King Spa and Sauna, Niles, IL - Review

When you walk into King Spa and Sauna, it is clear this is a Korean owned and operated facility. The first clue? Signs are in Korean, with English translations. It's like you've left America and entered a portal to a Korean sanctuary...

This is a review of King Spa and Sauna located in Niles, IL, a Chicago suburb. I go to this sauna regularly, almost monthly.  I've been to its sister facility in Dallas once, and haven't been to the NJ sauna yet. Let's begin with ratings. Here is how I would rate the Chicago facility in each of these ten categories (five stars = excellent):

1 / Website
2 / Feeling of safety in the spa
3 / Cleanliness
4 / Organization of facility
5 / Signage in spa

6 / English language capability of:
General and service staff 
Front desk staff 
7 / Service providers (promptness, competence and professionalism)
8 / Quality of services
9 / Quality of saunas and amenities
10 / Quality of overall experience


This place is what Koreans call a Jjimjilbang - a large, gender-segregated public bath and sauna complex. Maybe the closest kind of American establishment would be a day spa. Jjimjilbangs are everywhere in Korea. They are furnished with showers, hot tubs, Finnish-style sauna rooms and massage rooms. Jjimjil comes from the word meaning heated bath.  [Note:  Many facilities like this exist in Japan too; some are public baths while others offer reasonably priced sauna and massage services.]

Sauna Room

Jjimjilbangs in Korea typically have male-only and female only locker rooms and an adjoining room with several pools or baths, showers, a steam sauna, and a service area for wet body scrubs. In addition to the male-only and female-only locker rooms and baths, there is a large public area. It has a food court, a wide-screen TV, lots of lounge chairs, themed sauna rooms decorated with unique motifs, and heated floors. Some have exercise rooms. Usually Jjimjilbangs will have various rooms with different temperatures. The decor incorporates earthy materials like wood, salt, amethyst, quartz and charcoal that give the spa a natural, calming ambiance.

Public Area

Most Jjimjilbangs are open 24 hours. Why does the facility offer recliners and mats that allow you to stretch out and take a nap or even sleep overnight? In Korean city centers, where a great number of these facilities exist, people working or celebrating late stay overnight at Jjimjilbangs after mass transit has stopped running and they can't get back to their suburban homes. This facility is an affordable option for a short term stay that offers a bath or shower, a place to rest, even a meal.

Dining Room

So everything I've just described as a typical Jjimjilbang is what you'll find at King Spa and Sauna. Enter this domain and simply leave the world outside for awhile. You can bathe, get an acupressure massage and/or body scrub, zone out in the sauna rooms, watch some TV or movies, and have something to eat and drink at the food court. King Spa has a nice variety of hot made-to-order Korean and Chinese dishes, Japanese bento boxes, and fresh fruit smoothies.  (Water is free at all times.) Feeling like you need to catch up on sleep? Take a nap, or doze off for a good long time if you want to. If you'd like to stay overnight, you can. Special services and food will cost extra but are optional.

The mostly Korean staff is polite and friendly. Your best English exchange will be at the front desk, where they have one or two young people with excellent English skills ready to extend a welcome and check you in. After that though, English communication can be a challenge. Be ready to receive very little English language help, directions or explanations.

Asian culture greets you everywhere in this establishment. Once you've paid the $25 entry fee, good for 24 hours, you receive a plastic bracelet with a number on it and a key attached. The number is important. Your personal lockers have this number on it. You'll also use this number to "charge" any food or special services you buy. You'll settle up your bill at the front desk as you're about to leave.  [Note:  Beginning on October 1, 2013, the admission fee will be raised from $25 to $30]

Gender-Specific Locker Room

Bracelets in hand, men and woman go their separate ways to a gender-specific locker room. Before entering, select your King Spa uniform, a cotton shirt and long shorts that come to the knee. Different sizes (S, M(/L), XL) are available. You will then lock up your shoes in a shoe locker, using the key on your bracelet to secure it. The key also opens a similar numbered locker in the locker/changing room. In the locker/changing room you will see an attendant standing by a computerized reservation desk. This is where you book "wet bath" spa services such as a full body scrub.

If you book a wet full body scrub, they will tell you the time your service will start. It is usually within a half hour of the booking. If you want to enter the wet baths first, you will disrobe completely, lock up your belongings in your numbered locker, grab a small towel and enter the adjoining wet bath room. You will take a shower with soap, as is the rule before entering the baths.  You may want to bring a small bag with your own soap and sponge. Otherwise, just use the soap dispenser at each shower bay. You can then spend time soaking in the hot jetted pool or in one of the warm or cold pools. Take some time to sit in the steam sauna if that better suits you. A staff attendant finds you when it is time for your body scrub.

