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| == Etiquette == | == Etiquette == | ||
| Customers are given two towels, a locker key and condoms on entrance. Most people keep the second towel as a spare in their locker. The convention is to walk around the bathhouse wearing a towel, though nudity in the dry or steam sauna is normal.<ref name=Couture2008 >{{citation |last=Couture |first=Joseph |year=2008 |title=Peek: inside the private world of public sex |publisher=Haworth Press |isbn=9781560236467 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GPvZAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> | Customers are given two towels, a locker key and condoms on entrance. Most people keep the second towel as a spare in their locker. The convention is to walk around the bathhouse wearing a towel, though nudity in the dry or steam sauna is normal.<ref name=Couture2008 >{{citation |last=Couture |first=Joseph |year=2008 |title=Peek: inside the private world of public sex |publisher=Haworth Press |isbn=9781560236467 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=GPvZAAAAMAAJ}}</ref> Apart from the lounge, cafe area and locked cubicles, sexual activity may occur anywhere, with anyone free to watch or attempt to join in.<ref name=Woods2003 >{{citation |last1=Woods |first1=William J. |year=2003 |title=Gay Bathhouses and Public Health Policy |last2=Binson |first2=Diane |editor1=William J. Woods |editor2=Diane Binson |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9781560232735 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=t2MsjlZT1LcC}}</ref> | ||
| == History == | == History == | ||
Revision as of 19:53, 21 November 2009
| Chariots Shoreditch | |
|---|---|
 2009, free customer contact card | |
| General information | |
| Location | Shoreditch, London |
| Address | 1 Fairchild Street |
| Opened | 1997 |
| Management | Chariots Leisure Ltd |
| Website | |
| http://www.gaysauna.co.uk | |
Chariots Shoreditch (Chariots Health Spa) is a gay sauna in Shoreditch, London. In terms of floor-space and capacity it is the largest gay sauna in the UK.
Description
The bathhouse is on three floors decorated in the style of a Roman baths. On the ground floor is the main entrance with several areas of customer lockers, main shower room, lounge with bar/cafe and internet area and an inclusive gym with several work-out machines. The first floor houses a maze of free cubicals of various sizes including orgy rooms and an extensive dark room. The third floor has a swimming pool, two whirlpools (jacuzzis), two steamrooms, a hot dry sauna, glory-hole cubicals, a second smaller dark room and a video/orgy room.
There are free STI testing sessions held at the bathhouse.
Etiquette
Customers are given two towels, a locker key and condoms on entrance. Most people keep the second towel as a spare in their locker. The convention is to walk around the bathhouse wearing a towel, though nudity in the dry or steam sauna is normal. Apart from the lounge, cafe area and locked cubicles, sexual activity may occur anywhere, with anyone free to watch or attempt to join in.
History
In 1998, Justin Fashanu spent a last evening in Chariots before committing suicide.
There was significant press interest and internet speculation in 2006 when the sauna was closed for Easter Weekend, after a 24 year old man's body was found. The police investigation found that death was due to a drugs overdose but there were no suspicious circumstances.
References
- Humphreys, Rob; Bamber, Judith (2003), The Rough Guide to London (5 ed.), Rough Guides, p. 507, ISBN 9781843530930
- Edward, Olivia; Cortinovis, Genevieve; Eggleton, James; Lee, Youyoung; Hermitage, Ashley (2007), MTV England, Frommer's, p. 122, ISBN 9780764587733
- QX Magazine London (767), QX: 88, 19th November 2009 http://viewer.zmags.com/showmag.php?mid=rwhrsd#/page88, retrieved 2009-11-21
{{citation}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - "NHS to hold STI testing in gay sauna". Pink News. October 15, 2007. Retrieved 2009-11-21.
- Couture, Joseph (2008), Peek: inside the private world of public sex, Haworth Press, ISBN 9781560236467
- Woods, William J.; Binson, Diane (2003), William J. Woods; Diane Binson (eds.), Gay Bathhouses and Public Health Policy, Routledge, ISBN 9781560232735
- "It's the national game but it is a sport which has a bad reputation for tolerance. Football started to tackle racism when black players became stars. But why is being gay still a taboo on the football field?". BBC. 24 April 2008. Retrieved 21 November 2009.
- Shoffman, Marc (April 21, 2006). "Man found dead in gay sauna". Pink News. Retrieved 2009-11-21.