Barcelona - Sauna Thermas - It only got better!

[Thomas_Belgium]

21 hours ago, Marc in Calif said:

Members have stated this fact many times in this very long thread... 

Maybe we could start a "Barcelona 2024" topic & a new one every year?

[Thomas_Belgium]

Just started this topic:

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/151289-barcelona-2024/#comment-2284440

if you want to continue posting here, no hard feelings, I can ask to close the new topic if it doesn't work out.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

I've booked my hotel for Barcelona (September this year) and made sure it's within walking distance to Sauna Thermos.  Thanks for all the great pointers on time of day and day of week to visit to hire the sauna boys!  Can't wait!

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

On 2/3/2024 at 6:51 PM, SouthOfTheBorder said:

and again last night (Saturday).  I’ve been going to Thermas for at least 15 years and this is the best I’ve ever seen it - in terms of the men.  It has definitely changed for the better imo.  Depends on your taste, but if you like masculine Latino men early 30s, then this is the pace for you.  
It feels like because of the private parties and everyone knows they’re leaving by 10:30p, it’s much busier much earlier.  I got there about 3;30p - by 5p very busy. At 6p it’s packed.  No waiting for rooms because they have so many.  
If I didn’t know exactly where I was, I’d swear it’s a Brazilian sauna in São Paulo. It’s that good without any of the downside. 

The guys who owns Thermas is relatively hands-on and he is visible.  Very handsome man in his 40s.  Whatever he is doing works because the men there are consistently friendly, there is no pressure and they are honest.  And they do what they say they will do & more. I recognized a couple guys from RM and other apps, yet at Thermas they all charge 50euro.  I think it’s a great setting to meet someone & go elsewhere if you want more time.  For me, 4 hours at Thermas is enough and back to hotel.

If you haven’t been, add Barcelona & Thermas to your list. If you indulge in this hobby, it’s a must. 

 

Thanks for the advice!  I'll be sure to arrive by 3:30pm each day for the best selection of boys to hire!

[Marc in Calif]

10 hours ago, Vegas_Millennial said:

I've booked my hotel for Barcelona (September this year) and made sure it's within walking distance to Sauna Thermos.  Thanks for all the great pointers on time of day and day of week to visit to hire the sauna boys!  Can't wait!

Be sure to add your September report to the newest thread on Barcelona and Thermas:

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/151289-barcelona-2024/#comment-2284440

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

5 minutes ago, Marc in Calif said:

Be sure to add your September report to the newest thread on Barcelona and Thermas:

https://www.companyofmen.org/topic/151289-barcelona-2024/#comment-2284440

I'll add comments of general interested for tourists in Barcelona to the 2024 thread; but, I'll post my observations of Thermas in this one so they can be viewed in context with the valuable decades of Thermas posts that are invaluable to read for a good time visiting this unique men-for-hire sauna.

Edited April 15 by Vegas_Millennial

[Thomas_Belgium]

On 6/4/2023 at 7:04 PM, tassojunior said:

...I can't find anything similar on the Cote d'Zur... Thermas. 

 

According to a recent newspaper article (April 2nd), brothels are (still) illegal in France.

[Thomas_Belgium]

On 3/25/2024 at 1:30 AM, azdr0710 said:

...yes, it's much more of a legal brothel than a bathhouse...

 

What's your source to conclude brothels are legal in Spain please?

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

3 hours ago, Thomas_Belgium said:

 

What's your source to conclude brothels are legal in Spain please?

I certainly hope the boys for rent will still be available at Sauna Thermas.  That's the primary reason I'm traveling to Barcelona this autumn on my way to Greece.  I am not interested in visiting a bathhouse without a congregation of hustlers; I can get that anywhere.

[Wolfer]

5 hours ago, Thomas_Belgium said:

 

What's your source to conclude brothels are legal in Spain please?

I'm not the person you asked but... 

According to Wikipedia on prostitution in Spain: "Owning an establishment where prostitution takes place is in itself legal, but the owner cannot derive financial gain from the prostitute or hire a person to sell sex because prostitution is not considered a job and thus has no legal recognition."

Sauna Thermas does not derive financial gain from the working boys' income (the boys keep it all for themselves). They only pay the entree fee, like clients. 

Prostitution itself is, for now, fully legal in Spain. 