Wet Baths

Walking around and soaking in the wet baths naked can be a strange experience, especially if you're shy or not used to this.  But remember, you are around your own gender only. Just let it go. Keep this advice in mind too when it's time for your scrub. Surrender yourself to the service provider, who gets to work deep cleansing you from neck to toe, while you're totally naked, with exfoliator padded gloves. The end result is smooth soft skin, rejuvenated and glowing - so the temporary awkwardness (and borderline pain!) is worth it. The service lasts about 45 or 50 minutes, longer if you get a wet towel massage after. When this is done, you take another shower and return to the locker/changing room.  Proceed to the the co-ed public area. Walk over to another reservation desk if you want to book an acupressure massage. Usually they can take you right away, but you may be asked to wait a short time, maybe 30 minutes. Check in at that area at the appointed time.

As for my experiences, I highly recommend one of the deep tissue massages, either 60 or 90 minutes.  Any of the massages are excellent. The facial is nice but the young woman who performed mine was less experienced and got some product in my eyes several times.  I have also tried the reflexology session - it is just wonderful. The wet body scrub is very good but I wouldn't call it relaxing. To me that is worth doing once or twice a year. Posted signs in English state costs for these services.

Guests Relaxing in One of Nine Sauna Rooms

Keep in mind there is no set routine or sequence for any of these spa activities. You are free to do these things in any order you like, pass on any services that don't interest you (thankfully, no one tries to sell you anything!), take a shower after the dry saunas and request a new dry cotton uniform before your massage if you prefer, and go in and out of the saunas as many times as you wish. No one is keeping track. The only "tracking" aspect is that when you order food or a paid service, your bracelet number will be swiped and charges added up accordingly.

This is my list of favorite things about King Spa and Sauna in Niles:

Base Rock Room

1. The dry saunas--all of them. There are nine wonderfully quiet cocoons of warmth that promote relaxation and release of tension. (Wait! Not all are warm. One room is cold, and one or two others are very hot. One of the latter is the base rock room. It is of Japanese design and quite unique. Using a special towel, you lie down on hot stone tiles, and feel the heat penetrate your muscles, not only from the air but from the floor.  Experiencing the base rock room requires a $5 surcharge for the day. Photo at right shows cotton spa outfits all guests are required to wear in the public area and dry saunas. (Towel headwraps are optional. They make for  interesting promotional photos, but not too many guests wear them in the Niles facility.)

Each sauna room has a name and theme. Based on its theme, a sauna room is constructed and decorated in a beautiful and precise way inside and out, using special natural earth stones or elements that are known to have healing properties. (Charcoal, salt, quartz crystal, and amethyst, for example.) The walls of the amethyst room have beautifully inset amethyst stones. You will see small and large amethyst stones everywhere you turn in the public dry sauna area.

2. The movie theater. The screen is huge, full sized, with surround sound, and the theater has big reclining chairs to sink into.

3. The upstairs has a large room with full size loungers for all guests.There is another room just like this for women only. 

4. The wet and dry massage services. The people providing these services are competent and professional. You will come out feeling relaxed and refreshed.

Just two minor issues: 1) if more of the service staff spoke better English, it would be helpful; and 2) the public lounge area is a space that does not encourage quiet relaxation (and this is not likely to change). The centralized, family friendly co-ed public area can become boisterous and busy, where men and women gather and talk, children run around without restraint, and a TV airs Korean dramas or news all the time with loud audio. It is almost funny because it is such a contrast to the absolute solitude inside the soundproof dry sauna rooms.

The solution to the latter situation is to be selective about the timing of your visit: mornings and afternoons on weekdays are usually more quiet, less crowded than on evenings and weekends. Whenever you choose to visit, it's bound to be a pleasant surprise. By the time you leave, you are feeling incredibly relaxed. I love this place and highly recommend it.

I hope in time more people discover what King Spa is all about. I realize this can be a cultural thing; some people are more comfortable with public baths than others.

In total there are two almost identical King Spa and Sauna locations in the U.S. This one and one in Dallas, TX. Instead of trying to describe all of the different rooms and amenities in the Niles and Dallas spas (they differ somewhat), click this link to visit their website(s).

