• Home
  • About
    • Link Love
  • Press
  • Contact

A New York City Health and Beauty Blog

A day at Spa Castle in New York City!

March 12, 2012

Since it was my birthday I wanted to take a trip to the spa but I also wanted to spend time with my family. With a couple of clicks on Google I located Spa Castle in College Point. Spa Castle is a five-story and 100,000 square foot facility that is a combination of an Asian sauna and a European day spa; there are also locations in Texas and in the Poconos, PA.

The facility has several wet and dry saunas, indoor and outdoor pools, a lounge area with televisions, kiddie pools, waterfalls, foot and body massage pools, a Hinoki bath, a full service spa and several other amenities. The facility is also open year round, even on holidays and is family friendly. I was pretty excited that I could enjoy a day at the spa with my family and to try some of their many saunas.

I started with the Ice Land cold sauna room which is said to improve blood circulation and the strengthen the immune system. I’m a Summer lover so I only stayed in this room for about two minutes before I had to leave. It was way too cold! Cool concept though.

Ice Land Spa at Spa Castle
Ice Land Cold Sauna

The Jade Sauna is was particularly intriguing to me because it’s covered in crystals and gemstones, which I love because I collect and work with crystals myself. Jade contains calcium and magnesium which emit infrared healing rays known to do wonders for your whole body in including self-healing and releasing toxins.

Jade Sauna
Jade Sauna

The facility also has an L.E.D sauna room that uses color therapy to promote well-being; a gold sauna room to help balance your mind, body and soul; a Himalayan Salt sauna room where the benefits of this natural mineral are said to regulate blood pressure and water throughout your body, reducing signs of aging and promoting optimum blood sugar level and a Loess Soil sauna room with natural herbs to promote relaxation.

Red L.E.D. Light Therapy
Red L.E.D Light Therapy

The facility is lovely, there are a lot of sauna options, pool options and several facilities to eat at. I was a bit surprised at how crowded the spa was for a Sunday. It’s not really a zen-like facility, it’s literally buzzing with energy and lots of families with children of all ages. So if you visit this facility just be aware that there is a lot of activity going on all the time. A day at this spa costs $45 per person, including children over the age of two and there are lots of add-ons; for example flotation devices for children are $4 to use for the day, food is a bit pricy considering the neighborhood – a personal pan pizza for two and a side of fries cost $26. The facility does have a bar if you really want to relax but I elected not to since I was with my little one.

My son loved the facility more than me and I think most kids would. It’s like a water play land with lot of pool areas and what kid doesn’t love splashing around in the water for a few hours?

Jacob at Spa Castle
My youngest son Jacob

I feel that Spa Castle is a great choice for families with children but I wouldn’t really recommend it for couples looking for a romantic time. Yes, I’m a mom and I love kids but screaming toddlers really do not make for a romantic experience. Overall it was a really fun time and I’d highly recommend visiting this facility especially in the summer; it was a little too cool for me to enjoy the outdoor pool. And make sure that you arrive early because the spa can get super crowded in the afternoon.

Have you visited Spa Castle?

3 Comments
Filed Under: Beauty Tagged: family friendly spa, New York City Spa, spa castle

Spa Castle: Maybe Not Technically a Spa, But Completely Awesome

May 25, 2011

If you’ve ever taken a Lamaze class, you’ve experienced the concept of the “happy place,” an imaginary perfect-location in your head to which you retreat to manage potential unpleasantness. Mine was always a open-facility spa that had amazing little pools all over the place on the top of a mountain, but thinking of it made me feel conflicted because it didn’t, to my knowledge, exist.

Then I read about Spa Castle. It took me eons to find a willing companion to go with me out to Queens (Queens!) to visit the spa wonderland, but I finally influenced my cousin Tricia. One caveat, though- while Spa Castle has some spa-like elements, this isn’t a Mandarin Oriental or even an Oasis. It’s an open admission Korean-style bathhouse, known also as a jjimjilbang.

If you’re into this sort of thing, you will probably be jealous to learn that such places are a staple of Korean life. This is how it works- $35 ($45 on weekends) gains you admission for the day. At the door, you receive an electronic wristlet similar to a watch. And you check your modesty, figuratively.

The first area you enter is the locker rooms, and if you’re not accustomed to nudity, brace yourself. Your new bracelet opens a locker, and you go to the locker room check in for a uniform. (Bring a bathing suit.) Attire can be a bit awkward, because it’s mostly nude on the ground floor, uniforms on the second, and bathing suits through the rest- which means a lot of peeling off wet somethings-or-other.

To the right, after you strip, is a big room with four baths in the center. Lining the walls are more pools, including an icy 54 degree plunge pool, and several massage stalls. There are also showers, seated and standing, and an area for the infamous full-body scrubs. This room is entirely nude, no bathing suits allowed, and looks somewhat like an ancient Greek painting. (No pictures permitted, for obvious reasons.)

As an esthetician, states of undress are not unsettling to me, but it still took a good half hour to get used to the idea. We held off on the locker room and went to the main floor, which houses a sushi bar, salad bar, a Starbucks, and several treatment areas. Treatments here are pricey, and we skipped them, but there is a full range of mani/pedi and massage services.

