Sanbangsan Mountain Carbonate Hot Springs

Right off the bat, I'll say this place IS foreigner friendly & they have English signs and explanations available in most areas. The front desk can explain the process in very basic English too. I'm white & dont speak a word of Korean, but the spa staff were helpful & treated me well, so foreigners don't be shy. If you've never been to one of these before, the process for this one is detailed down below. This is a pretty standard Korean spa/bath house. I've been to several & also onsen (Japanese version). Comparably, this one is pretty good & quite large. There are several hot (& I do mean HOT) baths to soak in, 1 cold bath, 2 large carbonated baths, tons of sitting & standing showers, an outdoor co-ed area with a pool & hot tub area (swimsuits required outdoors, obvs), body scrub area, a large co-ed jjimjilbang sauna, steamroom, restaurant, lounge area... lots of stuff to do. For those who have been to Japanese onsen, Korean spas are pretty much the same thing, except you won't get booted out for having a tattoo! 😆 For those who have no onsen or jjimjilbang experience, here's the breakdown for this place: go in & tell the front desk what you'd like to do for the day (indoor spa only vs both indoor & outdoor; and if you want to use the sauna). Pay. Get a ticket with a # on it, a towel, sauna clothes (if needed), bathing suit for outdoors (if needed, or bring ur own). Take off ur shoes. Put them in the shoe lockers (to the left of front desk) that match your ticket #. The shoe lockers will give you a bracelet with the same # as your ticket. DONT LOSE THE BRACELET. It stays on your arm or leg the whole time. Go into the locker room (men second floor, women first floor). Find your locker (same as ticket#), unlock it by touching the circle with the bracelet. Strip down fully nude. Yes, nude. No, they wont let you use a bathing suit in the indoor spa. Buy some shampoo/conditioner/body soap from the vending machine. Or bring ur own. Most locals bring their own bathing products. This spa doesn't provide free hair/body products like some do. Tip: if you buy products from the vending machine it's 1,500 won/each for a packet of shampoo, conditioner & body wash. Don't buy all 3 separately like I did. There's a 3-pack option in the vending machine with all 3 for only 3,000 won. Shower in the spa area before going in the hot tub. Go in the hot tub before the carbonated tub (opens your pores more if you use the hot tub first, I guess). Keep your towels dry by putting them in a large bowl (you'll see cream colored large bowls stacked on the top of the shower area). There's not a good place to put your towels here where they'll stay dry. If you're doing the outdoor option, put your swimming suit on in the indoor spa area right before you go outside (you have to walk thru the indoor spa to get to the outdoor one). As soon as you come in from the outdoor area, take your swimming suit off. (Btw, there's no way to do just the outdoor pool/hot tub. You either do just indoor or both indoor & outdoor) Max time allowed at the spa is 5 hours, or they charge you more by the hour. If your bracelet won't open the shoe locker when you try to leave, you haven't settled your bill (i.e., you got a body scrub or something & haven't paid yet). Long review, sorry, but a lot of foreign people are intimidated by these places, so a detailed breakdown would have helped me out a lot before I went to my first one lol.

Great place for a nice afternoon to soak away your worries. This is a hot spring location and not a hotel. Place is very clean and people here very respectful. Indoor hot spring are separated into male & female. It’s birthday suits only (naked) for indoor pools . Outdoor pools have to wear swimming attire. To get to outdoor pools, you would have to pay for indoor pool entry & add outdoor access on top of it. So for an adult is 13000 for indoor + 5000 KRW to get access to outdoor pools. Staff here is very friendly but English is limited… just barely to explain the processes. Came here with my young kids and they loved it. Enjoy if you are thinking of coming here and be respectful.

This is way below the standard Korean spar/sauna experience. Totally not recommended, unless you haven’t been to any Korean sauna and have nothing else to do on a rainy day. The hot spring spar is nothing special, and the outdoor hot spring was full of people who were shoulder-to-shoulder. The Jjimjilbang (Korean sauna) downstairs has one large sauna and one large open space next to a Korean restaurant. People lie down on a mat, observed by people passing by. Nowhere to rest and have a chat, other than the big open space under bright light.

Didn’t stay for the hotel but frequently go to the spa. It’s nice. Definitely do your research and be sure you’re okay with the communal bath and sauna area. Clientele is usually much older or much younger. The space is clean, until you see people rubbing the skin off their feet and body. This doesn’t happen all the time but it sure does happen. Don’t expect a high end spa. This is very much a place where locals go to. That is unless you go to the outdoor area. The outdoor area is great and highly recommended. They sell food and drink too.

The carbonic acid water hot spring is unbelievably therapeutic! The bubbles will just gather on to your skin and stick on like another layer of bubbly skin. The benefits include natural body anti inflammatory results as well as better blood circulation reducing artery clots. The watrr may seem a little muddy but the effects are amazing! An absolutely must try! The cafeteria serves authentic ‘home made’ korean food catered to local palates. A perfect way to rest and relax after a great bath.