Club Bath: where “The Thrill is Silence”

I’ve been to Club Bath Philippines many times and though I haven’t been to all of the other bath houses in Metro Manila, I can definitely say that Club Bath is the best among them. Club Bath (or CB, as their patrons call it) is the most straighforward bath house there is. Unlike Fahrenheit that doubles as a dance club or Epitome that doubles as a comedy bar during weekends, Club Bath has no gimmicks, no special promo nights, no shows and productions—it’s just a plain jane bath house. Aside from the official website, the managers of Club Bath don’t even go out of their way to advertise their club, unlike the owners of the other bath houses that regularly flood the forums of Guys4Men.

Dubbed as the place where “The Thrill is Silence,” Club Bath is located at #2456 F.B. Harrison Blvd. in Pasay City, surprisingly just a stone’s throw away from the City Hall. It started operations in 1977 making it the first and oldest bath house in the country (it’s even older than me!). I don’t have any way of knowing for sure, but I think CB is the oldest continuously-operating gay-oriented establishment as well. I have also never heard of Club Bath being raided (I could be mistaken of course), so I think CB is the safest place you can go to get laid, hehehe.

Club Bath is actually just a repurposed three-story mansion (that’s why it’s often confused with D’Mansion, another bath house located nearby). The first floor contains the reception area, the TV room (showing only regular TV channels, no blue films), a fairly nice mini-gym, a small Internet room (with two PCs), the locker room (with modern wooden lockers), and a wet area having open showers (not for modest people) and a steam room (no sauna, however). The second floor contains 25 rooms, a comfort room, a hidden cubicle, and a couple of balconies where you can smoke. The top floor has four more rooms, a common area leading to three cubicles (for those who didn’t avail of the rooms), and a lanai. Each room contains a safety deposit box and a bed with a soft foam mattress (with actual cloth bed sheets)!

Despite its age, Club Bath is actually very well-maintained and is said to be the cleanest among the bath houses in the Metro. The furnishings and interior design don’t actually scream “old mansion.” The walls and shelves are even adorned with homoerotic art pieces (though they have noticeable reduced their number lately). You can expect then that CB is quite high-end and pricey. And, yes, it’s actually the most expensive. Looking at their rates, the initial membership fee costs 250 pesos, and each visit would set you back up to 230 pesos for a locker or up to 400 for a room. But think about it: getting a room at Club Bath is actually cheaper than getting a room in a motel, and you get to stay for as long as CB is open.

One thing I like about Club Bath is that they pipe in continuous house music from some Internet radio station. The music is actually good enough to dance to, though you won’t see anyone actually dancing since everyone is in their towels and dancing would look decidedly out of place.

I’ll cut this entry short for now—I think I’ve pimped Club Bath to you quite enough, hehehe. I’ll just discuss other details and helpful tips and information in succeeding posts. Stay tuned!

Update: an anonymous commenter, who’s been going to Club Bath since the early 90s, shares that Club Bath used to be located near the Buendia-Roxas intersection before transferring to its current location in the mid-80s. And he says that Club Bath has never been raided as far as he knows. So there!