By Crystal Nam
For the Enterprise
A gentle, warm atmosphere surrounds the lobby. Decorated with bamboo plants and rich, earthy colors, the sensation is like stepping into a quiet, Asian sanctuary.
At the entrance, guests are asked to remove their shoes and socks before stepping on the wooden floors.
Then a corridor branches out to the locker rooms, where doors open to a communal bath area.
Steamy pools blanket the area where different stations are located for guests to wash, bathe and relax. And for that purpose, guests are required to be nude before entering.
The communal bath is one of many unique characteristics about the Olympus Spa, a women-only facility, which opened Nov. 10 in Lynnwood.
Communal baths are a common, traditional practice in Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. Keeping that tradition was an important aspect in creating the spa.
“Basically we wanted to combine Eastern therapeutic concepts with Western relaxation concepts,” said Sun Kyong Lee, an owner of the spa’s family business. “So it’s a multicultural spa with a Korean theme.”
Along with the bath experience, Olympus Spa also has heated energy rooms and saunas of different temperatures and natural elements such as stones, charcoal, salt, mud and herbs. Reading and meditation rooms are also nearby.
The rooms are located around a common resting area so that guests can be free to cool off and experience different rooms individually.
“Energy rooms have full benefits of detoxification,” said Lee. “There is scientific background and these ideas are incorporated into the spa.”
An energy room is a heated room where people can rest and sweat out the toxins from their bodies as they absorb the natural minerals that are heated in the room. The rooms are set at different temperatures so guests can choose the level of intensity.
Olympus Spa also offers a variety of services such as facials, massages, treatments and nail care. All services range from $30 and up.
Another service is the Korean body scrub and moisturizing, which is a traditional Korean practice that exfoliates dead skin cells using a scrub cloth to smooth and improve circulation to the skin.
“We want to introduce these Korean aspects to the spa so that everyone can enjoy,” said Lee.
Guests may take part in the Korean tea ceremony, a ritual that has been historically practiced by Korean royalty and Buddhist monks and scholars for more than a thousand years.
“We wanted to introduce tea culture to Western people so they can experience the health benefits,” Lee said.
The tea ceremony takes place in a separate room filled with Korean ornaments and decorations. An assortment of herbal and flower teas is available.
Down the hall from the ceremony room is a juice bar and restaurant area where guests can order Korean food and socialize with the other visitors.
The idea for a female-only spa came from Lee’s father, who wanted to open a spa after inspiration from his wife.
Traditional bathhouses in Korea are co-ed, where there are two chambers in the same facility to serve men and women separately. There are other Asian-influenced spas in Washington State that are co-ed.
The decision for a women-only spa also came from cultural restraints, as the ideals of the communal experience might not be widely accepted by the public.
“When we had the concept of this spa, we made a decision at the time (that) creating a spa for both genders was risky,” Lee said. “So that’s why we said ‘let’s open for women first.’ “
Cultural differences between Asian and Western cultures were the main concern when the spa first opened in Tacoma eight years ago.
“When we opened our (first) spa, we actually targeted it to Korean clienteles because we didn’t know how local people would react to the cultural differences,” said Lee. “After three years, word of mouth spread and a lot of local people visited our spa.”
At the start, the spa had almost all Korean clients, but now there is more diversity and more than 60 percent of the spa’s guests are people of other backgrounds.
Owners of the Olympus Spa decided to expand their services to the Lynnwood location to accommodate the customers who would travel from all over the state to the Tacoma location.
“The Lynnwood location is really good because it is the focal point for many (people) living in Seattle, the Eastside and other areas,” said Lee.
The Lynnwood spa is staffed by 11 employees and has larger facilities than Tacoma. It also has more energy rooms to serve the growing clientele.
The success of the spa may open doors for future locations and possible facilities dedicated to men in the future.
“We wanted to create a spa where women could get relief from daily stresses,” said Lee. “We have dedicated ourselves to do that.”
Crystal Nam is a student in the University of Washington Department of Communication News Laboratory.
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