Vauxhall gay sauna
Welcome to Vauxhall, the hardcore gay area of London where anything and everything can happen, especially if you are certified party boy.
For me, this used to be where I would go out to clubs, drink, obtain drunk and pass out&#; those were the days. But today, I am looking for a adj sauna, where I can chill relax and play.
I have been in the Vauxhall Chariots before. Last time I was here, a few years back, this place was super empty. This time, it was a Sunday afternoon, and still &#; not as crowded as I would expect. Maybe this is more of an after party place which explains the thorough inspection performed for each person requesting to enter. Fluid bottles are confiscated.
The Jacuzzy
Since last time, I think, they have refurbished the Jacuzzi, which is definitely the best element of this sauna. It is the only place that looks somewhat modern and maintained.
Water temperature was high just prefer it should and bubbles were tough and fun.
Facilities
There are two medium sized soggy saunas and one if not two dry ones as well. Some mazes and rooms with very old black
Chariots RIP: what it was like working at Britain’s biggest gay sauna
One of the last throwbacks to Shoreditch’s gloriously sleazy past, the sprawling gay sauna Chariots closed last weekend after serving 20 years as a cruising venue for gay men in London. The prime plot of land it sits on will be converted into a hotel. A luxury hotel, of course. For a personal perspective on its closure, we asked leading London cabaret performer Mr Blanche DuBois. Blanche’s first job in London was at Chariots, and as we find out, it was a liberating and eye-opening introduction to the city…
London was a very different city 13 years ago, when I arrived here from Mexico on a scholarship to study corporeal mime. As a student I had the right to labor 20 hours a week. It was exciting, not because of the prospect of getting paid, but because of where I’d decided to work: Chariots sauna in Shoreditch.
In my late teens back in Mexico, I had enjoyed hearing stories about saunas – about beautiful men and amazing spaces – from adventurous friends who had visit
Former gay sauna to become 'immersive spaceship experience'
Chariots Spa on Albert Embankment neighboring Vauxhall Cross closed three years ago at the first Covid lockdown and the company later went into liquidation.
Now an unnamed company has submitted a licensing application to Lambeth Council to turn the two empty railway arches into an "immersive spaceship experience".
Details of the proposal are scarce, but the application describes the recent venue as "an immersive game or competitive socialising experience" which would be open daily from 10am to am.
The application can be viewed online and representations can be sent to Lambeth Council's licensing team until Thursday 4 May.
The proposed spaceship venue is part of a growing trend for 'experiences' such as the Immersive Gamebox in Scoresby Street and the Plonk crazy golf venue at London Bridge, as well as the forthcoming karaoke bar at Waterloo Station.
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Tags: Planning & Development, Arts & culture, Lambeth, Vauxhall
The future of Britain’s gay saunas
“Nobody ever talks about the lonely older gay man,” says Pink Broadway’s Nick Batt. “Maybe their partner’s passed away and they desire some company, but they don’t feel like they belong in the [gay] bars because you’re hidden in those places if you’re over ” Batt also says his sauna provides a safe space for gay and bi men who aren’t out. “I’d say up to 70 per cent of our customers don’t inhabit what you’d call a ‘gay lifestyle’,” he says. “I’ve had customers enter up to me and say: ‘My mum died yesterday and she never knew I was gay.’ And in that circumstance, I like to believe we can provide a bit of counselling.”
Gay saunas like London’s Pleasuredrome, which pre-Covid opened 24 hours a day, days a year, can also become a refuge for vulnerable and homeless young men. Dean, a year-old queer man from London, says he made his first visits to gay saunas around seven years ago “out of sheer necessity”.
“When I was 18, I found myself unexpectedly homeless and on the odd night where there wasn’t a roof to doze under, saunas were a relatively