What Makes It Special
This is one of the oldest bathhouses in the United States, running in the East Village since 1892, back when the neighbourhood's tenements had no private baths. It has stayed gloriously low-frills while the city changed around it. The draw is the Russian Room: a cellar lined with tons of rock heated overnight, so dense and radiant it is one of the hottest public rooms in the country. You roast, you dunk in the ice plunge, you flop in the common room over borscht. It is a New York institution, not a wellness brand.
A no-frills East Village banya running since 1892. A brutal, brilliant rock-heated Russian Room, an ice plunge, and the platza oak-leaf treatment. Open 365 days a year.
What to Expect
A basement maze of heat rooms with a deliberately rough, old-world feel. The famous Russian Room is heated by rock baked overnight and is punishingly hot. There is a Turkish steam room, a Finnish sauna, an aromatherapy room, a redwood sauna, and an ice-cold plunge pool. Order a platza, an oak-leaf beating that sounds worse than it is, and a scrub. Some hours are co-ed with shorts required, some are men-only or women-only, so check the day. The feel is communal and unpolished. Bring nothing precious.
At a Glance
Highlights
- +Running since 1892, one of the oldest US bathhouses
- +The rock-heated Russian Room, one of the hottest public rooms in the country
- +Ice plunge and the platza oak-leaf treatment
- +Co-ed and single-sex hours
- +Open 365 days a year
Good to Know
- −It is old and basic by design. This is not a polished spa.
- −The schedule mixes co-ed and single-sex hours. Check before you go.
- −It gets crowded and loud on weekends.
- −Prices do not include tax and card fees.
Practical Information
- Admission
- Single admission $60 (plus tax and card fees). Multi-visit packages from $250 for five.
- Hours
- Open 365 days a year. Roughly noon to 10 PM on weekdays, opening 9 to 10 AM on weekends, with some single-sex hours. Check the schedule before you go.
- Dress Code
- mixed
- Towel Policy
- Mostly co-ed with some men-only and women-only hours. Shorts or swimwear in co-ed sessions. The baths provide shorts, a robe, a towel and slippers.
Best For
Travellers who want the real, gritty New York banya rather than a designed wellness club. Heat-seekers who want one of the hottest rooms in the country. Anyone who likes their bathhouse communal, old, and a little rough around the edges.
Insider Tips
Check the co-ed versus single-sex schedule for your day before arriving.
Try a platza at least once. It is the signature treatment.
They provide shorts, robe, towel and slippers, so you can arrive empty-handed.
Go on a weekday afternoon for space in the Russian Room.
Stay for food in the common room. The borscht and tea are part of it.