[Thomas_Belgium]

Thanks for the info but I have the impression it's some fifty shades of grey area...

[+ azdr0710]

On 4/25/2024 at 7:39 AM, Thomas_Belgium said:

 

What's your source to conclude brothels are legal in Spain please?

though brothels are officially illegal in Spain, they are numerous throughout the country and rarely shut down.....my point was in answering a previous poster who wondered if Thermas was more a bathhouse or more a brothel.......

https://www.nswp.org/country/spain

 

[+ tassojunior]

I'm guessing the sauna in Madrid (Aden?) is still closed down and no others open for escorts? I could fly into MAD easily on Iberia but seems like a waste. It's so easy to go to Zurich and then to BCN hitting both Patagonya and Thermas. I'm susposed to go to Rome in June on my way to Prague and will probably play it by ear on BCN. Last year I skipped it and stayed in Nice. I'm thinking of returning there and trying the French Navy in Toulon if I can get by myself. BCN is getting expensive for hotels and short on supply of super good lookers in Thermas.

[+ tassojunior]

On 3/24/2024 at 12:49 PM, newdad said:

Visiting Thermas for the first time in a few weeks. Can those with experience give me some pointers on these (I don't want to be noticed as if I was a newbie):

1. What to expect when going in?

2. How does guy selection happen?

3. Costs to expect?

4. Any other tips?

 

Thank you community!

a very important aspect at Thermas is the ability to rent "Room #1" by the hour (or whatever it's called now) Instead of a little cubicle it's a double bed size room with porn vids. Much better sex than in the dressing-room size cubes. Also it has sauna hour crowds and empties out quickly early evening. 

Edited Saturday at 04:08 AM by tassojunior

[newdad]

1 hour ago, tassojunior said:

a very important aspect at Thermas is the ability to rent "Room #1" by the hour (or whatever it's called now) Instead of a little cubicle it's a double bed size room with porn vids. Much better sex than in the dressing-room size cubes. Also it has sauna hour crowds and empties out quickly early evening. 

Ah thanks for the response, but I already left Barcelona. Thank you though.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

I’ve been going to Thermas since 2008 & my impression at that time was it had been open for several years.  There has never been an issue at Thermas affecting their ability to operate (except for Covid, which is unrelated to the discussion).  The owner is present & hands-on, running a safe environment for men.   I’ve never had a bad experience there among many visits over the years.  Yes, I know about the parties. Debating the legality is a moot point.  If Thermas closes one day, it will probably be because of lack of clients due to apps.

I’ve often wondered why Thermas works in BCN and nothing comparable in Madrid.  First, Sauna Adan in Madrid was a literal dump and the facility in no way compared to Thermas.  It was dirty & the working guys were random and surly. I did not feel safe imo. Second, Madrid isn’t flooded w tourists in the same way as BCN & certainly not in context of gay tourists, although that is changing.  Third, Madrid is a much more regulated city and it is evident everywhere you look - the streets are cleaner, the city is vibrant and there is no crime wave of petty theft targeted at tourists as in BCN.  In short, a true rentboy sauna in Madrid just would not be tolerated by the authorities. 

of course, the trolls will chime-in who want to pick apart real experiences in lieu of their online “research”

btw - I’m happy to see people still posting on this thread ….it is about Thermas !

[newdad]

5 hours ago, SouthOfTheBorder said:

I’ve often wondered why Thermas works in BCN and nothing comparable in Madrid. 

The most similar one in Madrid would be Sauna Gran Via. It's starting to have a reputation to be escorts only sauna. However, I don't think SGV advertises itself as an escort sauna like Thermas does.

 

 

[SouthOfTheBorder]

52 minutes ago, newdad said:

The most similar one in Madrid would be Sauna Gran Via. It's starting to have a reputation to be escorts only sauna

this is good news & if it is transitioning to a new business model, then that would require them to be discreet in advertising & promotions.  

it’s very close to the old Sauna Adan location, but appears as a different address ?  
I’ll be surprised if it lasts tho - just doesn’t seem to work in Madrid for whatever reason. 

