O'Kari — Local services in Paris

I got myself a spa package at O’Kari as an early Christmas gift to myself while on vacation in Paris. I’ve visited Korean spas before but have never been to a hammam, so I knew a little what to expect but was new to the details and expectations.

The space is lovely, cozy, and warm. I was invited to undress and given a robe, sandals, and disposable underwear for hygiene (I had the option to wear a swimsuit but hadn’t packed one). Lockers with keys are available for belongings. They also gave me a little gift bag with a wooden comb and some toiletries. Makeup remover is available as well.

The first step is to visit the hammam (steam room). The attendant said she would come and get me when it was time to move to the scrub so I’m not sure how long I was in there, maybe 15-20 mins? It was quite steamy and hot which took me some time to get used to, and I needed a few breaks to regulate.

Next step was the scrub - I’d opted to upgrade to include a shampoo/scalp scrub and it was worth it! My attendant was very careful to check in with pressure and intensity. I speak almost no French but she was very gracious in speaking English to me. The scrub is done while lying on a stone table for ease of rinsing.

After my scrub I was instructed to dip in the cooler pool and return to the hammam to prep my skin for a massage (I’d added a 30 minute session to my package). The massage was done in a room with several other clients getting massages at the same time but it never felt crowded and was very quiet.

I was sad to leave and would absolutely return! I was wishing the whole time that I’d scheduled this the day I arrived to get the plane ick off of my skin.

Tips for those who may not be familiar with this environment: many women, myself included, chose to be topless - others wore bathing suits. Neither is pushed more than the other so you can go with what you’re comfortable with. the treatments are performed at the same time as other clients are getting scrubbed/massaged, so don’t expect a private room. That said it feels…convivial? I wasn’t socializing, but it didn’t feel awkward to be in the presence of other women. like someone else said, this is not a spa in the western sense, but more like a cleaning/detoxing relaxation experience.

My only (minor) issues were that I wished there was an option to put some conditioner in my hair, comb, and rinse before moving from the shampoo back to the hammam and massage (my curly hair gets very snarled when it’s wet). I also should have brought a gigantic water bottle to rehydrate after all the sweating.

Otherwise, lovely experience and wow do I wish we had these more...

I went here a few days back and it was just ok, for me it's not what I expected. First of all, it's not private at all. With that pricing I would expect private or at least semi-private on a schedule like a normal pro estheticians do in most spa places I've been to. I've been to many renowned spas across the globe and wanted to experience this in Paris. Most estheticians barely spoke English. What I was really surprised was that they don't know how to schedule people properly. I was scheduled in the mid afternoon. I arrived just on time. Spa like this usually provides full service, but the waiting room was full of people. Younger people too, which I didn't really like as I felt this was more like a bachelorette type girls get together. I was particularly unhappy that they expected me to wait for some younger ladies when I was told to take shower after the oil massage. I was denied access to take shower at first. I was made to wait until someone took shower before going into a massage room, and then after I waited for 3 other girls. Massage room had wet recycled towels they never changed! How disgusting to hop onto a semi-wet towel that someone laid already mixed with sweat and massage oil? Absolutely disgusting! I've never been asked to lay down on a wet towel. Why don't they change towels for each customer? Awful! Also the owner/older host at the reception was quite rude to me with such inflexible and bad attitude. I brought my own hair oil/cream as I use very high-end product and they don't give you new hairbrushes like most spas do. How unsanitary! I dropped my hair products and she told me "Oh please you're gonna use our products!" The only things were they don't even have any products for hair there! I think French health department does not regulate spa facility. This would be hugely fined in the US, other high-end spas in the UK and Japan they will be shut down due to health violations. Don't go here. It's extremely unsanitary. Toilet was half clogged also..disgusting. Europeans know of no hygiene nor customer service,...

Maybe I had too high expectations. On their website, there was an image of a beautiful Parisian building with an elegant frontal door, giving an impression that the spa would be as elegant. However, after arriving, I discovered that the spa is located at the cellar level, with a small and rather shabby entrance door on the side of the building. The owner was accepting customers at the tiny counter squeezed very close to the frontal door. While I was waiting at the counter, the door kept opening automatically and letting the cold air in (it was winter). I booked a session without a body scrub because I have sensitive skin. During the check-in, the owner tried persistently to upsell the package with the scrub. She did not care about my arguments and kept insisting, to the point that it felt uncomfortable. As I did not agree to change my package, she was obviously unpleased. The changing area was very small, with just one tiny, shabby changing cabinet behind the curtain. The spa area was full and busy, with a lot of turnover going on between scrubbing, soaping, hammam, etc. activities. Most ladies (clients) were naked. I was concerned about the hygiene of this place. Naked women were sitting in the hammam with their intimate parts on the bench without any towels. I never saw any staff member coming in to disinfect the benches. I also did not see that the tables where the body scrubs and soaping were performed were being disinfected between the customers. I booked a massage and it was performed in a room with at least three other customers. Maybe this is a cultural custom, but I did not find it very relaxing to be in a rather small room with other customers also getting a massage. It was a weird ''collective'' massage experience. Overall, I was dissapointed and I will...