There is a facility in Palisades Park, NJ called King Spa and Fitness - it looks interesting. This establishment seems to be a hybrid of the traditional Korean King Spa style of Jjimjilbang and an American fitness club. The website is very impressive -- that facility looks great. I think we need to make a pilgrimage!! Other cities like Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington DC have similar Korean-style facilities.

Naturally Jjimjilbangs are thriving in Korea and Japan; probably in many other countries too. Wherever you are, you can decide on your own next sauna/spa destination by searching on Spafinder or Saunascape.

King Spa welcomes patrons of all ages and backgrounds; sometimes entire families show up. As mentioned above, it can become something like a social circus in the co-ed public sitting and eating areas. If noise bothers you or if you want to take care of business while relaxing, you can bring your phone, tablet or even laptop (they have free wi-fi) and noise-cancelling ear buds  into those public spaces.  Electronic devices are not allowed in the sauna rooms, though.  They don't want you to make phone calls inside the locker rooms, either.

Here is an nteresting blog about a regular guy who writes about spending the night at the NJ sauna:
Sleeping in a Public Bath House: A Night at King Sauna

Cash and most credit cards are accepted.

Contact Information:
809 Civic Center Dr. Niles, IL 60714
Tel : 847-972-2540 / Fax : 847-972-2541
Business Hours : Open 7 days a week, 24 hours a day
http://www.kingspa.com

Relax Body and Mind in an Asian-Style Spa and Sauna

Have you ever heard of King Spa and Sauna? If you have, that's good. If you've been to one, that's great! This overview is for the uninformed. A personal review follows in a separate blog post.

King Spa and Sauna is a Korean style bath, spa and sauna with two locations in the US:

-- Niles, IL, a northern Chicago suburb
-- Dallas, TX


A number of Korean saunas are also located in the Los Angeles area.

This post will focus on the Niles location. It's in a typical suburban strip mall. H Mart, a big Korean super market, is right next to it.

When you walk in the front door, you will come to the front reception desk. You pay a $25 entrance fee here, and receive a locker key attached to a plastic bracelet. From here, men go the left and women go the right, each to their respective locker room.

Once you enter the hallway leading to the locker room for your gender, you'll take off your shoes and place them into a small shoe locker labeled with a number that matches the number on your bracelet.

Enter the locker room. If you would like to have a special service such as a body scrub or a massage, look for the computer reservation station. A clerk is usually standing there waiting to assist. You tell the clerk which service you want. They will fit you into the schedule, telling you a start time. It is usually within an hour, or even half an hour. The photo a the left doesn't show it but there is rack with folded cotton "uniforms" - a set of shirt and short pants. You wear them in the co-ed area.

At this point, you're in the locker room, and it's time to make a choice. Wet private baths and sauna (with others of your gender only) or dry public sauna - the facilities where men and women share in the amenities. If you are ready to experience public baths the Asian way, these are your next steps:

1) Take all clothes off and put them in the locker labeled with the same number on your bracelet. The key on your bracelet will lock up your belongings. Once naked, proceed through the double glass doors into the bath area. It has two big hot bath tubs, one water tub, one steam sauna, shower areas and the areas for sitting and washing.

In this area there are bays where an attendant receives you (by appointment) and will give the full body scrub service. It is basically full body exfoliation. Words can hardly describe it! Afterward, your skin never felt so clean and smooth! It may seem odd but nothing can substitute for this amazing experience. That service and all the rest are optional. You don't have to get any of those services. If you wish, you can take a long shower, soak in the baths, and enjoy the wet steam sauna.

Once you're done with that part of the facility, come back into the locker room.

2) Put on your "uniform" of shirt and short pants, and follow the signs that will lead you to the dry sauna area. In the center of the room is a big lounge area, many tables and chairs in the middle. A number of sauna rooms with a variety of themes are lined up on the both sides. At the far end, there is a food counter and place to pour yourself a cup of cold water. At this always open station you can drink all the cold water you wish. You can order food and soft drinks, sit in the area and eat/drink.

The lounge area is pictured at the left.

Food Court (menu)

What are the dry sauna rooms about? You can't miss them! They are small to medium-sized compartmentalized rooms, each decorated in a different theme, some quite elaborately.

One of the characteristics of each dry sauna room is the heated floor. Most people lie down, face side up. The floors heat apply a direct heat to the whole body, easing body aches from tension. Towels are okay to lie on for more indirect heat from the floor.

