A History of Edinburgh Saunas

[mcampbell]

I can remember 30 walk-in sauna / massage parlours in Edinburgh over the years I've been punting - starting with my first handjob at Fingertips in 1997 during the Firemen's Strike.  If you know of any more, or have memories of any of the ones listed, let's hear them!

1.    Seafield Road East/ Kings Road – Now a house!
2.   London Road ((Near Wishaw Terrace) – Now a Hair Salon
3.   Albion Road – Scorpio
4.   Easter Road – Carols
5.   Ferry Road (Opposite Leith Town Hall) – Ferry Road Sauna
6.   Constitution Street / Coatfield Lane (only open for about 3 months)
7.   Leith Walk / Shrubhill – Barclays Sauna (now the Gay sauna)
8.   York Place / opp Dublin Street – next to a Casino
9.   Hart Street – Newtown Sauna
10.   London Street – LSS
11.   Dundas Street / Eyre Place
12.   West Annandale Stret / East Claremont Street – now a house
13.   East Claremont Street at corner of Melgund Terrace – now a shop – only open for 3 months
14.   Raeburn Sauna (renamed the Gentlemen’s Club!)
15.   Bonnington Road - Sunbed Studio
16.   Roseburn Terrace – Roseburn then Regency Sauna
17.   Torphichen Place – Fingerprints
18.   Torphichen Street – Highland Club
19.   Dalry Road / Orwell Terrace – Blacks Sauna
20.   Dundee Street – Fingertips
21.   East Fountain Bridge (now a Tattoo parlour)
22.   Lothian Road – mbassador
23.   Rose Street Lane – Executive Sauna
24.   Rose Street Lane – Angels  Sauna
25.   Bruntsfield Place opp Monpellier Park – Mayfair Sauna (now a restaurant)
26.   Spittal Street – No 8 – now a Swingers Club
27.   Blair Street – (need any more be said?)
28.   Merchant Street – No 9
29.   Nicolson Street / Nicolson Sq – Kareens
30.   Argyle Place – The Gentle Touch

[JazzMan]

The West Lothian question
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Is Blair Street better than London Street?

[Eastbloke]

31.  The Highland Club, now demolished.  Not to be confused with the new one that became a Swingers Club.

[JazzMan]

28.   Merchant Street – No 9

You hear much about "No 9" but it's a fantastic sauna.
All modern furniture, great place compared to the run-down Blair Street and New Town.
The girls are crap but you can't have everything I suppose.
Maybe someone could have a look at the current girls and report back.

[willie loman]

28.   Merchant Street – No 9

You hear much about "No 9" but it's a fantastic sauna.
All modern furniture, great place compared to the run-down Blair Street and New Town.
The girls are crap but you can't have everything I suppose.
Maybe someone could have a look at the current girls and report back.

Now a backpackers hostel.

[willie loman]

Argyle place, the gentle touch has also closed.

[willie loman]

I can remember 30 walk-in sauna / massage parlours in Edinburgh over the years I've been punting - starting with my first handjob at Fingertips in 1997 during the Firemen's Strike.  If you know of any more, or have memories of any of the ones listed, let's hear them!

1.    Seafield Road East/ Kings Road – Now a house!
2.   London Road ((Near Wishaw Terrace) – Now a Hair Salon
3.   Albion Road – Scorpio
4.   Easter Road – Carols
5.   Ferry Road (Opposite Leith Town Hall) – Ferry Road Sauna
6.   Constitution Street / Coatfield Lane (only open for about 3 months)
7.   Leith Walk / Shrubhill – Barclays Sauna (now the Gay sauna)
8.   York Place / opp Dublin Street – next to a Casino
9.   Hart Street – Newtown Sauna
10.   London Street – LSS
11.   Dundas Street / Eyre Place
12.   West Annandale Stret / East Claremont Street – now a house
13.   East Claremont Street at corner of Melgund Terrace – now a shop – only open for 3 months
14.   Raeburn Sauna (renamed the Gentlemen’s Club!)
15.   Bonnington Road - Sunbed Studio
16.   Roseburn Terrace – Roseburn then Regency Sauna
17.   Torphichen Place – Fingerprints
18.   Torphichen Street – Highland Club
19.   Dalry Road / Orwell Terrace – Blacks Sauna
20.   Dundee Street – Fingertips
21.   East Fountain Bridge (now a Tattoo parlour)
22.   Lothian Road – mbassador
23.   Rose Street Lane – Executive Sauna
24.   Rose Street Lane – Angels  Sauna
25.   Bruntsfield Place opp Monpellier Park – Mayfair Sauna (now a restaurant)
26.   Spittal Street – No 8 – now a Swingers Club
27.   Blair Street – (need any more be said?)
28.   Merchant Street – No 9
29.   Nicolson Street / Nicolson Sq – Kareens
30.   Argyle Place – The Gentle Touch

