Red Square

Went here for the first time today. Very good place. The entry price includes robes, slippers and clean towels. Very neat, modern facility. They have awesome food just like back home. Being a Russian who has not been to a real banya in almost 8 years, I’m glad I decided to check this place out.

Red Square is AMAZING! The staff are super friendly and they have everything. This was a new experience for me as my daughter introduced me (clearly this was her spot); I went in with a cold but came out feeling relaxed and clear! Do try the branches and a massage to improve your circulation. The food is good and I loved the atmosphere! I will return, I just wish we had a «banya» in the DMV.

Fair warning, you might get food poisoning here or your might not, never know.
I’ve been here several times and it was fine, I love their food, very Russian. However, a couple of days ago we went with a few friends, and 2 people got food poisoning, including myself. Spending New years holidays in bed was really not the way I wanted to spend the day. My friend was throwing up all day, I couldn’t eat anything or get out of bed.
When I called them, they said the owners would call me back, and surprise surprise, they never did. Not at all shocking, very Russian style. Who cares if people at their restaurant get sick.
So in general this place is fine, but you have been warned, never know when you will get food poisoning here.

Called to make an appointment for a full day of services (new year new you!) and was told by the guy that he was «extremely busy» and would call me back. No call back. #notrelaxing
Made a reservation online somewhere else.

GEE!!! Is a AWESOME Masseuse!!! Maria, Tanya, Anton, and Kate took really good care of me. I closed the place. I’ll be back!

I love Red Square Spa & the only thing missing is membership option. It gets costly to go there a couple of times a month. The food is great and fresh, their pomegranate/​orange juice is amazing! Red Square, please think about implementing of membership packages!

I like red square although it’s become a bit too spa like the food is good and the bar is nice.

When I lived in the neighborhood this was closed down, they have since reopened, and a Groupon brought me finally to try it out. Compared to other spas I have visited, the mens area is not very large, but it is big enough to enjoy a few different areas: a large dry sauna, a smaller steam sauna, a cold pool, a massage table, and a hot pool/​jacuzzi. Also there is an area to lay on a reclining deck-​like chair and watch 8 different TV stations in Russian and English. For the first time there it was a little confusing but people were willing to help if you asked questions. They were out of robes so I just made do with towels. There is a restaurant upstairs that allows you to wander around in your robe which is a fun concept, but I didn’t do this. This really is a nice ethnic experience since the majority of the people here seem Russian or Eastern European, a nice preserved piece of culture and history (this place is quite old – since 1906! Per Wikipedia: «Division Bath was the only traditional bathhouse remaining in Chicago, and one of only a handful in the United States. Authors who have written about it include Nelson Algren and Saul Bellow. One of its most prominent regular customers was Reverend Jesse Jackson — a fact that brought the bathhouse some publicity when it was first reported in the mainstream press. Mobster Sam Giancana was also said to have gone, and various out-​of-​town celebrities such as James Gandolfini and Russell Crowe had occasionally visited; their autographed portraits lined a corridor on the first floor.»

First time I came last year was really nice. Second time the hot tub wasn’t working. This time it was not a good experience at all. My robe had several brown stains (pray they were tanning related) on it and there were three children left unattended in the area where guys/​girls can hang out together and relax and get drinks. The kids kept climbing on chairs and being loud and turning the tv volume up and changing channels. Over the course of an hour I never saw a parent or anyone that worked there check on them as I walked in and out of that room. I skipped lounging in there and getting a drink because the sounds of children playing is not relaxing at all to me. So the hot tub was lukewarm and not at all hot. They were out of water in the ladies room unless you wanted to use the water fountain. You’d think the least they could do is make sure you have water because they are packing serious heat. The room was 208 degrees tonight and for me that is not at all comfortable. Felt like my face was burning off and needed to get out of the sauna rooms after only a couple of minutes. The three rooms I went into were all too hot. Yes, I expect heat but this actually was hurting my face.
I really feel like it is hard to relax here. Two women were having an extremely loud conversation and no matter where I went I felt like I could hear them as clear as day. It was annoying. Anyway, you come to a spa to relax and feel pampered and I was wearing someone else’s brown stains while thirsty and burning my face off. Won’t be back.

Love this place but everything is always broken… Either too hot, too cold or broken.

