Sansom Street Gym — Local services in Philadelphia

I’VE BEEN READING THE HARSH REVIEWS OF THIS PLACE AND I’M SADDENED. WHILE ITS BEEN SEVERAL YEARS SINCE I’VE BEEN THERE, I’VE ALWAYS HAD A WILD TIME. IT IS DIFFICULT FOR BATHHOUSES TO TURN A PROFIT THESE DAYS. ESPECIALLY IF THEY ARE IN AN EXPENSIVE CITY. THEY ARE BECOMING PASSION PROJECTS FOR DEEP POCKETED INDIVIDUALS. WOULD LOVE TO BUY IT AND RESTORE IT TO IT’S FORMER GLORY DAYS.

I`ve been to this bathhouse multiple times and have never had a bad experience. I've been to many baths, all over the world and would rate one night in particular there, in my top three experiences. That was 5-6 years ago. On the top floor was a blackout maze that was insane. (And a secret room) I went back a couple of years later and they appeared to have been doing some reconfiguring and that area had been moved. While not as dark and forboding, it was still a lot of fun. And i believe they had an area of private suites.? I may be wrong about that but i saw guys going into a locked area that required a key. Then covid hit and they closed. Im headed back to philly soon and plan on going. They have a new website but info is scant. Are they still under construction, or no? Do they have private suites? No interior pics. I prefer this over Club Philly, but admit i like the darker, grittier vibe when it comes to a bathhouse. I've never had a problem...

Here for one night (first time in Philly) looking for something to do since the bars were quiet. I arrive and ask the thin bald guy if there's anyone inside. He says "Oh, yes, definitely". It takes him about 15 minutes to check me in.

And guess what - there's not one person there. Literally, I walked around for 10 minutes and didn't see a soul. On the way out, I said - fairly amicably - "Wow, that was not cool. I just dropped $20 and you weren't exactly up front with me - there was nobody inside".

Here's what he did:

"I didn't say there were a LOT of people."

"Well, you inferred it"

"You know what? You're old and drunk. And you're barred - permanently."

"What? I'm just telling you it's not cool to pretend there's people inside when there's literally nobody. Be honest with people."

"GET OUT OR I'M CALLING THE POLICE"

Yikes. Welcome to Philadelphia.

So yeah, save yourself the $20 and wait outside to see if anyone else is going in....

This place continues to go downhill. They have said for years improvements were coming. Some have but most have not or not enough. The rooms have wire meshing on top that all look as if they have been broken into from above. There are no safes for use. The staff is rude and unprofessional. For example I am waiting in the vestibule before actually entering the place for over 30 min so that the cashier can change shifts. There are actually 7 of us waiting here. The shift change is at midnight. The cashier who was working until midnight told us we could not come in. The cashier who works from 12am on, apparently was just woken up in one of the rooms and no one else could help us to get in. It's now 1245, the cashier showed up and 5 of us are still waiting to get in. The...