SHELTER

1. Hot Korean guys but...

   “Went on a Saturday night at around 11PM then it’s true that most of the guys there are muscular and hot. However, me being a foreigner and little bit muscular (Filipino), I haven’t had too much interaction with the locals since they seem to cling to local Koreans as well. When I tried to talk in English, they will tend to go away and look for another one.
   
   Cleanliness is a small issue though I was able to step on a used condom? Lol but I managed to clean my foot at the shower area.
   
   Hot crowd but they seem too patriotic for another meat LOL but it was an okay experience!“

   value
   facilities
   service
   cleanliness

   Filipino  on 16-07-2019 | Reply Problem with this review?

2. Hot Korean-On-Korean crowd, For Real..

   “Came here recently. I am a fit Westerner, here are my impressions.. I went on a Saturday night at around 10pm-midnight, a Monday night around 8pm-midnight and a Tuesday night around 8pm-midnight. I was impressed with how full it was even on Mon/Tue night which are usually 'off' night - at least 20-30 guys there. The crowd was mostly gym-fit Koreans, easily the hottest crowd I've seen in a sauna. (usually many out-of-shape guys, in my experience.)
   
   The good news for foreigners is, they seem to let them in now, and while I would have passed their 'inspection', They did not ask me to show my body, and there were a fewer fit guys there. so it didn't seem like they're all that strict. The bad news for foreigners is that the local Korean guys are mostly only into each other. And they hook up a LOT with each other. This not a place where people just stand around. (If anything the guys are overly pushy for immediate action..)
   
   If you are a foreigner, I'd recommend you come earlier, stay later, and lower your standards a bit if you want to hook up, and try not to get an attitude towards the aloof locals - it will spoil your mood and make you less attractive to whomever might be interested. I did notice that near the end of the night, there were quite a few guys, mostly Koreans, many quite hot, who were visibly frustrated that they could not hook up.. the mood got edgy then ..
   
   I would add that there is a prominent sign on the wall saying 'this is a no-barebacking club', but I had several guys reject me after I refused to bareback with them.
   
   
   Also, the club really is small and very dark, so it's hard to see people's faces, or who is hooking up with who, which is always part of the fun, IMO. And while a lot of Seoul saunas have no privacy at all, this one has small sleeping rooms with doors that you can close but cannot lock. Thee rooms and doors also have windows that you can look through, if you can see in the dark. so it's not completely private. Guys tend not to shine phone-lights here like they do at some other places either.. I don't know if this is by policy or not.“

   Ken  on 21-12-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

   • Confirm

     “Im also a foreigner who has been to Shelter many times and can confirm this review, although I haven't been there in a few years. Foreigners should def be aware that the guys at shelter seem to be particularly Korean-oriented. Thats not to say I never saw action at Shelter, just that there were about just as many nights that I was totally ignored. The staff (usually the Japanese owner when I went) were generally helpful when condoms were needed which was a plus and the air quality is markedly better than Black and Equus.“

     T  on 31-05-2019 | Reply Problem with this review?

3. Way too small

   “Came here on a weekend night and it wasn't too bad, decent-looking crowd. I was one of two Westerners in the sauna, and the crowd were mostly 'Asian into Asian' which is fine.. The facilities are very limited, and the sauna is very, very small. In fact, it's the smallest sauna I've ever been to! The crowd is mostly guys from their mid 20's to late 40's - mostly jocks. I am a white guy 24, average height and weight, decent-looking but not a model. But this is Korea, what can I do? People are gonna like what they like. Who am I to judge?“

   B  on 11-11-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

4. U should try Hong Kong sauna

   “My bf and I just visited, bad environment with average Korean guys.
   We have to show our body before check in but we didn’t see any hot body Korean inside.
   The good thing is all guys open their body for action.
   Sauna in Hong Kong is much better with really hot guys.“

   value
   facilities
   service
   cleanliness

   Young  on 22-04-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

   • Yeah

     “Hong Kong have the hottest guys among sauna goers in SG, TPE, BKK and MLA.... discrimination is also non existent in HK. High price is the only problem in HK“

     Choi  on 01-08-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

5. Stinky

   “Went there on Sunday evening, the whole place is only filled with 4 or 5 people at most (normal crowd, not muscular at all as they claimed). Worst is the whole place is dirty and air stinks, can't imagine oneself can actually make out in a place like this.
   Foreigners pay double as usual.“

   Max  on 08-04-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

6. Avoid even if you are fit

   “This place is a joke compared to what you can get in Japan. Totally agree with the other commentators on what they mentioned about no good looking people there.
   
   The location is bad because it is far away from Itaewon, the gay district of Seoul. Inside is too cramped and small, barely room to do any sort of action. It heavily reeks of smell and lacks of cleanliness.
   
   The corridors were littered with condoms, you can easily step on them since its so dimly lit. Quality of patrons are subpar average at best, not in good shape.
   
   In fact, recently there has been complaints from the patrons of Shelter about not enough restriction of foreigners, especially southeast Asians. So best to avoid this place all together. Couldn't speak Korean, was rejected immediately. Just as a saying goes, Korea is for Koreans.“

   2020  on 08-04-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

   • Spot On

     “Shelter is so overrated. Besides Korea is for Koreans only.“

     xiaohai  on 15-04-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

   • more action at Volcano

     “You were right! Went to Volcano in Tokyo last week. Much less fussy than Shelter. Had fun with several hot muscle and bears!“

     chris  on 13-05-2018 | Reply Problem with this review?

Reviews are the subjective opinion of a Travel Gay Asia user, not of Travel Gay Asia.