Also on the main floor is part of Spa Castle’s charm- a Hobbit-like village of saunas. I’m a water person, and as such didn’t spend too much time here. The saunas include an infrared lounge area, a gold-lined spa, an ice room, and a LED color sauna. There is a heated floor on which you can pass out quietly for as long as you’d like.

Heading up the stairs, there is another quiet, nap-inducing room with several soft recliners, each with a personal TV. These are almost always full, but the dark room is very tempting. At the top of the stairs is an incongruous, baseball-game like snack stand with corn dogs and baked eggs, but to the right is a full bar. Like treatments, drinks are also a bit steep, though not out of line with clubs- $8 for beers, and $14 for frozen drinks like Mai Tais.

This floor has pools similar to those in the locker room, but the area is co-ed, so if you go with a date, you may spend a lot of time here. Also, there is a swim up bar, which is pretty awesome. But just outside the door is the Bade Pool, Spa Castle’s crowning glory. It may be a rooftop in Flushing rather than the top of an Alpine mountain, but it’s pretty amazing.

The Bade Pool has two halves, and is open year-round. (During my first visit, in January, it was snowing and magical.) There are keys that explain what each set of massage stalls does, but part of the fun is trying them all out. To the right, a series of high-powered “waterfalls” allow for a hands-off massage, and to the far left, a wood-lined jacuzzi is usually crowded but not un-relaxing.

If you’re looking to relax, unwind and be pampered in quiet, Spa Castle may not be for you. But if you want a fun, social and spa-like experience, Spa Castle is perfect for events or a mini-getaway.

Have you been to Spa Castle? Would you go back?

4 Comments
Filed Under: Beauty Tagged: spa castle, spa castle new york, spa castle pictures, spa castle review, spa reviews, spas

Road Tested Self-Tanners, Perfect For Sundress Weather

May 12, 2011

By my calculations, it’s about two weeks and four days until the annual “oh, my God, I’m really pale” panic sets in. No matter what tone your skin is naturally, chances are around the start of June you just start feeling a bit pasty and wan. It seems the anticipation of summer blends with rapidly decreasing hem lengths to create a perfect storm of tan-frenzy.

As a NW15, I know the prospect of self tanner can be a bit like gambling- except when you lose a bet, you don’t have to have splotchy skin for a few days. The days of SPF 5 may be over, but no matter your natural skin tone, you can get a golden glow with a few simple tricks and tools.

1.) Exfoliate super thoroughly: This is something that most people learn from experience the first time- few things alert you to how much more thoroughly you can slough off dead skin than a newly-applied tanning gel or creme. Scrubs are good, but for ultimate precision, scrub gloves create an even, exfoliated service. (Or if you’re in the mood for a service, the scrubs at awesomest-place-ever Spa Castle are legendary.)

2.) Not every tanner works for every skin type: …however, fairer-skinned girls can get away with cutting pretty much any self-tanner with moisturizer for a more natural glow. It’s tempting to reach for the darkest formula first, but intense formulas on light skin can cause a jarring, orangey brown look that is especially noticable in photos. St. Tropez’s Bronzing Lotion is strong but a true brown, free of carroty hues. They even have a Tan Remover for slip-ups.

3.) Try to mimic the sun: Eyelids, the backs of hands and toes are all a bit tricky when it comes to a good home self-tan, and it’s always hard to reach your back. Invest in some good, tight latex gloves for accuracy, and blend out toward your back with a little lotion to avoid streaks. When applying product to your face, take care to avoid eyelids and diligently attack cheekbones and the bridge of your nose, where color naturally concentrates.

4.) Think outside the bottle: When self-tanner first came back, it was mainly lotions and mousses. Now several awesome options exist to tan like the pros at home. Sheer Tan has a nice wand-inclusive design that makes hard to reach areas less fussy, and ModelCo Airbrush Tan in a Can creates an even, realistic bronze tone on skin. (Be careful of splatters and errant sprays with home spray-tanning products.)

5.) Adjust and maintain: One of the best ways to call attention to an awesome tan is by adjusting your makeup. A peachy blush like MAC Peaches enhances even the slightest glow, and gold-themed shadows like Bobbi Brown’s Metallic Eyeshadow in Gold compliment freshly bronzed skin.

Have you mastered the perfect at-home tan? What gives you a realistic, sun-kissed glow?

3 Comments
Filed Under: Beauty Tagged: Bobbi Brown, bronzer, exfoliation, MAC, self-tanning, sheer tan, spa castle, st tropez bronzing lotion, tan in a can, tan remover

Sponsors

cheap nail polish

Search

Awards

View this SkinnyScoop List
Top 100 Beauty & Fashion Blogs of 2012 by Skincare-news.com

EverydaySale.co.uk

Subscribe Via Email

Enter your email address:


Delivered by FeedBurner

Lipstick and Luxury Archives

Networks





Beauty Blogs - BlogCatalog Blog Directory



POPSUGAR Select Beauty




Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2023

Copyright © 2023 · Classy Ink Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in