Well done, obviously we need some kind of punters heritage trail, or an alternative oral history project. the owner of Barclays, which is now no 9 the gay sauna, featured in a film called the paradise or something similar, he died in mysterious circumstances after walking out of an open prison in England,, he was a bigtime bad lad, who feature in a drug smuggling case where a custom officer drowned boarding a boat off the west of scotand, crime buffs will be familiar with the case.

[Reiver]

Well done, obviously we need some kind of punters heritage trail, or an alternative oral history project. the owner of Barclays, which is now no 9 the gay sauna, featured in a film called the paradise or something similar, he died in mysterious circumstances after walking out of an open prison in England,, he was a bigtime bad lad, who feature in a drug smuggling case where a custom officer drowned boarding a boat off the west of scotand, crime buffs will be familiar with the case.

This case he also had a second hand shop in leith walk ,

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More on McLean here ,

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[leatherlover999]

What was the nsme of the sauna that the punter popped his clogs in

[JazzMan]

What was the nsme of the sauna that the punter popped his clogs in

Not on the list.
Gay Sauna
"Number 18 sauna on Leith Walk"

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[bbb]

What was the nsme of the sauna that the punter popped his clogs in

I heard somebody snuffed it in Scorpio a few years back, heart attack I think. No details though.

Is the Roseburn place (Paradise/Regency) shut now? Looked that way the last time I was passing.

[Lemonsherbit]

What happened to the Dundas Street Sauna? Did it change to the Abacus or something? Has anyone been recently? I noticed that the doors usually open and there's CCTV that points out to the main door/street.

[leatherlover999]

I think dundas street has closed.

[JazzMan]

I think dundas street has closed.

Dundas Street is still open.
0131 558 1559

[leatherlover999]

Thank you I stand corrected

[Lemonsherbit]

Dundas Street is still open.
0131 558 1559

What are the girls like? I have tried searching but can't find any recent reviews or information for that matter

[Reiver]

What was the nsme of the sauna that the punter popped his clogs in

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[jambogaz]

What about Mermaids, at the bottom end of Ferry Road?  Remember driving by that place every day on the way out to work, never stopped there, heard it was full of more "mature" masseuses.  Wasn't there a place at the far end of Seafield Road too, next to the roundabout?

[Reiver]

What about Mermaids, at the bottom end of Ferry Road?  Remember driving by that place every day on the way out to work, never stopped there, heard it was full of more "mature" masseuses.  Wasn't there a place at the far end of Seafield Road too, next to the roundabout?

There was one at the kings road seafield road roundabout didn't it have some exotic name .

[leatherlover999]

Did someone not also die in mermaids back in the late ninties

[foreverchanges]

I can remember the girls at London Street back in the day winding up Davy & Ricky by telling them that they were all going to piss off and work at the glamorous new place on York Street ( Club Seven??).
This would be around 2002 but I'm sure the place didnt stay open very long and so the girls found an alternative way to piss the LSS management off by going privateering shortly after they extended the premises.
How they all chuckled.

[JazzMan]

The Scorpio Sauna brothers Ian and Charles Haig, spent a lot of money building a new Edinburgh sauna, can't remember it's name.
They couldn't understand why the locals objected to the new sauna (brothel).
They never seemed to understand they were breaking the law by opening a brothel.

[RandyF]

Wid you boyz fuckin stop this!??

Grown man here sat up my maws greeting like a bairn.  Hid tae grab a mortar pail tears streamimg doon my fizog they wur. Aye.

Treasures. Every wan of them.  Oh the days o' gan doon the NSS wae ma da after wed fed the doos up in Craigleith. Took me when I turned 16 he did, even came in and watched me daen it aye. A good man. Hard man. Bit of a beast tae ken like.

Slange.

Oh, Danny Boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling
From glen to glen, and down the mountain side.

