How the beloved sauna club experience disappeared in Viennese FKKs
FKK sauna clubs were always the target for people who want to pair the spa and wellness experience with a huge number of girls available for sex. The idea of sauna clubs originated in Brazil, and Germany quickly adapted the system. Not too long after, Switzerland and Austria also followed suit.
As we reported in one of our first articles back in 2012, Vienna had very good FKKs, including the two big players, Goldentime and Fun Palast. Donaudreams (Donau Dolls) was the third sauna club, but it was small in all aspects and it was used mainly by the local punters. Approximately 10 years ago, Fresh sauna club also opened its gates.
The situation has deteriorated dramatically since then. Donaudreams was closed, Fresh is still open but never became a significant player in this scene. Fun Palast tried a system where customers got a coupon for their entry fee, with half-hour sex included in the price. It was a big fail, customers never liked it, and in this industry, the girls are looking for generous clients and not for those who pay for the services with coupons.
Last year we heard rumors that the building of Fun Palast would be sold, and a new office building would be built there. According to a Sex Vienna Forum user’s reports, it seems the transaction was canceled, and the management of the sauna club has no other choice but to continue the business, however, they are struggling a lot. Goldentime is still operating, but it seems the golden age of this sauna club is over forever, and in this article, you can also read the reasons why.
Why did people love the sauna club model?
Over the past few decades, a lot of people have become fans of the sauna club model. In an FKK, guests can spend a few hours, half a day, or even a full day using the place’s spa and wellness facilities. They can relax, have conversations with other guests, eat food from the warm buffet, and use the sauna, pools, massages, etc. So far, this is almost the same as what everyone can experience in a normal wellness hotel. Also, the guests of the sauna clubs are often called Ice bears because they wear white bathrobes instead of their everyday clothes.
What is different in an FKK from a usual hotel is the possibility of having sex. In these brothels, girls walk up and down or lie on the sunbeds, dressed in bikinis, half-naked, or sometimes totally naked. They can be booked for sexual services, which is not available in a fitness hotel, but it is the biggest advantage of the FKK model.
Even 10 years ago, in the best Viennese sauna club, Goldentime, there were often 80-100 girls on stronger nights, making the place highly popular among the local punters and tourists. The entry fee was €80, and many basic services were included in the base price. People often spent longer periods in the club, relaxing and meanwhile having sex with as many girls as they wanted or could afford.
After a well-spent night, the guests could be satisfied, having relaxed in a well-equipped wellness place and had sex with top-notch girls.
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The situation has changed dramatically
Here are the reasons why we think the golden era of Goldentime (and of similar venues) is over forever. Almost all of the advantages are gone; the sauna club experience has become very expensive, and the original feeling has disappeared.
The entry fee was increased to €95, which could be a reasonable step considering past years’ inflation. However, the management spends less effort on maintenance, which strongly reduces the wellness factor. Punters are highly disappointed because they don’t understand why they have to pay such a high entry fee if there is no proper sauna club experience anymore. Also, according to the gossip in the industry, a new increase in the entry fee might be around the corner, which will have a negative effect on the number of customers again.
The pricing also went crazy in sauna clubs; not only was the entry fee increased, but what was €60 previously for a basic service now costs €100. And if a customer wants kissing, OWO, or a few different positions during sex, the price can be €200 for half an hour, especially if you end up choosing a greedy girl.
The number of girls has also seriously decreased; on our last visit, there were fewer than 40, and they were especially sharky and aggressive on that day, most likely because there were not too many guests to make money with.
This is also a huge problem; fewer guests make the place empty and less lively. Customers left Goldentime and similar places because of the current economic situation and because the girls do not know where the limits are, treating customers as personal ATMs.
The girls became too greedy after the coronavirus lockdown
We can’t say exactly when the situation in FKKs changed drastically and the girls became too greedy. As we remember, there were already a few girls in Goldentime around 2018 and 2019 who wanted to rip off the clients, but the majority of the girls were still good and honest. The minority became the majority by now, if not all of the girls follow the current bad scheme.
The changes in the German prostitution laws also had a serious impact on the DACH countries’ sex scene, and this way, the prices and girls’ behavior in Goldentime. The changes in laws in Germany dictate that condoms always have to be used in German brothels. Needless to say, neither clients nor girls care about this ban, and the sex workers still provide oral without a condom (OWO). But the ban opened the chance for the girls to sell this service as extra and always charge the clients an additional amount.
Earlier, OWO was included free in the base services, but it seems this won’t happen again in the near future in either Germany or Austria.
The above-mentioned changes have led to the situation where you will never know how much the girl will charge you in the room in Goldentime unless you negotiate even the smallest details beforehand.
If you forget something or there is a debate between you and the girl, you might end up with a much higher amount than you expected.
This uncertainty and stress totally kill the mood, and the previously so-liked sauna club experience does not exist anymore. It seems that the golden days, when you could have good sex for €50 in Germany and €60 in Vienna, are gone forever.
Can the FKK sauna club model be a prosperous one in a big city like Vienna?
One might think that Vienna, with its 2 million citizens and millions of tourists and businessmen, is a city where sauna clubs like Goldentime could be a prosperous business. And maybe there is room for other competitors who could compete with each other for the guests.
But this is not the case at all. It never seemed like, besides Goldentime, a second club could exist and be always successful. The past and current competitors of GT prove this well. This is because Vienna is just different and more difficult. Also, unlike in Germany, Austrian people are not big fans of the FKK model, and they often prefer the more discreet nightclubs and other types of brothels, where they do not have to share the rooms with hundreds of others.
However, although Goldentime does not have a real competitor in Vienna at the moment, they cannot use this fact to their advantage and rocket away from the remaining sauna clubs. With the nonsensical prices and upsells of the girls, the poorly maintained club facilities, and the poor selection of food, the management of Goldentime is stopping themselves from regaining their old glory.
What do you think? Are the golden days in Goldentime really over? Share your thoughts in the related topic in the Sex Vienna Forum:
