Mimi's Memorandum: April 2017

Photo credit: King SPA & Sauna

King SPA & Sauna is the second time that I tried a Korean spa. I found this experience very pleasant except for one factor. If you are a female, you will see naked females in the “Women’s Spa” area. My first Korean spa experience was Spa Castle. I thought it was alright until I saw an article called “NYC’s ‘sex spa’ is grossing people out”.

Here is a brief summary of my King SPA experience.

The Shuttle Bus

We took the Flushing shuttle bus. You boarded the bus in front of Tous Les Jours (located between 39^th Avenue and Union St.). If you purchased a Groupon voucher, you MUST show it to the driver. If you do not have a King SPA admission, each trip costs $10 or you can buy a 10 ticket package for $60. This is great because it is the fastest route to NJ without using the public transportation. After you show the bus driver your Groupon voucher, you must receive two tickets. One of the tickets is your return home via the Flushing shuttle bus. The trip takes 35-60 minutes. King SPA has shuttle service to/from Manhattan. No food or drinks are allowed, however you can bring water bottles. These buses are first come basis, so get there early!

Redemption

You redeem your Groupon in the front desk. You provide them the two tickets and the Groupon voucher. If you don’t have an umbrella, you can purchase it for reasonable price. Once redeemed, you received a bracelet with a key to your locker in an exchange of your ID card. This bracelet keeps track of your purchases for food and other services. Next to the front desk is your uniform and towels (large and small towels). They do not check your bags. The female uniform is pink while the male uniform is white.

The Locker Room

Before entering the locker room, you must take off your shoes and store them on the shoe rack or your locker. From this point on, no shoes and flip flops are allowed, but you can wear socks. King SPA sells socks downstairs. The men and women have separate locker rooms and facilities within the floor. This is the only place where you can shower or hang around in the Jacuzzi. Beware that you will see naked bodies!

The SPA

Before entering the SPA facilities, it is tradition to rinse or clean yourself. You can bypass this step. There are approximately 14 sauna and lounges with table games, mats, recliners with the TV, seating area with laptops throughout the SPA. The facilities look clean. The SPA offer a smoothie bar, restaurant, and therapeutic services (body, hand and foot massages and nail and hair services). We were able to spend 2 to 3 hours in 4 saunas. At one point, my mother-in-law fell asleep.

Tips to Make Experience Enjoyable

You should bring the sheet masks, card games, magazines, books and ear plugs.

Policy

Children under 10 years old are not allowed. If you stay over 2am, you will be charged a $10 overnight fee. If you stay beyond 24 hours, there is a $35 fee. If the bracelet is lost, there is a $30 replacement fee. For more details check out their official website (http://kingsaunanj.com/) and policy (http://kingsaunanj.com/king-spa-fitness-policy/).

Exit

If you are comfortable with seeing naked bodies, you can shower or go home and shower. Your uniform and towels are discarded in bins. The bracelet is returned to the front desk and you pay for your services charged on the bracelet. Your return bus ticket is given back to you. The shuttle buses get filled up quickly, so be early as possible. The bus driver will ask for your ticket. If you desperately need to get home in a shuttle bus, you can sit in the trunk. If you are not in a hurry, there is a café across from King SPA & Sauna.

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Woodstock & Quechee, VT is our first getaway as newlyweds. We made a trip during Labor Day Weekend of 2016. Here is a summary of our little adventure. Hopefully, it will inspire you to take a trip there or plan a getaway soon!

Village Inn at Woodstock

We stayed here for two nights. Our room has its own bathroom. Most rooms have a shared bathroom on the same floor. During our stay, they served a three course breakfast on our private table. The breakfast was delicious. We included the Simple Celebration package with our stay. The package comes with Simon Pearce champagne flutes and champagne. Later on, we found out that Simon Pearce merchandises are pricey. There is complimentary wine in the afternoon from 4:30pm to 5:30pm. The garden terrace was a nice touch for the inn.

Billings Farm & Museum and Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller NationalPark

Both places are located next to each other. There isn't s a combination ticket ($19 as of 4/14/2017) for both attractions. The Billings Farm & Museum is wonderful for families with children. They have daily events such as tractor-drawn wagon rides, children’s craft activities and meet the lambs, steers, chicks, ducklings and bunnies, etc. We attended the ice cream session and got bombarded with children.

Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Park has numerous hiking trails (see map below) and scheduled guided tours. We were able to attend the “Glimpse Mansion”, a free tour. For other tours, there is a fee. The tour was very enjoyable because we had a knowledgeable ranger. The hiking trails can be confusing. We got lost, but were able to make it to our tour.

Quechee Gorge Hike

This hike is very easy and short (less than an hour long). It leads from the highway to the end of gorge. The trail is made of paved asphalt. The visitors’ center is located on the highway. Also, you cannot get lost on this trail!

Sugarbush Farm

This is a maple syrup farm that also makes its own cheeses. They have three pet goats. You can buy a bag of food for $2 and feed them. The chicken is very vicious, so stay away from her. There is a small chapel right of the store. You can go on a self-guided tour to learn how maple syrup is made. Once you walked into the store, you get to sample their cheeses and maple syrups.

Simon Pearce Restaurant & Store

The food is delicious. We sat behind the window with the view of the waterfall. To get to Simon Pearce Restaurant & Store, you have to pass through a covered bridge. Right next to the covered bridge is a waterfall. You can get a closer view of the waterfall in the basement. There is a continuous demonstration of an employee making a featured Simon Pearce product. The employee is very friendly and answers every question. Simon Pearce products are very expensive because each item is handmade.

King Arthur Flour

This place is heaven for a baker. There is a store, café and classes. Unfortunately, we did not take any classes due to our time restraint. At the end of the visit, we purchased white flour, coconut flour, almond flour and durum flour and Nordic Ware quartet Bundt pan. Then we came back for lunch the next day.