Our Facilities
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Parilka
The Parilka is an integral part of Russian culture. Its presence has been documented as far back as 945 AD.
Being true to our heritage, we made sure to create an authentic Parilka. Built from cedar, this Parilka offers four levels of heat, depending on where you sit. The benches are wide enough to lie down, which is ideal for a good steam.
A brick stove produces heat and humidity. The classic temperature for a Parilka is 70-80°C with 60% humidity. You can adjust the humidity by throwing water into the stove. The water quickly evaporates as it hits the hot stones inside. These stones are traditionally granite or basalt, gathered from lakeshores; they are known as “wild.” The fire is fed with hard wood. We use apple, birch, oak and cherry as they produce the nicest aroma and quality of heat!
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Hammam
This style of steam room has it’s roots in the ancient Thermae. After their conquest of Byzantium, the Ottoman Turks adopted and expanded on the Roman tradition of steam baths.
Our Hammam is adorned with mosaic tiles and artifacts from Istanbul, a historical jewel for the steaming culture. A serene, backlit pool of water provides a source of light and refreshment.
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Finnish Sauna
The Finnish Sauna shares a close history with the Russian Parilka. Many make a distinction between the two due to the Sauna being dry and the Parilka being wet. This is not necessarily law as both have varied their styles throughout history, but is commonly the case.
Our Finnish Sauna is built of pine with cedar benches and uses an electric system of heating. It is a dry, high heat sauna and water is not used inside. Whether you like a wet steam or a dry steam is based on preference, so be sure to try both!
The Tea Room
Rehydrate, try new food, or simply relax in our Tudor Soviet style Tea Room. The atmosphere is homey and the walls are adorned with antique samovars and teapots that make one feel as though they’re in a little piece of the old Eastern European world.
“We believe drinking a variety of loose leaf tea is the key to joy and hope to start all our patrons on a path to tea obsession.”
The Tea
Tea is the perfect drink for the Bathhouse. It keeps your core temperature from dropping, and it's liquid, so it hydrates the body between steams.
Russia's Tea History
Tea drinking is more than just drinking tea. It's a deeply rooted tradition that has kept tea the most most popular drink in Russia (vodka and kvas taking 2nd and 3rd place).
The samovar has evolved into a symbol of Russian land, culture, and spirit, which makes the fact that tea only became accessible to common people in the late 19th century. Tea was introduced to Russia for the first time in 1638 when Tsar Michael I received a gift of 250 pounds of tea from a Mongolian Khan. At first the gift was rejected as the Tsar did not understand what one was supposed to do with a bunch of dried leaves. He asked for the tea to be replaced by sable furs, but his request was ignored and envoys delivered the tea to Moscow. Luckily for us, the Russian aristocracy eventually smartened up and figured out how to brew tea, and thus the Siberian tea route was established!
Soon tea became a popular drink among the wealthy but remained inaccessible to everyone else because of its high price. Then when the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed in 1880, importing tea became efficient and simple. As a result, prices dropped, making tea affordable for the majority and solidifying its place in the Russian household.
