Thermas Sauna in Barcelona

[+ Axiom2001]

Last week I was in Barcelona, Spain, my real first visit. Fell in love with the city and did not have ample time to do as I'd planned many months prior.

Had a stellar erotic tantric massage by Paco whose ad is at http://www.masseurfinder.com. On Sunday, the 13th of October 2013, I thought it best to check

out and experience the most written and talked about Thermas Sauna. ...went there by taxi, paid the entrance fee of 16Euro, got my key to locker,

entered and did the necessary features before meandering and previewing the offerings. But before I could walk the halls and the mazes and the stairs,

the guys began to approach and offer their services to me. This was done so fast that I declined 'ALL' offers which I learned from the advice given to me

for my first introduction to the saunas in Brasil in 2002, my first visit of eight to nine times since then {2002-2011}.

 

While at this particular sauna, I chose to wear my boxers and tee shirt and my own flip flops with towel draped over shoulder. I walked through the too dimmed mazes

and pool and sauna areas and cinema rooms and merely to observe until finding "the right one or ones." By it being a Sunday evening, 5:45P and onward, I sized up

both clients and sauna boys. None of the other clients appealed to me, and there were a few guys amongst the small number with whom I could and would possibly have had, but

about forty minutes into my stay, one of the workers approached me and demanded that I wear a towel and not what I had on. I did not say anything; I went to the locker room and put on clothes, paid my 1Euro + for water and left. I was indeed disappointed in my being evicted because of the insane dress or non dress code that exists at this particular venue. It definitely "was not" BRASIL where I've done this without encountering any problems in Curitiba, Rio de janeiro, and Sao Paulo! During the last three or four visits, I''d chosen to wear what I alluded to while in the Brasilian saunas and have NEVER HAD any kind of problem. The request certainly took me aback, but I left and said to myself that I probably will NOT return here again

during my future visits to Barcelona, a city which became one of the three of my favorite cities in the world; the other two are Rio and San Francisco.

 

Well, guys, I just thought I'd share with you what I experienced at this much written about and talked about Spanish saunas at this site. {To those who are interested, there were about four Brasilian guys present along with, I presume, a guy from Eastern Europe who flashed and showed me a so, so dick. Later when I looked in his direction, he sported the most gorgeous piece of white meat which I think I could have enjoyed immensely. If I had NOT been asked to follow the dress code, I know I could have had him because he was one of the ones who sought me out earlier!!! He also assisted me in opening my locker; the damn key was difficult for me to use; to open it prior to my leaving, the guy at the front desk did it for me. Guess it was not my night. Failed to find out the guys' fees, too!} The place itself seemed cleaned but poorly lighted or the lights were dimmed way too low.

[EZEtoGRU]

Thanks for your report Axiom. Too bad you had a bad experience at Thermas in Barcelona. I agree with you that it is ridiculous that they would not let you wear boxers and a shirt in the club.....let alone be fully clothed. You are correct that at the saunas in Brazil, they allow customers change into towels or not change clothes at all. Plenty of customers enter the saunas in Brazil and stay fully clothed as they only plan to partake in the bar scene, watch the show, and maybe get a private room. The management at the Brazil saunas do pressure the working boys to change into towels or just undershorts. I think that is the right approach so that the clients can see what is available.

 

I've had good and bad experiences at Thermos Barcelona. Now I always change into the towel and flipflop uniform so I have never had any issues with the dress code....but I have experienced the overly aggressive sauna boys (mostly the eastern Europeans). There can be a very good line-up of talent there on some days.....to the point it rivals the old days in the saunas in Brazil. If I were you, I would give Thermas another change the next time you are in Barcelona and just accept the prevailing dress-code. It would be a shame if you missed out on a great sex experience in Barcelona just over their dress policy. Just IMHO of course.

 

The Sauna Adan in Madrid is very inferior to Thermas in Barcelona.....at least as far as the installations go. Also the staff at the front door are very rude and the place is almost filthy. They can have high quality guys however.

 

I agree with you that Barcelona is a great city and can be a great place to visit even without sexual experiences. Madrid is great also in the event you want to mix things up on your next visit.

 

All the Best!!

