Steamworks Berkeley Experience
Hey everyone, I've lurked on here for a while, and I've posted a few times... But today I want to discuss my thoughts on Steamworks in Berkeley, as someone who just went for the first time. I also want to give advice to anyone thinking of going there (though some of the stuff I'll say will probably apply to any gay sauna-esque place).
As far as my time there, it was pretty cool overall. I stayed for longer than I expected, and I spent a lot of the time just wandering the building, staying in my room, or sitting in the hot tub. I did get to interact sexually with someone, but it was a pretty small slice of my time there (though still a neat experience either way).
So, some things I liked:
-The place was pretty big! There were a lot of amenities, and everything seemed well-maintained. There was the hot tub of course, as well as multiple showers, a sauna room, steam room, a gym room, lobby, and more
-The sheer diversity of the people coming in was great. I've been to a similar place before, and there was much less variety in terms of the kinds of people at the other place than what I saw tonight. That could be due to the fact that I went on a theme night tonight, but it was still refreshing to see people of so many ages, body types, etc. There were many other trans guys that I saw, and even a few trans women, which I didn't expect
-The private rooms... I was so glad that I got my own room, since it gave me a place to be alone whenever I needed to be
I did overall enjoy my experience, but there were some things that weren't ideal in my mind:
-It's dark in there! It's hard to see inside the building, since most of the areas are either dimly lit or practically pitch-black. Which if that's your thing, then great, but I prefer having just a bit more lighting so I can actually see what I'm doing. I ended up walking straight into a mirror within a few minutes of showing up, because it was so hard to tell that I was seeing my reflection instead of another guy approaching me 😭
-The music was quite loud. Again, this is some people's thing, but I'd have preferred it to be just a bit quieter, personally
-Getting a room (yes, even the cheapest room option) isn't a guarantee. I had to do a step up from the cheapest option simply because I wanted to make sure that I'd have a room and didn't want to take my chances with the waiting list (and yes, there is a waiting list for rooms if none are available when you want one).
Now I want to get into some tips that helped me, or that will in the future:
-If you have anxiety, definitely try to get a room! It was really soothing for me to have a place where I had true privacy whenever I was feeling overstimulated, and it elevated the experience
-If you're sensitive to loud noise, definitely bring earplugs of some kind. I had mine out for just a few seconds and I could tell that having ear protection made the difference between a loud but manageable night, and a painful one
-If you're self-conscious about your body, then don't feel obligated to be fully naked or towel-only. I went in with underwear, a taped chest, and a skimpy shirt, and nobody batted an eye at me. I also came across other people in underwear, and even a few people in bikinis. You may draw some confused looks if you're spending the whole time in full-on street clothes, but people in underwear and such aren't terribly uncommon from what I saw.
-Adding to my last point, if you're gonna be wearing some clothing the whole time, and you're planning on going into a wet area, then I'd advise bringing "wet" and "dry" clothes. I didn't consider this, so when I got out of the hot tub, I was stuck in wet clothing that made me cold. Next time I'd likely bring two identical pairs of clothes, just so that I have something to wander the building in that isn't sopping wet and freezing while I'm in the "dry" areas
-Bring a water bottle. I didn't know that I was allowed an (empty) bottle, so I left mine in my car the whole time, and found out later from a staff member that I *could have* brought mine in. There are water fountains from what I saw, but I never ended up using them. I opted to buy vending machine water, and it was so expensive that I wish that I would've known that my actual bottle I own was allowed inside
So, that's all I've got for now. Feel free to ask questions, though I can't guarantee that I'll answer (or if I do, then it'll probably be a few days' wait before I reply 😂)