It’s a great concept, but it doesn’t really live up to expectations. I’ve been to lots of day spa/​bath houses including Turkish, Russian and Asian so I have some ideas about what to expect.
When you check in you get towel, robe and sandals. All are a bit rough and worn. The downstairs area seems nice although small until you look closer. Shampoo, etc. in the showers were empty, curtain bars rusty, chairs to rest on broken (one had a scary looking screw poking up that could really hurt someone). The space is so small that sound echos terribly and there are no quiet signs so people are jabbering loudly and it’s not very relaxing. There’s also not much to do/​enjoy like other places I’ve been.
The massage I had was really good, but the lady that did my nails was sweet, but clearly blind as a bat. When I left, there was polish all over my skin, missing sections, lumps, etc… I actually took of the polish when I got home it looked so terrible. They do have a sign at the front desk with a mandatory 15% gratuity.
I had a small bite to eat and I can’t recommend the soups or appetizers, but the kabob was tasty. Things are little pricey for what you get, but it is a captive audience and frankly it was nice to be able to eat in your robe.
I agree with some other reviewers that there seem to be some creepy older men hanging around and I realize they probably need to make the restaurant accessible for non-​spa goers for it to pencil, but perhaps they should wall the spa goers area off in an area where you don’t feel like some old man is hoping your robe falls open.
I had admission from a Groupon, but even at $ 16 I felt that was overpriced. I could never imagine paying $ 30. Free parking for now on the side streets is a bonus.

Had a wonderful massage w/​Russell. Would def return. The spa amenities you get w/​paid entry are downstairs. There’s a large dry heat room, a small wet room and a medium jacuzzi.
If you get a massage the rooms are upstairs but if you get a treatment they’re right near the jacuzzi so you hear everyone talking. That’s not great.
The food menu was limited and not my fav but I did get a chicken noodle soup that was good.
They give you a towel, robe and Sandals.
I bought a groupon for entry. Any services are extra.

I’ve been coming to Red Square since they re-​opened 2.5 years ago. I was actually a customer of the old Banya that existed there before it was re-​habbed and re-​opened. I was truly ecstatic when this facility re-​opened. So much cleaner and nicer. So I’ve been a regular customer for quite some time.
I was there last week in the afternoon on day I had off from work. I hadn’t been there in about 3 months, and I could not believe the level of decay this place has experienced.
A sauna/​spa/​bathing facility. no doubt. requires constant maintenance. Unfortunately Red Square is falling far far behind. A couple items of note:
— In the men’s turkish sauna, the ‘cauldron’ has some large cracking and structural shifting among the masonry. They’ve tuckpointed it, but it still looks like it may collapse at any moment. The benches have a lot of loose or missing boards. or exposed nails.
— The ‘hot’ tub is never hot anymore. Any complaints to management are ignored. And the water always has a slick on it.
— The steam room has a large (4′ x 4′) peice of marble that is tearing away from the wall. It looks like it will just fall off eventually… and its’ a huge peice of stone. Sit far away from that sucker. What are the odds that they just caulk in the gaps?
— The plunge pool water is gross and doesn’t look like its ever changed. The fountain cycles the water, but there is no surface level filter in the pool.
— The shower heads all have mildew on them. After I took a shower, the handle would not turn the water off. it just spun around and around.
— There is a wood column in the middle of the men’s main room that has a wood veneer that is rotting on the bottom. As I looked closer, there were small bugs crawling around on/​in the rotted wood. Termites? not sure, but super super gross.
— The mats on the chaise lounges are absolutely disgusting. Lay on them at your own risk.
Overall, I loved this place a while ago when it was taken care of. Now it is borderline derelict. They need to protect their investment. I will not be going back until I see that they are cleaning and maintaning things properly.

Disclaimer: I have not done any of the spa services. I’ve only done the general admission and eaten in the restaurant.
Back in the winter, my husband and I were sick. We were at the point where we weren’t contagious anymore, but had sinus pressure and post nasal drip. We were thinking about our most recent vacation and the steam room they had at the spa. We felt that a steam room was just what we needed. We did some googling and found Red Square. We called up some friends and off we went.
Red Square felt like vacation. The women’s side has a hot tub, a steam room, and a wet sauna. There is a co-​ed area with a TV area and a dry sauna. The dry sauna has eucalyptus leaves which you can be whipped with. I guess it’s a Russian tradition, but I did not partake. It’s a $ 30 entry fee and I feel like it’s a great value considering how much it costs to go to some of these hotel spas downtown.
The restaurant has a good drink menu with variety and their food is good. The first time we went, I had cheese blintzes and potato pancakes which were very good. The second time, I had the potato dumplings which were amazing!
All in all, it’s a great value to feel like you’re on vacation and relax. The food is good and the drink menu is solid. It’s good whenever, but I would definitely recommend as a good winter time activity.