Edited Saturday at 03:21 PM by SouthOfTheBorder

[+ tassojunior]

As much as I love Stiges and the week-long gay pride there, the main attraction of BCN to me after several visits is frankly Thermas and if it's permanantly slow now, I'd rather spend more time this summer in Nice. Last year I skipped a week in BCN for an extra week in Nice. While the sauna there is not many escorts, the nude bars and the Eagle have plenty of "negotible" guys who are attractive. And Romeo and RM are plentiful I find the rates online are the same in both, even though Thermas is much less. I really want to try the French Navy in Toulon too. Several gay bars there I've never been to.  

[Hhuu]

43 minutes ago, tassojunior said:

As much as I love Stiges and the week-long gay pride there, the main attraction of BCN to me after several visits is frankly Thermas and if it's permanantly slow now, I'd rather spend more time this summer in Nice. Last year I skipped a week in BCN for an extra week in Nice. While the sauna there is not many escorts, the nude bars and the Eagle have plenty of "negotible" guys who are attractive. And Romeo and RM are plentiful I find the rates online are the same in both, even though Thermas is much less. I really want to try the French Navy in Toulon too. Several gay bars there I've never been to.  

Thanks for sharing. And I’d say similarly to Paragonya in Zurich too. Is that a trend in Europe now?

[+ tassojunior]

1 hour ago, Hhuu said:

Thanks for sharing. And I’d say similarly to Paragonya in Zurich too. Is that a trend in Europe now?

All the guys i know who used to pile in Steve Skarsgaard's car and go to Zurich for a month for clients mostly travel around to various cities now. Dusseldorf/ Ruhr area is popular. And the Brazilians who used to frequent Thermas and Patagonya are definitely doing a EU circuit now instead. It's like playing whack-a-mole on Hunqz figuring out which city they pop up in any given day.  They never seem to be in one city more than a few days. Ukrainians and Russians seem to prefer Prague for language ease and there are a lot of both there now. My assumption is the many, many sex workers in Berlin are still from Romania and Bulgaria although i haven't been to that sex hole recently. Axel Berlin seems to be a make-shift brothel for rentboys now. 

Edited Monday at 05:54 PM by tassojunior

[newdad]

2 hours ago, tassojunior said:

As much as I love Stiges and the week-long gay pride there, the main attraction of BCN to me after several visits is frankly Thermas and if it's permanantly slow now, I'd rather spend more time this summer in Nice. Last year I skipped a week in BCN for an extra week in Nice. While the sauna there is not many escorts, the nude bars and the Eagle have plenty of "negotible" guys who are attractive. And Romeo and RM are plentiful I find the rates online are the same in both, even though Thermas is much less. I really want to try the French Navy in Toulon too. Several gay bars there I've never been to.  

How is Nice in general? I plan to visit Paris this summer, and was told that Paris is not to happy about foreigners who don't speak French. I'm thinking of stopping by Nice.

[Wolfer]

12 hours ago, tassojunior said:

As much as I love Stiges and the week-long gay pride there, the main attraction of BCN to me after several visits is frankly Thermas and if it's permanantly slow now, I'd rather spend more time this summer in Nice. Last year I skipped a week in BCN for an extra week in Nice. While the sauna there is not many escorts, the nude bars and the Eagle have plenty of "negotible" guys who are attractive. And Romeo and RM are plentiful I find the rates online are the same in both, even though Thermas is much less. I really want to try the French Navy in Toulon too. Several gay bars there I've never been to.  

Where did you get the info that Thermas has been slow? Every time I've been in the last few months it's been similar to how it's always been: a varied mix of working guys, from muscular gym types to twinks. Friday and Saturday are always the best time to go. 

Edited Tuesday at 03:32 AM by Wolfer

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

56 minutes ago, Wolfer said:

Where did you get the info that Thermas has been slow? Every time I've been in the last few months it's been similar to how it's always been: a varied mix of working guys, from muscular gym types to twins. Friday and Saturday are always the best time to go. 

That's great to hear!  I'll be there for my first time in September and am looking forward to Thermas.

The only observation on this thread regarding Thermas being slow is from a patron who visited later in the evening found about a dozen tops but no bottoms.  He said he was told to arrive between 3pm-7pm for the best selection of men, which matches the information provided in this thread.

[SouthOfTheBorder]

6 hours ago, tassojunior said:

I'd rather spend more time this summer in Nice

when is the best time to go ?  Is it flooded w tourists like BCN ?