Heaven on Earth IS JeJu

 I recently experienced true bliss. I have heard of this place mentioned several times by a friend, associates and even personally by a famous celebrity. The one common phrase that they all said was "You have to check out JeJu". I finally gave in to those requests and stopped by JeJu. I have already been there twice in two weeks, and my little heaven will now be a monthly ritual. JeJu is amazing. It is beneficial for your body, mind and soul. You may be asking "what are you talking about" or "what is JeJu". JeJu is a Korean bathhouse and sauna in Duluth, Georgia. The building is plain and nondescript. I was expecting something more luxurious, but the reviews were outstanding so I decided to try it out. You walk into the lobby and tell the front counter attendant that you would like the $25 access into the saunas. If it is your first time, tell them that you would like a tour of their facility. They only do tours Monday through Thursday. You will not be able to get a tour Friday, Saturday or Sunday. JeJu is also open 24 hours every day. Yes, you heard right. It is open 24 hours 7 days a week. This is another reason why JeJu is heaven on Earth. Once you pay your $25, the attendant will ask to hold your license or car keys. They do this so that you do not stiff them, run up a credit and bolt from the facility. The attendant will give you a wrist band with a key on it, a toothbrush, and a uniform. They give a pink or salmon colored uniform to women, and a light brown uniform to men. The uniform consist of a shirt and shorts. You then enter into the women's locker room to your left, or the men's locker room to your right. Once you are inside of the locker room there are little lockers to put your shoes in. Be sure to look at the wrist band to see the locker number. You can not lock those lockers. Next you continue walking down the hallway and you will find the larger lockers, which you can and should lock. You have two choices at this point. You can partake in the wet bathhouse area or you can go into the communal area. I suggest you start by going into the wet bathhouse. Leave your modesty at the door and get naked. There are only women in this area and they will not allow you to wear clothes in the wet bathhouse. It is an amazing and exhilarating experience. I was pretty shell shocked at first, but my adventurous nature won out and I shed my clothes. It felt fantastic. Put all of your belongings in the locker and do not forget your wristband key. If you lose that key, they will charge you $50. They have showers, a steam room, a sauna, a hot whirlpool, a hot dipping pool, and a freezing cold dipping pool. Everything is well maintained and extremely clean. They have little towels so you can dry off. You must shower before going into the steam room, sauna or dipping pools. They have bars of soap, conditioners, and shampoos. I suggest that you bring your own soap because their soap is a community bar soap. I find that disgusting, so I bring my own soap. The wet bathhouse is a part of your $25 dollar fee and you do not have to pay extra for those amenities.

Wet Bathhouse

 There are several additional services that they offer for a fee and be sure to bring cash for tips. They will charge the actual service to your wristband If you would like a body scrub, the cost is $40. I have not had this service yet, but I hear that it is amazing. They will clean you like you have never been cleaned before and it lasts for well over 1 hour. I hear that they are extremely thorough and they will clean every nook and cranny on your body. They will even wash your hair. If you would like a massage to go with the body scrub, it will cost you a total of $70. They offer a Gold Special Massage with a body scrub for $130. This service is 2 hours long, and I am not quite sure what it entails. If you would like Aromatherapy Massage with a body scrub or a Green Tea Massage with a body scrub, they each cost $100 and lasts for 1 hour and 40 minutes. Ladies, they have a service for only us that will change your life. This service is called a Hip Bath and it only costs $30. I had this service done and now I am a fan. I plan on having this service once a month. I am interested in seeing what the long term effects are. This service lasts for about 45-50 minutes and it is heavenly. You sit on a cushioned wooden stool with a large hole in it. You are completely naked and they place a large robe-like material over you. The only thing people will see is your head. The attendant will put different types of herbs in a pot with water and place it under your stool on top of a burner. I did not feel anything for about 5 minutes and then I began to feel a warm soothing feeling going up my va jay jay. The smells are simply divine. All I can say is WOW!!! It can get pretty hot down there, so be sure to lift the robe if it becomes too intense. This service is suppose to help prevent yeast infections, "itchy anus" LOL, alleviate PMS symptoms, and I hear that it will even tighten up your lady love. LOL, I will have to ask my husband about that one. They even advertise that it will help cure your sterility. So if you are having a difficult time conceiving, it would not hurt to give hip baths a shot. I have pretty awful cramps and bloating during my cycle, so I will definitely do a hip bath once a month to help with these symptoms. They do not recommend hip baths if you are currently pregnant, and I would not have one while I am on my cycle. Before or after that time of the month seems ideal.

Steam Room

When you are done with the wet bathhouse, you can now enjoy the communal area. You must wear your uniform in this section because it is coed. It will be extremely embarrassing if you forget to put on your uniform and walk out into the communal area. If you get confused and can not find the communal area, just ask one of the attendants. If you can not locate an attendant, just remember not to go into any of the closed doors without your uniform. Once you are in the communal area, the first thing you will see is an eating area. They serve natural juices, smoothies, desserts, and Korean food. I have not eaten at their restaurant, but I hear it has mixed reviews. If you like Korean food, you may enjoy it. You can not go wrong with natural juice and smoothies. You do not have to pay cash for the food, but they will charge it to your wristband. Everything else in the communal area is a part of the $25 access fee that you paid upon entrance into JeJu. There are a total of 8 rooms in the communal area. One room is a sleeping room for women only and it opens at around 10 PM. If you want to spend the night at JeJu (also a part of the $25 fee), women can sleep in this room away from the snoring men who spends the night at JeJu. They provide mats and pillows for the sleeping room.  If you would like a little brown pillow to lay your head on while in any of the huts or rooms, be sure to grab one from the cabinet in the communal area.

