. Then we went back and tried out some more Poultice rooms. We took another break and ate dinner in the restaurant. I had a sushi roll and my boyfriend had some sort of soup with beef and noodles. Both were very good. Then we decided to get a foot and leg massage. Off to the sides of the common room were two sets of stairs. The stairs to the left led to a men's sleeping room, a really wonderful workout room (that I hope to use on my next visit) and an arcade. On the right was the spa services room where you can get massages in individual rooms, body scrubs, hand and foot massages, manicures, pedicures, waxing, etc. We both got 30 minute foot massages for $45- tip included. It was by far the best foot massage I've ever had, and I highly recommend it. After that we relaxed for a little while longer and then headed home. We ended up spending about 4 hours at the spa- although next time I'd like to make it an all day event. It was an awesome experience and I can't wait to go back.
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