Busan, Haeundae, Jung-dong - Rodeo Jjimjil Town

I'm expanding the overview on Haeundae.  This entry will include a personal review and more details.

Rodeo Jjimjil Town (로데오찜질타운)
You can find this place in the Rodeo Outlet shopping area south of the Jung-dong subway station. Naver users rated this place 10.0 out of 10 (17 ratings)!

Rodeo is a great place to shop, there are a few good places to eat, and also this little gem.  On the top floor of the outlet stores, a large reception desk greets you.  The dressing room is a long hall with lots of little nooks for the lockers.  That keeps the place cozy and quiet.  It is overall a small place, but very nice and super clean.  When I walked into the bath area, I was greeted by an amazing woodsy smell.  Pine maybe?  Or cedar?  I'm not sure, but it was great.  There are 3 tubs, cold, warm, and hot, and a dry sauna room.  Lots of sit-down showers and 6 standing stalls.  The standing showers are those huge, rainfall shower heads - stellar!
So, like I said, the facilities are a bit limited but what's there was really done right.

To get to the jjimjilbang, you walk through a long skyway across to the other building.  There's an outdoor area with foot spas and doctor fish, but it wasn't open when I was there.  (More info on that coming soon.)  The main jjimjilbang area is a long rectangle with the TV positioned at one end.  Although things are packed in pretty tightly, it seemed to stay quiet - maybe the high ceilings help dissipate sounds.  Anyway, here you'll find the typical cafe, restaurant, rooms of varying temperatures, sleeping caves, and gender-segregated sleeping rooms.  There's a second level on each side of the hall; on one side the stairs go up to the sleeping caves.  Being up above keeps them very quiet.  The other side's stairs lead to the skin care & massage, PC room, children's play area, and the singing rooms.  Also, there were a couple rooms at or just above room-temperature.  I hate it when there are only hot or super hot rooms to choose from.  One room in particular was distinctive:  room-temperature, and the walls are lined with trees.  The outside parts of the tree, like a log cabin but with the bark on.  Surprisingly, it wasn't that uncomfortable to lean up against either, and this room smelled like your grandparent's lake cabin in the summer.

Probably the best part is the fact that this jjimjilbang utilizes the fact that it's on the top floor.  Just outside the entrance from the skyway into the jjimjilbang area there is a garden with platforms to relax on in good weather (pictured below).  Also, the smoking area is a lovely patio with picnic tables out on the other corner.  Because it's open-air and large enough, I could enjoy some time out there as well, without getting second-hand smoke.



I had a nice time there, and will definitely be going back.  Remember everyone:  if you take my advice and visit any of these saunas, please come back and comment or rate them for other readers!

부산 해운대구 중동 1775-7 해운대비치아울렛 401호
051-743-7111
Map of Rodeo Jjimjil Town Haeundae