[trilingual]

I'm glad you loved Barcelona, Axiom, even if your experience at Thermas wasn't great. The times I've been I used a towel and flip-flops so there was no dress-code issue. The place is OK, but not fabulous, by Brazilian standards. (I refer to the physical facilities -- as EZE said some days there are fantastic guys and others not so much.) But the pickin's are slim in Europe for saunas with boys, so if that's your scene you takes what you gets! Of course, there are a lot of other escorts in Spain, working the Internet. By far your best bet for finding them is http://www.gayromeo.com which has almost more than you can count. For North Americans signing up is free because they seem to be trying to develop their user base on this side of the pond. They give you access to all the features, including unlimited searches and views of profiles. Someday that will change, no doubt, but right now it's a great deal and I can assure you that you'll have a great time prowling the site! And some of the guys advertising in Spain are among the hottest I've ever seen, and not exceptionally expensive -- prices have probably stayed reasonable there because of the terrible economic crisis and the sheer competition. I haven't experienced that many, to be honest, but the real Spanish men I've met have been incredibly hot and extremely good in bed. They seem to be very uninhibited and really get into what they're doing! Besides GayRomeo, http://www.arrowmen.com seems to have a large selection of men in the two main Spanish cities.

 

Whether the saunas are good or bad, Spain is one of my favorite places, and I think Barcelona is my favorite European city, too. Perhaps because it's the first that somehow jibed with my own stereotype of what a European city should look like! It has the old Gothic Quarter, with its winding medieval lanes; and the new 19th Century town with sweeping tree-lined streets and boulevards with wonderful architecture and alluring shops and cafés everywhere you look. I grew up speaking Spanish, but the Mexican version, so I wasn't sure how well that would go over in Spain, but people everywhere couldn't have been nicer or more gracious, which made my visits even more wonderful. Of course, the architecture, scenery and history are spectacular, with sites dating back to antiquity. Spain was settled thousands of years ago (Cadiz is thought to be the oldest city in Europe) and a staggering amount has survived the centuries, so the number of things to see and do are literally countless. And the finest things really live up to their advance billing, and more, like the Alhambra in Granada, the old city and mosque in Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela, and Toledo, which looks exactly like it appears in El Greco's great depiction of it (now at the Met in NY). And even on limited means, the Spanish live and eat well! It's hard to imagine anyone visiting Spain and not liking it, and not falling under its spell! It's an utterly fascinating country!

[+ Axiom2001]

I'm glad you loved Barcelona, Axiom, even if your experience at Thermas wasn't great. The times I've been I used a towel and flip-flops so there was no dress-code issue. The place is OK, but not fabulous, by Brazilian standards. (I refer to the physical facilities -- as EZE said some days there are fantastic guys and others not so much.) But the pickin's are slim in Europe for saunas with boys, so if that's your scene you takes what you gets! Of course, there are a lot of other escorts in Spain, working the Internet. By far your best bet for finding them is http://www.gayromeo.com which has almost more than you can count. For North Americans signing up is free because they seem to be trying to develop their user base on this side of the pond. They give you access to all the features, including unlimited searches and views of profiles. Someday that will change, no doubt, but right now it's a great deal and I can assure you that you'll have a great time prowling the site! And some of the guys advertising in Spain are among the hottest I've ever seen, and not exceptionally expensive -- prices have probably stayed reasonable there because of the terrible economic crisis and the sheer competition. I haven't experienced that many, to be honest, but the real Spanish men I've met have been incredibly hot and extremely good in bed. They seem to be very uninhibited and really get into what they're doing! Besides GayRomeo, http://www.arrowmen.com seems to have a large selection of men in the two main Spanish cities.

 

Whether the saunas are good or bad, Spain is one of my favorite places, and I think Barcelona is my favorite European city, too. Perhaps because it's the first that somehow jibed with my own stereotype of what a European city should look like! It has the old Gothic Quarter, with its winding medieval lanes; and the new 19th Century town with sweeping tree-lined streets and boulevards with wonderful architecture and alluring shops and cafés everywhere you look. I grew up speaking Spanish, but the Mexican version, so I wasn't sure how well that would go over in Spain, but people everywhere couldn't have been nicer or more gracious, which made my visits even more wonderful. Of course, the architecture, scenery and history are spectacular, with sites dating back to antiquity. Spain was settled thousands of years ago (Cadiz is thought to be the oldest city in Europe) and a staggering amount has survived the centuries, so the number of things to see and do are literally countless. And the finest things really live up to their advance billing, and more, like the Alhambra in Granada, the old city and mosque in Córdoba, Santiago de Compostela, and Toledo, which looks exactly like it appears in El Greco's great depiction of it (now at the Met in NY). And even on limited means, the Spanish live and eat well! It's hard to imagine anyone visiting Spain and not liking it, and not falling under its spell! It's an utterly fascinating country!

