THE POPULAR BANYA COMPLEX MERMAID SPA REOPENS IN SEAGATE
Brooklyn, NY - October 17, 2008
After a complete reconstruction, Seagate Brooklyn’s famous banya complex Mermaid Spa is proud to announce its reopening. The Mermaid Spa is located on 3701 Mermaid Avenue, in Brooklyn, NY, 11224. The complex will be open seven days a week from 8:00 AM to 11:00 PM. Entrance fees are $30 for adults and $17 for children; a “visitor’s book,” which includes 10 passes, is $250.
The banya complex was created to allow patrons to enjoy as much time as they want to relax after a day’s work, spend quality time with family and friends or simply indulge in its many different treatments. Banya, Russian for steam bath, has no equivalent: it has all the Zen-like calm of its Finnish and Japanese versions, plus some additional Russian energy. And it is the Russian traditions that make the difference—including the camaraderie, hot tea, a good plunge into cold water, the dumplings and rich soups. The entire process attacks the body’s toxins, increases circulation, and boosts the immune system.
The Mermaid Spa’s owners value this rich cultural tradition of using water and steam to provide a healthy, rejuvenating treatment. The complex contains four steam rooms: a Turkish bath, a Finnish bath and two Russian baths. There is also a central hall complete with 200 seats, where guests can cool off in one of two small pools filled with cold water, where a machine continually generates ice. Guests may relax in the Jacuzzi, sit on the giant Korean healer (that includes a heated backrest), or sit around the many tables and drink tea with honey or preserves. Additionally, the banya is always kept at just the right temperature—from morning to night.
Complementing the luxury of the steam and bath rooms is a full-service Russian and French cuisine restaurant which holds 75 patrons. Additional services include two massage rooms where experienced professionals help eliminate everyday stress, or provide an energy boost massage that helps people get ready to take on the next day, refreshed and renewed. Patrons can walk along the winter garden which leads to a lawn where they can lie on deckchairs to read or chat with friends. Besides all of these luxuries, the Mermaid Spa is located only walking distance to the nearby ocean.
The Mermaid Spa opened in 1997 and was popular with locals, and across the tri-state area. Others have come to visit from Boston, Seattle, and Canada. However, the complex burned down three years ago. People were left with no alternative for recreation and relaxation; soon many asked the owners to rebuild. “People were asking and pleading us to open our banya again. We had no choice but to rebuild, because for so many, it was a place of family traditions. Adults would bring their children, who later brought their fiancés, and later, their own kids. I believe that we have done everything right, and now our cultural traditions can live on,” states Co-Owner Iosef Feldsherov.
Mermaid Spa is a multifunctional banya complex in Brooklyn’s Seagate area consisting of steam rooms, a Jacuzzi, massage rooms, and a winter garden with a lawn that serves as a resting place—all within walking distance of the ocean. This complex is for anyone looking to relax, and for families wanting to spend recreational time together.
