SoJo Spa Club — Attraction in Edgewater

SoJo is quite an experience. It's pricier than a typical spa: it's in Jersey, not sure about mass transit options, but it's $15+tip for valet (there could be a free area, not sure) not including gas and tolls. For two, we spent a total $340 for all-day access, tips, food, valet and the $20/pp volcanic sand treatment. You walk around mostly in barefeet- no shoes! Paper footies are available for bathrooms etc. They'll also search your bags and have a strict no alcohol, smoking or drug policy. Also, if you have a problem with same-gender nudity, you may want to go elsewhere.

The place is 7 floors + a hotel. First floor is check-in where you leave your shoes and get your wrist fob (if you plan to use the gym, let them know). Floor 4 is locker rooms with private baths for "au naturel" bathing, cold pool, hot bath, jacuzzi, dry and wet saunas and an outdoor pool for chilling. Locker rooms also have open showers, sit-down mirrored bathing cubicles, and sell items you might need. Outside in the common area, you have the hydropool, foot massage path, and outdoor pools, including the indoor sauna and stone beds.

Hydropool is a large L-shaped pool with a great views of Manhattan and the Hudson (and a lot of soon to be built-on empty lots) with sections of water jets to massage all areas of the body. This is a big draw! The foot massage path is unique and challenging for tender feet - great photo ops as well. Of the saunas on the 5th floor, the charcoal was our favorite and the quietest. We napped in the big relaxation room after some time between the hot areas and the ice-cold room. 6th floor has a food court with a variety of lunch items and smoothies. Water fountains are available throughout. The 7th floor has THE infinity pool - everyone clamoring for their socials; but, once you done with that, the Hydropool or Silk pools on 4 were our favorites. The cold waterfall will give you brainfreeze, then pop back into the warmer waters. Hit this 4th floor area earlier in the day when the sun is overhead.

The volcanic sand therapy ($20/pp) is one of the optional services on the 6th floor (massages, skin care and a salt room are others). You may be very interested in this, but know a few things - go to the bathroom before, drink water before, and if you're claustrophobic, you may want to skip. Pick a spot by the fans - you get very overheated. You get your own Japanese robe (get naked!), get covered in hot sand (not your head), and lie there for 40 mins - sweating and steaming under a mound of heated sand. It can be too much for some. After they gave me a cold towel, I lasted a few more minutes. I probably wouldn't do it again, but it was an experience. Next time I bury my kids in the sand, I'm charging them.

At night, lights come on! Pretty cool. We went on a day when it was in the 40's and windy, and, when in the pools, you get brainfreeze and want to warm your face - I like that - but the outdoor areas and garden on floor 8 were closed. There are no very hot banyas or 30⁰ cold plunge like you might find elsewhere, although the steam sauna in the men's locker room did make it feel like a boiled lobster. While not my favorite spa, I would go back and maybe even...

Today was my first time at Sojo. I received some pretty tough news about my cancer last week and decided to treat myself to a spa day. Many of my friends told me wonderful things about this spa, so I thought I'd check it out. When I arrived, I was really impressed with the setup - from the check-in to the shoe lockers, to the bracelets to pay for everything and to open up the lockers. The staff was very friendly and helpful and the facilities were clean. I loved all the hot water pools, especially the hydrotherapy pool. I enjoyed all the saunas, too. But the website didn't state that some of the outdoor pools were closed and I was looking forward to trying some of those.

But my biggest complaint about Sojo was that I tried to sign up for an acupressure massage and was denied the service. They make you sign a waiver stating that you are responsible for your own health and to disclose any health issues. I disclosed that I had cancer and had issues with neuropathy. I also stated that my doctor cleared me for massages, as I had many massages in the past 2.5 years since my cancer diagnosis. After calling someone else, the woman at the counter said I couldn't avail of that service. The only massage available to me given my condition was the aromatherapy massage, but the schedule didn't work for me. Never mind that I actually had a hot stone massage and multiple shiatsu massages before at other (high end) spas with no concerns! What is the point of making me sign a waiver accepting responsibility yet still denying me service?

I then tried signing up for a Korean body scrub and was denied that, too. When I asked why, the woman at the counter said it was because I mentioned I had neuropathy and balance issues. I asked if I would be standing up for the body scrub and she said no but that I would have to get up and down a table. I told her I could do that but she still said they wouldn't let me have the service. I asked if I brought in a doctor's note, if I could have the service and she said no because it was a liability issue. This didn't make sense to me at all! They're fine with me walking barefoot all over their 7-floor facility but they're not fine with me lying down for a massage or a body scrub? Which has the greater risk of me falling?

I suggest that to avoid future confusion and disappointment for any of their customers who have health issues, that they please clearly state their policies on their website of who can and cannot avail of treatments. Each counter had a list of health conditions that may prevent someone from being able to have a service but I couldn't find this information on the website. So I can sign up for a service on their website without knowing I could be denied service?

For my part, I will do what I can to let people know that the spa treatments are only for perfectly healthy people. For my fellow cancer patients, survivors, and thrivers - if you want to treat yourself to a day at the spa and want a massage or a scrub, this is not the place for you. I've been to many other spas, which are more accomodating, respectful, and caring, and whose policies are based on actual medical advice not just fears of...

Took my mom here for a spa date and booked a couple’s massage so we could have our visit earlier in the day on a Friday (the only other massages available were after 4pm on the day we visited…I booked our treatments less than a week before). We had to arrive an hour before our visit, complimentary valet parking is included with certain treatments. Otherwise valet parking is $15 or there is a free lot about a block away. I was impressed with how well organized and how clean this place is! You check in, then security checks your bag to make sure you’re not smuggling any food or beverages or who knows what else in and then you put your outside shoes in a little locker and use the bracelet key as your “pass” throughout the spa and pay for everything when you check out using the self checkout machines. Once you drop off your shoes you go (either in socks or barefoot so if being barefoot is a problem for you then make sure you bring socks!) to the locker room that corresponds to your gender and are given a robe and a towel and you can change into a bathing suit there and drop off your things in an assigned locker. I didn’t feel icky walking around barefoot because to be honest the whole time I was there I could see spa staff cleaning and sanitizing the floors. Our treatments were amazing, I had the salt stone massage and my mom opted to have the aromatherapy massage. My masseuse was professional, asked a lot of relevant questions about my medical history and how I want to feel at the end and delivered when it comes to my expectations (which were high to be honest), she also checked with me often throughout to see if the amount of pressure or heat from the stones were ok. We opted to add the scalp treatment which I recommend, it’s not something I’ve done before and it felt really good!! After our massages we had 2 hours to utilize the spa (and could have opted to stay longer and pay a reduced daily admission fee). We tried the different saunas and really enjoyed all of them! After taking showers we also used the wet sauna and the different plunge pools in the women’s baths section which I really enjoyed! I didn’t enjoy the outside pools as much primarily because they were a lot more crowded. I liked the cafeteria style set up a lot, the food was prepared quickly and was absolutely delicious!! This is another spa that doesn’t offer complimentary water in the cafeteria but since this is a much more casual restaurant than world spa and it’s pretty much self service (no gratuity automatically included in the restaurant) I didn’t mind as much. There are plenty of options throughout the spa for water replenishment, do yourself a favor and bring an empty reusable water bottle so you can stay hydrated without using the little paper cones if you want ! My favorite water station was in the spa treatments area which was infused with lemons and in the lounge where you wait for your treatments there are complimentary beverages as well (water and mint tea). All in all I loved my visit here and would absolutely return for another treatment. This place is definitely pricey but worth...