Inside each dry sauna room, you are expected to be silent. Talking and conversation is not allowed. Do that in the large lounge area. The dry sauna rooms are usually decorated with crystals and/or other stones or natural materials. Enter and exit the rooms whenever you like, as many times as you like within a 24 hour period. (Yes, this facility is open 24/7)

Here is a list of the dry sauna rooms:

Fire Sudatorium: Very high temperature, they give you a blanket to cover your body.

Pyramid Room: Shaped like pyramid

Salt Room: salt

Ice Room: ice

Bul Ga Ma: a big tatami matted room

Charcoal Room: charcoal

Amethyst Room: amethyst

Base Rock Room: ($5 surcharge) It's pretty popular in Japan too, called ganban-yoku (rock plated bathing). You pay the surcharge at the door, borrow a sheet and take 15-20 minutes laying on the rock plate. The rock plate is pretty hot, you put the sheet and the wood pillow to lay on. It has a clock inside to see the time. Lots of Japanese places have a sand clock by each section. The $5 covers a whole visit, you can come back to this room as many times as you like.

Upstairs relaxing sections:
1) Reclining seats and big TV screens usually showing US TV shows or sports.
2) Quiet room for each gender: men and women each get a tatami matted room, low heated, a big TV screen usually shows Korean TV shows.

Also on the main floor:
A full screen movie theater usually playing a popular Western movie. The seating: full size recliners!

There are also rooms just off the main lounge area for pressure point massage and foot massage services.

Here's an idea I just want to put out there. To the managers of old water parks and back-in-the-day resort hotels in the U.S.: Why don't you look into upgrading your facilities to the style of the Asian Spa and Sauna?

WiFi Vending Machines Go Wireless

Japan is a vending machine paradise. Here is the kanji for vending machine: 自販機 ("jihanki", the abbreviation of "jido hanbai-ki" 自動販売機 meaning automatic selling machine). Everywhere you go, you find a vending machine of some kind within walking distance.

The most popular ones are for soft drinks, as you can see in the video clip above. The one he chose, Pocari Sweat, is similar to Gatorade. It's a pretty strange name but most products in Japan are like that - when spelled alphabetically, the name just comes out weird. That's very common in any foreign culture, I think. And it applies in reverse too. Some names of American products brought into the Japanese market may have names that sound funny to them as well.

Soft drinks and cigarettes are very common in vending machines in Japan, but there are so many other types of products for sale in these machines too. In busy train stations in Japan you'll see people lining up at ticket vending machines, which gives me great confusion every time I go there even though I completely understand Japanese.

I saw a television program featuring cook and traveler Anthony Bourdaine buying fried chicken from a vending machine. He opened the package and said, "warm... soggy". They have coffee brewing vending machines like in the video above, cups of noodles (you can get hot water from the vending machine), and snacks. If a commodity can be sold over a counter, you can probably also buy it from a Japanese vending machine.

Most of these machines take both coins and bills, a lot of them are also equipped to handle transactions by keitai (cell phone). If you have the right kind of cell phone and contract, you can buy a drink by touching your phone to the panel. This kind of cell phone is called "osaifu keitai お財布携帯 (wallet cell phone)". Also, prepaid cards like Suica (prepaid rechargeable train card, we'll talk about it later in a train post) can be used.

Vending machines offer not only convenience - their usefulness goes beyond that. The one pictured at the left is a new kind. The kanji is 災害対策用自販機 (saigai taisaku-yo jihanki) and it means vending machine in case of an emergency. These vending machines will release the drinks for free in emergency situations like natural disasters. They came into use after the 3.11 earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

Also, most vending machines like this have a sticker stating the address. It started in 2005 for people who need to know what the exact address is for that location in case they have to call the police, fire department or an ambulance for help.

Now, here is the newest machine with a high tech feature: free WiFi! This vending machine has a built-in WiFi router.

Asahi Calpis Beverage Co., Ltd. (by the way the guy in the first video didn't know Calpis, a long time Japanese favorite yogurt-like drink) has announced they will install 1,000 WiFi vending machines in 2012, mostly in the big cities like Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya, Fukuoka and Sendai to start, and 10,000 more in next 5 years. Such a vending machine will generate a WiFi signal within a 50-meter radius. A customer can use it for 30 minutes maximum (it cuts the connection after 30 minutes - you have to access it again after the 30-minute time period).

This is another confusing thing - why has no one yet solved the issue of how to provide free WiFi in Japan. At least such vending machines are a positive step in addressing this dilemma. So far, I have only seen news releases about these machines from the distributor - no comments from actual users yet. We'll tell you more about this when we actually hear from first hand users who experience this new convenience.