[mcampbell]

What about Mermaids, at the bottom end of Ferry Road?  Remember driving by that place every day on the way out to work, never stopped there, heard it was full of more "mature" masseuses.  Wasn't there a place at the far end of Seafield Road too, next to the roundabout?

Numbers 5 and 1 on the list  Forgot Ferry Road one went under the name of Mermaids for a while

[mcampbell]

I can remember the girls at London Street back in the day winding up Davy & Ricky by telling them that they were all going to piss off and work at the glamorous new place on York Street ( Club Seven??).
This would be around 2002 but I'm sure the place didnt stay open very long and so the girls found an alternative way to piss the LSS management off by going privateering shortly after they extended the premises.
How they all chuckled.

Number 7 on  the list!

[facialmaniac]

There was one in Comely Bank as well, really shit!  If I could wind the clock back it would be to spend more time with Tamara, the Milf who worked in Carols, and then Kareens where I came across, very very filthy!

[mcampbell]

There was one in Comely Bank as well, really shit!  If I could wind the clock back it would be to spend more time with Tamara, the Milf who worked in Carols, and then Kareens where I came across, very very filthy!

No 14 on the list.

In fact, it was one of the first "Massage" parlous in Edinburgh, but extras were totally off the menu at the time.  It was more of a physiotherapy place, then got sold after Fingertips started in Fountainbridge and happy endings became the norm.

[foreverchanges]

Number 7 on  the list!

More like 8 !

[rollini]

....first Edinburgh Sauna I went to was on Leith Walk. It was not Barclays; same side as Barclays, but nearer Princes Street. I think it was called the Brunswick Sauna, and on that part of Leith Walk also designated Brunswick Place.This was around 1980....

[Shuggy68]

My first punt was in Fingertips, what a dump it was, never went back.

I did hear up till the late nineties, sailors still turned up on the doorstep of what was Madam Dora's.  I think the family that bought the place got a bit pissed off.

Les

[RandyF]

I miss Jerry. These threads aren't the same without the legend naw.

[solway]

Jerry retired or died RIP legend ken

[foreverchanges]

Jerry retired or died RIP legend ken

He got banned for talking shite about his trip to Ukraine which was a pity because his posts on the likes of Kerry, Carrie,Lisa and the rest of  the legendary London Street Saunas were spot on..oh the memories aye?

[Minion Phil]

The Scorpio Sauna brothers Ian and Charles Haig, spent a lot of money building a new Edinburgh sauna, can't remember it's name.
They couldn't understand why the locals objected to the new sauna (brothel).
They never seemed to understand they were breaking the law by opening a brothel.

The G-Spot is what I think it was called and it's somewhere just off Great Junction Street if memory serves me right.

[Minion Phil]

The real history of Edinburgh Saunas starts here.



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and there's a tour

[tazman1002001]

The real history of Edinburgh Saunas starts here.



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Brilliant reading the descriptions of the girl is so funny......

and there's a tour

[Shuggy68]

This is interesting:

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[JohnHolmesWannabe]

Sunbed Studio with the shoeless and voluptuous Wendy and her very talented mouth, not forgetting Tina who always seemed to be available and gave an exceedingly good blowjob. I liked Sunbed Studio, it was cheaper than Blair Street in 2000 although I never worked out what the "Tornado/Hurricane Shelter" name-plate meant on the door
near the far wall. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, still on a retro trip, "After Eight" was at Spittal Street, I know its now a swingers club by the same name but seem to remember it being called The Highland Club and After Eight (up to 2000 at least).

[Eastbloke]

Sunbed Studio with the shoeless and voluptuous Wendy and her very talented mouth, not forgetting Tina who always seemed to be available and gave an exceedingly good blowjob. I liked Sunbed Studio, it was cheaper than Blair Street in 2000 although I never worked out what the "Tornado/Hurricane Shelter" name-plate meant on the door
near the far wall. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, still on a retro trip, "After Eight" was at Spittal Street, I know its now a swingers club by the same name but seem to remember it being called The Highland Club and After Eight (up to 2000 at least).

There were two saunas called 'The Highland Club', one was just up from Haymarket station and featured Mary (a favourite of mine for quite some time) and Tina, both of whom were very dirty girls in the room!  Sadly it closed (like a lot of saunas in the early '90's it had been poorly converted inside) and the building demolished.  A new Highland Club opened up where After Eight is now, from what I can gather it got a lot of traffic from being just around the corner from the pubic triangle, but it was lousy about its opening times - I remember going there one afternoon and it was closed (at 2pm), so it was pretty much putting itself out of business.