Overall, I enjoy Red Square. I love that I can pick up a phone and order a Moscow mule while I’m in the sauna area. I also love that I can go upstairs in a fluffy robe and eat caviar blinis. The back area of the dining room with the fake train scenery in the fake windows is great, and the borscht is also great. My favorite thing is the water that falls out of the ceiling over the hot tub in the women’s section.
I did have an uncomfortable experience here once. I was in the tub when a man came strolling through the women-​only sauna area. There’s about a million signs saying men aren’t permitted, so he was obviously trying to sneak a peek at all the naked women. Unfortunately there weren’t any employees on duty to stop him! Myself and the naked women started yelling at him to get out, so eventually a staff member came and told me to be quite (kind of rudely), and said she would «take care of it.» Then later I saw him in the co-​ed area, so he wasn’t even kicked out after that! I left immediately because I felt unsafe with that man there. I do wish they would have done more to prevent this, or punish him for his behavior. I’m sure this never would have happened at King Spa.

Went back and say hello in Russian and they gladly accepted my expired voucher without any problem. The dry sauna is running at 92 °C where your skin burns. Had to do cold plunges with buckets of iced cold water. Tried the Moscow Mule for the very first time. Ginger Beer/​Vodka in Cooper mug. What the nice detox combination. The Division St is filled with vibrant nightlife. Lots of sports fans to party with.

The facility is beautiful, when I got there I asked for a quick tour of the sauna area and it was really nice. Small, but nice and clean.
I went in for a massage. I called last minute and booked a hot stone massage, then I showed up 45 mins later for my appointment and they kindly told me that the masseuse on staff that day wasn’t licensed for that kind of massage, they were very apologetic and then gave me 20% off the regular massage. I wasn’t angry and I don’t fault them for that — it was very sweet to get 20% off!
I’m giving this a low rating though because the experience was just… strange. Uncomfortable. I think there are simple things you should do when providing a massage or spa service and this place didn’t deliver. A few points:
— You need to drink a lot of water before and after a massage and they don’t offer that for you. You should at least offer me a cup of water afterwards.
— I had to change in the massage room and there was no place to put my clothes, if I didn’t have my purse then they would have just stayed on the ground. That’s not very respectful of your patrons.
— The massage bed — oh the massage bed! I’ve never been in an uncomfortable one before but this was awful. The headrest was at at angle, which he adjusted 3 times for me but I still kept sliding down it and then my face would hit against hard metal. It was so uncomfortable and made me tense up, which then made the massage painful because my muscles weren’t relaxed. Fix your damn beds.
— The lighting and the music were very off. The lighting would go from being very dark to very bright, and the music from very quite to loud. I guess the dimmer and volume adjusters were just both broken?
Those are all very inexpensive things they can fix so I don’t think it’s asking a lot to change them and create a more relaxing experience.

I personally had a terrible experiance here.
I decided to come here because I been wanting to try spa & food, I was also in need of a facial so I booked that appointment as well.
When I arrived I asked to go to the spa area, got handed a dirty robe & flip flops that had crusty remains of whatever was spilled on them from the previous customer. Once I told them I never been here before they pointed to where the spa was, no tour or anything. The spa area was just ok, very small.
After, I went for my facial. The lady that did my facial kept coughing… two days later I get sick. To make matter worse she walked out for a good 15 minutes of the facial leaving me just laying there (something someone else mentioned in their review, I should have known better). I get to the counter and think «no way she is getting a tip» but to my suprise there is automatic tip that gets added to your bill. Crazy.
The one and good thing about this place is the food. But that’s it.

Seems like this place was a little hidden since there was absolutely no sign for the entrance which I thought was kinda cool. Right when you walk in it automatically feels like you are in a completely different country.- probably what they were going for. Well if you book a service you get 50% off entry. So it’s only 15. Unilocal also has a 5 $ off entry so make sure you use that too!
Right away i booked a service for my nails. Only 40 $ for a no chip which was pretty cool. The boyfriend had a massage so I went to the bar and ordered a makers on the rocks and they gave it to me in a plastic cup do I could bring it downstairs into the saunas. It’s cool because they have phones all over the place to order service. Ordered the salmon n cream cheese. Salad. Chicken sandwich… They were all pretty gross except for the fish n cream cheese…-I love cream cheese!
Maybe I’m spoiled because of king spa but this place was tiny. Food wasn’t that great and drinks were okay. The Moscow mule was pretty legit tho!.. I would actually come here again but if I had to choose between this place or king spa. 100% would go to niles for kind spa!

Nope. I was convinced by my friend to come back and try it again. The hot tub wasn’t hot. When we asked about it, they said it was warming up, which is plausible. But hours later it was still lukewarm. We complained again. A third time and they admitted that it hadn’t been turned on. They didn’t refill the cups in the women’s area, and when I called for that one, no one picked up the phone (they’ve got a phone in the changing room that goes straight to the front desk).
The waitresses were all very nice and accommodating (note, for you gluten free people, you’ll be getting an omelette.), and the food was very good.
As before, the lack of a quiet space was a big deal for me. I tried to nap, and couldn’t as it’s so very noisy there.
I also got a massage, which was awful, though that doesn’t go into the star rating as my friend had one and liked hers.