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Hot Tubbing in the East Bay

One of our favorite date night activities - particularly now that we have children - is going to a hot tub for an hour. The hot water and bubbling action help us relax both our tired muscles (try sleeping with a baby in your arms!) and our exhausted minds.

Our favorite hot tub place is Piedmont Springs on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland. It's a small place with only four hot tub rooms, but we really like it. The hot tubs are large and are half covered by the ceiling of the open dressing room and half open to the sky. We like this arrangement as when it rains, you can either stay on the open side and feel the rain, or move to the covered side. There isn't too much light, so you can get a nice view of the stars on clear nights. There is bubbling action courtesy of a number of jets. Beyond the hot tub, all there is is a small dressing area with a shower and a wooden seat. The whole facility is very clean, inviting and relaxing. The receptionists are also very friendly and we always feel welcomed and relaxed. Finally, at $14 per person per hour, it's one of the cheapest hot tub places around. It's highly recommended.

When we can't get a hot tub at Piedmont Springs (there are only four, after all), we head to Albany Sauna. Built in 1934 by Finnish immigrants, this facility is older, more rustic and probably more "authentic" by Scandinavian stanrdars. It's also much more expensive ($20 per person per hour) and less friendly.

The hot tub rooms are very attractive in their own way. The hot tub/shower area is made out of wood, and the the hot tubs themselves seem to be built out of some rock-like material (but that my just be my impression). The hot tubs seem smaller, but they are still long enough for me at 5'1" to extend myself in them. They are completely under the sky, but annoyingly there is a rope light at the top of the walls which might look attractive but it interferes with the view of the sky.

I like Albany Sauna, but I find the staff very unfriendly and I often feel unwelcomed as I wait for our hot tub to be ready.

We've also gone to Hot Tropics in San Lorenzo once and never again. This place actually seems to operate as an hourly hotel, something that seems to also have been noticed by their neighbors. The rooms are plain and anticeptic, with no atmosphere whatsoever. They smell strongly of disinfectant and the hot tub was foaming with the remains of the cleaning agent. It was not a good experience.

Finally, we've been to Hot Tubs on University Ave. in Berkeley. We didn't like this place either, and I also suspect is better aimed at the casual sex business. The cavernous rooms had no atmosphere whatsoever, but they did offer a sauna and a bed in addition to the hot tub.

If anyone knows of other nice hot tub places in the Bay Area, please let me know!