[JohnHolmesWannabe]

Ahh right, thanks for that information, I thought I was getting mixed up with names and locations.

[Eastbloke]

I'm wondering, just how many saunas are left in Edinburgh now?  LSS and BSS are still on the go, is Dundas street still open?  I had one really great punt there years ago and one really shit one all within the space of two months. 

[Calum163]

Sunbed Studio with the shoeless and voluptuous Wendy and her very talented mouth, not forgetting Tina who always seemed to be available and gave an exceedingly good blowjob. I liked Sunbed Studio, it was cheaper than Blair Street in 2000 although I never worked out what the "Tornado/Hurricane Shelter" name-plate meant on the door
near the far wall. Nostalgia ain't what it used to be, still on a retro trip, "After Eight" was at Spittal Street, I know its now a swingers club by the same name but seem to remember it being called The Highland Club and After Eight (up to 2000 at least).

The notice was for the TOILET think about it

[nesspunter]

I used to like Kay at the highland club in Torphichen place  inthe early 90s , but didnt the place have to evacuated during the day beacause it was falling to bits .

[Morrell10]

Is anyone able to tell me what number in torphicen pl fingertips was?

[wavygravy]

I used to like Kay at the highland club in Torphichen place  inthe early 90s , but didnt the place have to evacuated during the day beacause it was falling to bits .

First sauna punt was with Kay at the Highland Club.  Dark haired honey who unfortunately set me on a course of visiting these places all over the world...

[benstokes]

Truly great posts. Now us older lads will have to arrange a similar list for Glasgow. For starter : carlton club  beside the sherriff court. ( how good was that) the one out Crow Road that had the sisters Adele and Karen but they wouldn't work together "cause that's dirty" ST Enoch Sauna which was open till all hours / never found the girls there appealing - sorry. Bubbles out in the suburbs of the south side. The management every xmas went round the local homes with a gift to thank the residents for turning a blind eye ,  The sauna down beside the Daily Record building at Anderston.Cant mind the name but they had a great selection of Durty women. That's just for starters hope others can continue. 

[ickydicky]

tropical palms in holland st next door to the polis hq snd the other one on the same street up a close next to the state bar whose name i cant remember and mr simpsons up above kelvingrove park.

[bigbell]

Truly great posts. Now us older lads will have to arrange a similar list for Glasgow. For starter : carlton club  beside the sherriff court. ( how good was that) the one out Crow Road that had the sisters Adele and Karen but they wouldn't work together "cause that's dirty" ST Enoch Sauna which was open till all hours / never found the girls there appealing - sorry. Bubbles out in the suburbs of the south side. The management every xmas went round the local homes with a gift to thank the residents for turning a blind eye ,  The sauna down beside the Daily Record building at Anderston.Cant mind the name but they had a great selection of Durty women. That's just for starters hope others can continue.

aye , glasgow would deserve a thread of its own, the one at the daily record, hydepark?? jazz was working then, and the one in crow rd, marion who worked a thursday was real durty

[solway]

tropical palms in holland st next door to the polis hq snd the other one on the same street up a close next to the state bar whose name i cant remember and mr simpsons up above kelvingrove park.

Sure there was a Tropical Palms on PRW round the corner from Ibrox.

[auldie63]

tropical palms in holland st next door to the polis hq snd the other one on the same street up a close next to the state bar whose name i cant remember and mr simpsons up above kelvingrove park.

Victoria's
Park Road, Oasis, St. Enoch 'Health' Club, Bubbles, Langside, Hyndland, Blytheswood later New, Woodside, Park Grove, to name but a few.
There was a crazy one on Paisley Road West for a wee while, they must have rented all the houses in the tenement as you went in between two shops and the entrance was on the first floor. You paid your entrance fee there and they let you through a door in the wall to the house next door which was where the 'lounge' was. This place, I suppose you could call them honest, although they advertised as such made no pretence to being a 'sauna', or 'health club', it was a brothel pure and simple. You picked your girl , all Locals, and then back out into the close and upstairs again to where the 'cabins' were. It was totally mental they sold drink as well. In it I think 3 times but it didn't last long.