Medina Hammam Center — Local services in Paris

Last night a girlfriend and I had our first hammam experience at the Medina center. We absolutely loved it. Our French is catastrophic, so we were grateful for the helpfulness and patience of the whole staff. We were given (hot from the printer) instructions in English, which we tried our best to memorize since we were leaving our glasses in the locker. . The instructions are also posted in French downstairs. We were handed a numbered bracelet, two Turkish bath towels (blue and orange), a regular terrycloth hand towel, a robe, rubber sandals, a container of black soap, and a scrub mitt. There is a distinct routine with lots of steps. 1.Change into robe and slippers. Take the blue bath towel, the hand towel and the scrubby mitt downstairs. 2.Give your numbered bracelet to scrub staff. Shower and soap up. The soap doesn't lather, it's more like a salve. Do not rinse the soap. Relax in hamman (and sauna) for up to 40 minutes and let the soap work it's magic. Rinse soap off in shower, then lie on hot stone. We were given new numbered bracelets once we laid on the hot stone. They will call this new number when it's your turn for the scrub. 6.Get scrubbed. They will rinse you off. 7.A trip to the cold plunge pool. It's really cold. 8.If you are getting the oil rub, take another shower. Wash (or at least wet) your hair. 9 Head upstairs, retrieve your orange massage towel from the locker and head into the relaxation room. Give relaxation room staff your number and lie down until your number is called. Enjoy oil massage. Get dressed and head out for tea and snack.

I list these steps because it was confusing for us our first time. We got lots of help from staff and friendly clientele and vowed to return now that we know what we are doing.

The facilities are clean, spacious, and friendly. Loved the "female space vibe," and saw lots of groups of women of all ages. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Swimsuits are required, though many of women were topless and since you take off your top for the scrub and the massage, next time I'll just wear my bikini bottoms. If you are a more private person, no worries, there were plenty of women wearing tops our one piece suits. My friend wore a one piece, and she just pulled the top part down to her hips for scrub and massage. Since we signed up as a duo, we were scrubbed and massaged at the same time. They are VERY thorough during the scrub and massage, which is different from the experiences I've had in the U.S. The oil massage included face, scalp, and breasts. Honestly, it was fantastic and I'm probably ruined forever for the much more chaste Napa Valley massage.

The fee for each of us was 69 euros and we were there for almost four hours. A really good value.mI'm in Paris for six more months and am already planning to go back next week and figuring out a way to budget a visit as a...

I have been visiting today the Medina Hammam and it was an excellent experience that I can recommend to any one! The Hammam itself is very clean and has a very nice atmosphere with Moroccan tiles and Moroccan multi-colored lamps. The staff is extremely friendly and professional. The scrub was very thoroughly done and the massage was amazing! It was a full body massage including the head, the face and the tummy. And what's best is the perfumed almond oil that still lingers on my skin. They have both a steam room and a sauna and a pool. The water in the pool could have been a bit warmer but maybe it needs to be like this in order to be able to cool down after the steam-room and the sauna. The relaxing room is not only very beautiful but also very quiet and nice. As is the tea-room where I drank the best Moroccan tea in my whole life and ate a very delicious sweet! I put back maybe the calories I lost in the sauna but it was definitively worth it! :) I have to say it was all very well organized and despite of the fact that it was Friday evening and there were many ladies there, I did not have to wait long at all. The guests were also very nice and all chatted in a friendly atmosphere. It is a wonderful way to relax after a hard day/week at work and i will definitively return. The best...

J'ai l'habitude de venir au hammam medina center depuis au minimum 10 ans. Nous avons toujours été bien accueilli jusqu'à ce vendredi 23 février. Je trouve que le personnel a bien changé et l'accueil et le respect client n'est plus leur préoccupation. La jeune femme a l'accueil, remplît juste ses fonctions mais on sent un faux sourire , un ras le bol un service client limité à juste accueillir. Mais aucun accueil chaleureux , on sent qu'elle fait son travail dans le strict minimum. Je viens très souvent avec ma mère, qui est une personne âgée et le gommage c'est toujours bien passé avec des femmes d'une gentillesse et d'un dévouement incroyable. Nous connaissons la dureté de ce métier. Sauf ce jour là, une nouvelle femme qu'on a rarement vu , une femme entre une trentaine et quarantaine d'année d'apparence mince et longinine , qui pour elle , l'accueil, le sourire , l'aide n'existe pas. C'était à notre tour pour le gommage, je passe avec une dame super qui me prend en charge et ma mère passe avec la "nouvelle" . Ma mère a des difficultés pour monter sur la table de gommage . La dame la regarde et la laisse se débattre seule pour monter. Elle reste planter là sans aucune sensibilité ou volonté d'aider ma mère .J'ai dû mon même arrêter mon gommage pour aller aider ma mere à monter sur la table. La dame continue elle fait juste le strict minimum en faisant le gommage a ma mère. Elle lui demande de se retourner d'une voix autoritaire. Encore là ma mere ne pouvant pas se tourner seule , se debat seule. Encore une fois la dame la regarde et ose lui dire " si vous tombez cela n'est pas mon problème "!!! Choquée et sidérée j'arrête de nouveau mon gommage pour aider ma mere a se retourner.La dame lui fait son gommage en la touchant à peine. Ma mere lui dit mais vous pouvez me faire le gommage un peu plus fort , la dame lui répond " Non , je suis blessée a la main , j'ai mal a la main"!!! Ma mère consternée lui dit mais si vous êtes malade et ne pouvez pas travailler avec vos mains pourquoi êtes-vous vous venus ? pourquoi ne restez vous pas chez vous en arrêt maladie ? La dame avec aucune empathie fait la sourde oreille et lui fait un gommage au strict minimum. Nous avons payé une prestation qui au final s'est effectuée d'une façon odieuse. Je trouve ca honteux de laisser ce genre de femmes travailler et de traiter les clients de la sorte. Malgré notre ancienneté, nous avons été extrêmement déçues du comportement de certaines et déçue des prestations réalisées! Je pense que quand le chat n'est pas là les souris dansent et qu'il faudrait un recardement pour certaines !! Par contre les masseuses ont...