Gold Coast Spa is a large and elaborate men’s sauna in Phnom Penh. Although it is located in the heart of the city’s development boom it can be startling to see such a massive male massage parlor spring up in what was recently a rather sleepy city.
Perhaps more surprising is the fact that Gold Coast Spa looks and operates a lot like some of Macau’s famous sex saunas or perhaps more accurately the spa at Alexis in Jakarta. In a city where venues from cafes to small massage shops are regularly inspected on suspicion of impropriety one may wonder how such a large and prominent place can so openly exist.
About Gold Coast Spa
Gold Coast Spa is located on the riverside road that leads to the Aeon 1 shopping mall. The place is just a short distance from the previously reviewed Wonderland KTV. The area is home to a lot of development and several Chinese owned and oriented businesses.
I don’t know who owns Gold Coast Spa. But the place must have cost a lot of money to construct. It is large and obvious with plenty of signs. Through a set of large glass doors there is a long lobby with a big front desk at the back. The lobby is staffed by a team of multilingual local men and women who help direct customers through the facility. Customers first stop at the desk to get a numbered wrist band which tracks expenditures inside. Final bills are settled at the same desk as customers depart.
Through a set of doors to the right there are full lounge and spa facilities. This even includes a full buffet after 6:00 PM. There are also attendants on hand that do what could be called regular or mainstream massages. Unlike the Macau saunas there are no ladies dedicated solely to “third leg” massages in the spa and sauna area. But there are ladies from various countries up on the top floor who do full service. Customers interested only in them can enter an elevator in the lobby that leads straight to the private rooms up there.
Staff, services and summary
In the spa the staff is made up of a number of Chinese and Cambodians. On the top floor female Cambodian managers organize use of the rooms and some older local ladies clean up the place. But the service providers are all from different areas.
After customers enter one of the private suites for a “special massage” the available service providers file in with a manager. There are probably two dozen gals or more working the position. They are purported to come from China, Russia and Vietnam. The Russian women could in fact be from any of the CIS Countries though most would probably not care to make such a distinction.
The service providers are in their twenties and wear revealing gowns and dresses. None are overweight or into middle age. Beauty is ultimately in the eye of the beholder though I imagine most men would consider the gals to be between average and attractive in terms of looks.
Each room has a bathroom with shower and a large bed. The gals carry kits and have their own way of doing things. But Chinese sauna style service is common. That means things like hot water and ice can be implemented by the providers as they go about doing their work. Sessions last quite a while and can include massages along with multiple “main events”.
The gals don’t receive any direct payments themselves. Instead customers show their wrist bands at the front desk where they are told their bill. At any place like this with multiple services available the prices can vary. The cheapest sessions involving full service would come to guys who go straight to the top floor for a session with a Vietnamese gals and then back down to the front desk. In those cases they would pay about $118 US. Others pay more or less depending on what they do and who they do it with. Three stars. 
Gold Coast. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Click here for a map. Open 24 hours.
It’s sad that the smaller shops get busted by the police but a place like this can stay open because the owners are rich and/or well connected (I’m assuming that’s the reason why).
On the bright side, the oldest profession is allowed to exist in one form or another. That’s better than nothing.
I look forward to visiting this place post-pandemic. Sounds a lot like the “executive clubs” in North Jakarta, which I’m very familiar with.
If more places like this spring up in Phnom Penh, I won’t have any reason to visit Jakarta anymore. That city has been sinking (both literally and figuratively) for a while now. Phnom Penh on the other hand seems to be on an upward trajectory.
Thanks for the comment. It’s certainly contradictory that a place like this can stay open while smaller businesses are regularly raided and shuttered. Further, it seems like the landscape may be much different in near future thanks to the changes that have taken place under conditions of a pandemic. That will certainly apply to the adult industry. But there is a good chance it will also impact the development seen in places like Cambodia and China in recent years too. Time will tell. Cheers.
I think businesses catering mainly to residents will be more resilient than those catering specifically to tourists.
Sooner or later governments will have to allow local businesses to reopen, either because the containment worked and the infection was be stamped out locally, or simply because people will run out of money and the social cost of putting millions out of work will be greater than that of contagion.
Flight halts and border closures, on the other hand, have the potential to last for much longer. If a country successfully clears the infection locally, the last thing they’ll want to do is to immediately reopen their borders and allow foreigners in from countries where the virus is still actively spreading. (That’s if governments behave rationally, which is far from a guarantee). Not to mention tourist numbers worldwide are poised to remain low for a while, plus anti-foreigner sentiments are growing in many places.
In other words, I’d expect places like the hostess bars of Phnom Penh to be hit much harder than the KTVs, where the main customer base is locals. Same for all other countries (e.g. Angeles City will suffer; Quezon City not so much. Etc.)
In the end though, this is just speculation. Things are constantly evolving and there’s no end in sight.
All we can really do now is speculate. I would caution that a number of “local fortunes” in some countries are tied to the international economy in many ways. International aid, exchange rates, factories that produce for bigger markets and more must all be considered. But the sex industry often operates in its own way. So we see women in “poor countries” charging sizeable fees for sex and blow job bars continuing to operate during citywide lockdowns. Cheers.
I’ve been waiting a good while for a place like this to finally open up in Phnom Penh. With the borders closed it’s obviously hard to get around SE Asia these days so it’s nice to have a little higher end place in Cambodia to go to. Even with it being a bit pricey I rather like it when I don’t have to haggle over the price. So after reading your report I figured I’d give it a whirl.
That said, I’ll also say that I don’t think I’ve ever had a truly remarkable experience with a Chinese girl. When I went upstairs for the “special” massage I was offered a choice between a Thai girl ($150) a Chinese girl ($200) or a Russian girl ($300) for a 90 minute massage. I had thought I’d splurge and get the Russian girl, but for $300 in Cambodia I was expecting a hot blonde with a rack to die for and instead the girl presented looked like she’d been around the block more than a few times. So I opted for a cute Chinese girl. It wasn’t bad service, but it wasn’t great either. Was lacking in enthusiasm and I don’t think either of us were excited for a second shot so I let her run out the clock with an ok massage. I should have opted for the Thai girl, if they perform even half as good as the girls in Bangkok it would have been a better experience.
I guess it just goes to show that buying sex is kind of like buying whiskey. Don’t be a cheapskate, but just because it costs more doesn’t always mean it’s better.
Thanks for the comment. Cheers.
Was really hoping to try this place out when I finally got back to Cambodia, but drove by the other day and it looks like it may have fallen victim to COVID. Either they’re using the down time to renovate or something new is going in because the sidewalks we’re torn up and the lobby was wide open with construction materials. There was definitely no business going on inside right now.
Hopefully it’ll come back or you’ll discover some other place like it in your adventures.
Thanks for the on the ground report Rodger. Stay safe in your travels. Cheers!
I just called Gold Coast today. They will be opened only on 1 March 2022.
Thanks for the report. Cheers.
is this place still open?
As far as I know it is. Cheers.