 

Tri, and EZE, thanks for responding. All of your suggestions definitely will be considered in the future. While I was in BCN, I did have a list of escorts from http://www.gayromeo.com and one from http://www.arrowmen.com. The masseur I'd gotten from http://www.masseurfinder.com & http://www.gayromeo.com was indeed superb. I bombed when it came to the gay from the other two sites to which we alluded. His name was Daniel; he had a super-hot bod, no personality as such, requested free up front (red flag) stayed limp for 1/2 hr and beyond, and was a complete dud.

Contacted others but could not connect. I love the fees that most request, reasonable indeed as contrasted with the US.

 

Again, thanks, gentlemen!

[imrthr]

 

I'm glad you loved Barcelona, Axiom, even if your experience at Thermas wasn't great. The times I've been I used a towel and flip-flops so there was no dress-code issue. The place is OK, but not fabulous, by Brazilian standards. (I refer to the physical facilities -- as EZE said some days there are fantastic guys and others not so much.)

-

 

I believe there was miscommunication over the "dress code" at the sauna. Although I agree the rule is silly, if a sauna customer wishes to go to the bar area or the area where "escorts" do their rounds looking for clients, the top portion of a person (torso) cannot be covered by any clothing including a T-shirt. Clients can use their own flip flops or they can use any type of foot ware, including ones issued when a client enters the sauna. The clothing rules are posted on the wall just as one enters from the changing area. Had Axiom taken off his T-shirt and used a towel to cover this shoulders, he would not have had an issue with the rules. Next time he will know and not leave the sauna unnecessarily.

 

Speaking of posted rules, in the inside area (where it it most dark) is a large sign stating that prostitution is not allowed at the sauna. That sign is more useless than the dress code. It is odd that the sauna personnel enforce a dress code but ignore the prostitution caveat. Of course, in Spain, prostitution is not illegal, which makes the posted sign prohibiting prostitution, that much more silly.

 

Last year, the sauna (Thermas) had a major renovation. The interior of the place was markedly improved over what is was. Therefore, to new users, you will find the place far cleaner and more modern since the renovation.

-

[Steven_Draker]

While at this particular sauna, I chose to wear my boxers and tee shirt and my own flip flops with towel draped over shoulder. I walked through the too dimmed mazes and pool and sauna areas and cinema rooms and merely to observe until finding "the right one or ones." ... but about forty minutes into my stay, one of the workers approached me and demanded that I wear a towel and not what I had on. I did not say anything; I went to the locker room and put on clothes, paid my 1Euro + for water and left. I was indeed disappointed in my being evicted because of the insane dress or non dress code that exists at this particular venue. It definitely "was not" BRASIL where I've done this without encountering any problems in Curitiba, Rio de janeiro, and Sao Paulo!

 

Thank you, Axiom, for sharing your Barcelona experience. I think that additionally to the misunderstanding/miscommunication with the sauna staff there's a "cultural" difference that needs to be addressed.

 

In Europe we strip naked in the sauna and just keep the towel provided wrapped around the waist. I've never seen anyone wearing boxers/underwear, even less a t-shirt. Flip-flops or sandals are totally fine. I wouldn't expect what's customary in Brazilian saunas would be over here in Europe. In a similar way if you visit the Blue Mosque in Istanbul you'll be asked to remove your shoes before entering. It comes with the territory.

 

I tend to think that you were not "evicted" or asked to leave the venue. You did choose to do so. The attendant was simply asking you to conform with the "dress code" for hygiene purposes. It's not advisable to wear boxers/underwear/swim wear in the steam room or the dry sauna (ask Swedish and Finnish aficionados). Full monty is the way to go. Finally, I do understand that some of these european towels they give you in the sauna can be quite "skimpy".

 

http://31.media.tumblr.com/d131cc857733bd0af58a3b60c2cc4fa3/tumblr_mv14sp9PNJ1qk80xqo1_500.jpg

[rickx]

Does anyone know if the selection of guys is just as good in January as the summer??