Ever since my trip to Korea, I’ve fallen in love with bathhouses. I had no idea, there was a Russian bathhouse in Mississauga until I saw a Groupon for it. The reviews were good so I took advantage of the $15 admission deal (regularly $30).

Chris and I went on a cold Saturday night not knowing what to expect. It was a small but cozy place —different from your lavish Scandinavian spas. Unfortunately, although it’s a bathhouse, there isn’t a communal hot tub or bath. Instead, the place has three saunas, Turkish steam, Finnish dry and a Russian Banya. The Russian banya was the best sauna they had there. It was also very different from all the saunas I’ve tried before. It was dry, hot but smelt very herbal —very nice.

After you heat up your body, you need to take a quick cold shower or a dip in the cold tub to close your pores. Then, you relax on their chairs and repeat the hot to cold process a few times.

The place was very clean and there were a good amount of people, including the Russian community. There is also a lounge, free tea and a casual dining area serving homemade Russian foods.

We spent about 2-3 hours there and I would consider going back (especially if there is another groupon) but I really wished they had a hot tub.