Brooklyn Banya Is The Best Russian Bathhouse in Brooklyn!
Come spend the day in a Traditional Russian Baths. Relax and Enjoy our luxurious 10,000 sq foot facility. Sweat all your cares away in one of our Authentic Russian saunas and steam room, take a dunk in pool, relax in our therapeutic Jacuzzi, experience a traditional Platska (birch leaves treatment) try our signature vishy shower body scrub or a heavenly massage, or just lounge around the pool doing nothing all day. In Brooklyn Banya you carve out your own expirience. Do what makes you feel good! And after all that sweating, detoxing & relaxing walking out of Brooklyn Banya will leave you feeling ten years younger renewed and re-energized with skin soft and smooth as a new born. You will promise yourself to come back!
A guide for the banya newbie:
Brooklyn Banya is a special place. Has its own vibe. It’s not a spa. Those who come here seeking major pampering might be disappointed. Come in with the intention of pampering yourself, and carving out your own experience, and you will probably walk away feeling great. It’s just that kind-of place. super cozy.
If you’ve never been to a banya, here’s how it generally seems to go:
1) you check in and pay your admission. In a plastic bag you hand over your valuables to someone who locks them in a little safe. This is where people start to get nervous. Do not worry, I am here to tell you that your iPhone and wallet are safe. This is how it’s done. This system instantly allows you to have a line of credit, to eat, drink, tip, whatever service you might want you pay at the end.
.(Hint: If it’s your birthday, let us know.) We “LOVE” Birthdays!
2) You’re issued a lock and a key, go to the locker room of your gender and change into your bathing suit, locking the rest of your things away. Locker/restroom is very big, clean, and the lockers can fit everything you’ve been lugging around with you all day. There are showers, soap, and if you need shampoo or conditioner just ask at the desk. We recommend you bring your own favorite products.
People credit Banyas with curing all of there body issues in about 5 minutes. Its just that kind of place!
3) You can either bring your own flip flops (recommended ) we do not have loaners or spend $3 for a brand new pair. Head to the main pool area and pick up a provided towel. Brooklyn Banya lets you take two, and more if you need them. we don’t police the towel area, we just want you to conserve energy.
From there, it’s choose your own adventure:
Do you start out with a nice steam, a dunk in a pool, a hot/wet sauna, or sit in the hot tub for a bit? Yes, the tub is supposed to be very hot, and yes the pull-chain shower is supposed to be very cold, but what is unique about our Banya, as opposed to others, is there are lots of options for in-between temperatures. There’s a tepid pool (traditionally, it’s ice cold) and also temperature controlled showers on the main floor. Besides being a really social activity, the point of visiting a banya is to move your body from temperature to temperature based on the age-old Russian theories that doing so will increase circulation and raise your body’s immunity to sickness & give all your enternal organs a spring cleaning!
I can’t really testify to the physiology, but I do know that after visiting our banya, if you really do it right, you will feel as if you’ve spent hours giving yourself a massage.
The facilities are very clean–The cleanest of all the Banyas , and the staff works really hard to keep it that way. We take great pride and care in what we do.
Here are some things that may make your time at Brooklyn Banya more enjoyable, if you know them up-front:
a) The business is exploding. This is a mixed bag. Brooklyn Banya Is trying to cope with lots of new customers and language barriers. Be patient, but not passive. Russian idea of customer service is very diffrent from Americanm. The business is changing, and the staff is getting their footing.
b) At some point in the sauna, you will see people beating one another with leafy birch branches. This is normal, enjoyable, and also supposedly increases circulation. It definitely exfoliates. If you want you can buy a your own Venik(oak leaves) and whip your friends with it! We sell them at the front desk for $20. Or you can expirience the real deal from our very own “ PLATSKA MAN “ for $30
c) You will occasionally see fragments of birch leaves floating in the pool or hot tub. It’s just what happens.
d) The Restaurant: Always ask about our specials .The really good stuff is on the menu and authentical Russian. Pickle plates, borcht, blintzes with caviar and a large pile of garlic potatoes, home made dumplings, SO GOOD! Everything on our manu is cooked with love!
If nothing else do try a pot of black tea with honey and cherries its what we do. So Russian!
e) Drink water the whole time. And when not in the pool or the hot tub, keep a towel around your head to help regulate your body’s temperature. This protects you from turning into a giant blob of jelly after only an hour into your visit and helps keep you hydrated. Now its time to get BANYA –GIZED ! Please let me know how your experience was!
Facilities and Services Includes: Saunas. Steam Room. Pool. Jacuzzi. Men’s & Women’s showers/locker area. Sundeck and a Restaurant. we provide Towels.
Massages $95an hour. $45 half hour. Platska $30. Body Scrubs treatments $40 & up.