They have 3 beautifully decorated huts right in the middle of the communal area. One hut is called the Gold & Silver Room. This sauna is very vibrant and beautiful. The colors are gorgeous and luxurious. This sauna is said to have "positive effects on nerve stability, poison counteraction, and neurosis". The next hut is Rock-Salt Room. This is one of my favorite rooms. This sauna is surrounded by pure crystal rock salt. It is said that the Rock-Salt Room "strengthens your cardiovascular system and increase blood circulation, flush out impurities, and release dead skin cells". This sauna is really hot and absolutely wonderful. The next hut is the Jewel Room. The details in this hut are exquisite. Visually, it is the most beautiful hut in my opinion. This room is surrounded by semi-precious stones, crystals, and amethyst. This sauna is said to have great healing and calming powers. It is a room that is great for depression. Next they have four different rooms that are not built like huts. The first room is the Jade Room. I love the Jade Room. The decor is so calming and it is so peaceful. It is a low-temperature sauna and it is excellent for sleeping. Every time I go into this room, I fall asleep. The Jade Room is made from imported Korean jade stones. This room is said to "increase metabolism, improve circulation, and relieve arthritis pain". I do not know about all of that, but it is an excellent room to relax in and catch a few zzzz's. The next room is the Charcoal Room. This is my second favorite room. This room feels like one big hug. It is dark and comforting. This room is surrounded by charcoal and is said to "eliminate toxins and wastes increasing perspiration and your resistance to diseases". I repeatedly go back to this room for some reason. The next room is the Baked Clay Room. This sauna is surrounded by Korean red baked clay. It is hot and excellent for "tight muscles, increase blood circulation, helps eliminate waste products, and delivers rich blood oxygen to depleted muscles helping them recover faster". I tend to sweat a lot in this sauna so it must be good for the skin as well. The last room is the Ice Room. Basically, this room is just a simple room with an air conditioner in it. Nothing too special about this room. If you get too hot...just go into this room to cool off. I have seen people working on their laptops in the communal area, or they can lounge around and watch television on the two or three flat screen placed around the room. If you want to go swimming, JeJu also have a full length swimming pool. You must wear a bathing suit to swim in the pool.

Swimming Pool

They offer additional services in the communal area as well. These services include a hour long Acupressure Massage for $100, a hour long Body Massage for $80, and a hour long reflexology Foot Massage for $50. I have not had any of these services yet, but I hear that the Foot Massage is to die for. I can not wait to explore all of JeJu's amenities in the near future. JeJu also have an area upstairs that is pretty basic. If you must pollute your body and grab a smoke, you can go into their smoking room upstairs. I believe smoking defeats the purpose of even going to JeJu; but to each his own. They also have a very basic and unimpressive fitness room. They have a few treadmills, several stationary bikes, and a television. There is a pitiful excuse for an arcade upstairs as well. I guess some kids may like it. They also have a full skin care and nail salon upstairs. This salon offers manicures, pedicures, facials, laser hair removals, eyelash extensions, and waxing services. You can go to www.lilyskin.com to check for pricing and more details.

Once you are ready to leave JeJu, you just go back to the locker room and change into your street clothes. Give your towels and uniform to the locker room attendant and walk back into the reception/front desk area. Do not forget your shoes. You give your wristband to the front desk attendant and they will see how much money you owe from your wristband. You pay your fee, retrieve your license or car keys,  and leave. You can spend as much or as little money as you like. If you just want to experience the wet bathhouse and the saunas in the communal area, the cost is just a grand total of $25 and you can stay there for as long as you like. If you want any additional services, it will cost you extra. JeJu is definitely worth $25 and much much more.

Ha Roo Baghn Bakery

Ha Roo Baghn Bakery is attached to JeJu and you can access it from inside of the reception/front desk area. This bakery is pretty good. I had the Pumpkin cake loaf and some Korean style ice cream. Delicious and inexpensive!!! Overall, I give JeJu 4 1/2 stars out of 5. I only took off points because the bars of soap are disgusting, the fitness room is sorry, and I do not get the smoking room. Everything else is AMAZING!!! I was debating on even blogging about this place because I want it to be my little secret, but I said that I was going to share my experiences of being Healthy in the A and I can not continue being healthy without JeJu. If you know what is good for you, pack a bag with soap, an Ipod with earplugs, water bottle, and  a book and head to JeJu. Hopefully I will see you there next time; if not, oh well it is your loss. LOL

JeJu
3555 Gwinnett Place Drive
Duluth, GA. 30096
678-336-7414
www.jejusauna.net