Liverpool used to be home to a "premier gay sauna".
Tucked away on Fazakerley Street, just off Old Hall Street, the sauna opened for 24 hours over the weekend and managed to do since November 2010 until its closure in 2016.
Located only a five-minute walk from Liverpool’s Pride Quarter, SPLASH hosted regular monthly theme parties and for a £10 admission fee, visitors could enjoy the likes of a 16-man sauna, 20-man steam room, a gym, jacuzzi and communal showers.
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The basement venue also hosted a cruising area with private cabins, a “fun room” with communal beds, a coffee lounge, and spacious private cabins which customers could use from 11am-11pm Monday to Thursday. On certain days of the month, guests could also get a massage for £15.
On the third Sunday of every month, the venue had its "bear necessity" day, which would come complete with a free buffet. The day aimed to attract bears - which in LGBTQ+ culture is a larger and often hairier man who projects an image of rugged masculinity - to use its services.
The sauna made headlines in 2016 after a then-54-year-old man, from Blackpool, collapsed at the venue and was left in critical condition. Police tape sealed off the sauna and spa whilst an investigation took place but no cause was found.
At the time the SPLASH owner said: “I’m very anxious to know what has happened. I don’t want anybody to sustain any injury at my business. It’s horrid.”
The reason for the closure has remained unknown but it did have some less than favourable reviews on Travel Gay, an online travelling guide for the LGBTQ+ community, with some pointing towards hygiene issues. But, other customers such as "Mr. B", were upset to see the venue close. He said: "I have been to the Splash many times in the past but I can't believe there's not going to be a new gay sauna in Liverpool."
As of now, the only gay sauna which remains in Merseyside is the Dolphin Sauna in Wallasey.
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