7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
This sauna apparently closed down a few weeks ago (at least this is what FuelMix heard yesterday). If anyone wants to confirm or deny this, write to the blog.
2010 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
Web: http://www.gemini-hk.com/index.html
A reader sent in his impressions of Gemini :
Visited this place on a Thursday evening 7pm onwards. Not very busy even at this hour, maybe about 6 - 7 people.
Your descriptions are spot on; I want to add that the steam room is more like a partition with a steam machine inside. It's never warm enough to enjoy the steam (well, there wasn't much else to enjoy). The shower inside lowers the temperature further.
The view isn't that spectacular and the picture on their website is misleading (should a report be filed with the Consumer Council?), maybe they are taking a leaf out of HK Property Developers' book.
The dark area is frankly a bit sad and there were regular waves of cooking smell presumably from kitchens above or below, being brought in by the reversely mounted extractor fans. I guess at least this smell is better than stale sperm but judging from the people flow they don't have to worry about that too much.
FuelMix says: Agree that the pic on their website is misleading. The place could have been so much more. It doesn't seem to be generating a public buzz notwithstanding the much vaunted but underwhelming harbour view. Sorry to hear about the cooking smell - but that may have been their way of letting you know that the place was "hot". Thanks for the feedback.
2010 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
Web: http://www.gemini-hk.com/index.html
Open: 24 hours
The Decor
Let's start off by being polite: The apparent colour scheme is orange, brown and grey. The designer attempted to be trendy and then lost interest. The effect is that the decor is a hybrid of a very dimly lit frou-frou salon and a warehouse. Why else would the lockers be in 3 separate places and the first thing to hit the eyes on entry are the 2 internally partitioned utility rooms painted in light grey?
The answer is simple. The lighting is so appallingly dim that they had to paint the 2 Utility Rooms light grey to prevent fags from crashing into them.
The initial impression is just terrible. The incredibly dim lighting in the main Locker Room is punctuated by very bright spotlights. Yet the full length mirror (itself the door to another utility room) located next to the sink has no lighting to speak of. Great.....a customer can't see what he looks like when he gets in and worse, can't see what he looks like before he leaves. A sinking feeling sets in really quickly. It's absolutely imperative that the Locker Room area be brightly lit, particularly the area near the front door.
In fairness the lockers near the Lounge and around the corner near the entrance to the showers are better lit.
The Layout
The key to understanding Gemini's layout is to start with the Locker Room and Think of the letter "T". 2 parallel corridors form the vertical, and 2 parallel corridors form the horizonal. Remember that fags, 'coz the place is so stupidly designed, the pissed-off level in the Dark Areas goes right off the scale.
The operative word here is "narrow". The fag will get the first hint of it as he's undressing and spies the solitary computer terminal adjacent to a really narrow passageway. That is the first vertical of the "T". The pitch dark passageway - which for some bizarre reason has a rough wall surface that is sheer agony to naked skin - leads all the way into an even darker play space with a vinyl bench. FuelMix discovered that conclusion when he inadvertently leaned against what he assumed was a wooden partition, but which was actually a flapping wooden panel, hinged on the top surface, which gave way and FuelMix literally fell into the space.
The second vertical of the "T" also starts from the Locker Room, passes the Lounge and through a curtain wall into the Dark Area. Turn left and there is another play space with a vinyl bench and a miniscule porn screen which is so glaringly bright that it will blind your ability to see in the darkness.
And Darkness is what Gemini is all about. The 2 parallel corridors that form the horizontal of the "T" are actually a circuit with the private playrooms painted in light grey on either side. The mats are on the floor and there's the usual condiments of lube and condoms.
But in prime examples of stupidity:
(a) the light switches in the playrooms are BEHIND the doors (and some didn't work);
(b) the playrooms in the top horizontal corridor of the "T" are raised off the floor. But the fag won't know that 'COZ IT'S SO FUCKIN' DARK - BUT HE'LL FIND OUT WHEN HE BRUISES HIS SHINS AND HIS KNEES WHEN HE TRIES TO ENTER THEM;
(c) the doors of the playrooms in (b) have a gap of about 5 inches off the floor. When occupied, they provide some basic ambient lighting in the corridor but.........
(d) a gap of 5 inches means fags can and will crouch on the floor to ogle what's going on inside the room.
The Wet Area - The View !! The View!!
Parallel to the TV Lounge is the Wet Area. It's easy to spot because of the large plate glass windows which are actually one-way mirrors. It's not easy to see in but easy to see out of them. To enter the Wet Area, a fag can use the door near the TV or the door near the Lockers.
The hype on the Gemini website is the harbour view - and it can only be seen in a curiously underwhelming fashion from the Wet Area. The building's location on Gloucester Road means that a network of flyovers is just outside and a number of other buildings are across the street.
Secondly, 7th floor ain't that high for a spectacular harbour view.
Thirdly, the vista is mainly Tsim Sha Tsui East - the flattest part of the Kowloon skyline.
The jacuzzi sits like a giant, multi-lit water coffin, raised high off the floor. It's functional enough for about 8 people to play in, but not only does it obscure the harbour view on entering the Wet Area, but the initial impression on entering the Wet Area is that of a liquid funeral home.
The showers are positioned along the walls with the one-way mirror looking into the Lounge. They are single head showers and lack the double cock-level jets that FuelMix really likes. For some obscure reason, the showers are placed behind a dark plastic sheet that hangs like the curtain to the entrance of a Japanese restaurant. The logic for it isn't clear, but it just adds to the gloom of the Wet Area.
Adjacent to the jacuzzi and showers are 3 toilets behind semi-translucent glass doors. They're big enough for 2 people so....watersports fans take note.
Beyond the jacuzzi, in a glass enclosure is the Steam Room. This is quite large and has a harbour view, together with a shower head and a speaker that blasts Canto-pop. There's a central plinth on which the fag can sit or sprawl and unlike other gay saunas, this steam room has enough light to see people. The disco-like jacuzzi and the steam room are the only places where a fag can check another fag out clearly (excluding the Lounge where, as usual, bananas were on offer).
The Clientele
According to the staff the fags are 25 and up; and that the best times to come are Fridays from about 4pm onwards and Saturdays all days. When FuelMix was there, it was mainly skinny chink twinks and a handful of 30 something whites. However, even late in the evening on a weekday, customers were still coming in. Bear that in mind since other saunas around town empty around 7pm or 9ish on weekdays.
Would FuelMix Go Back?
In the interests of accuracy and fairness, FuelMix reviews each sauna twice. So **sigh** at some point, he will have to go back - particularly as this is a recently opened joint.
Truth be told, he's not looking forward to it. Gemini made a lousy first impression.
Any fag out there is welcome to contribute their feedback on Gemini and FuelMix will publish it.
2010 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
Web: http://www.gemini-hk.com/index.html
Open: 24 hours
Getting There
Their website has a map which suggests Exit C at Causeway Bay MTR Station. This comes out onto Lockhart Road. It's perfectly feasible to use Exit B as well, which comes out onto Hennessy Road.
Why? Either way, the fag has to cross under the Canal Road flyovers. If the fag is feeling particularly daring, he could traipse through the filthy but really cruisy Men's Toilet located under the flyovers and check out the assorted flashers and cruisers - who appear to operate in full view of the staff. Or maybe the staff are in on it. FuelMix was mildly shocked to see a smorgasbord of nationalities and ages.
At some level, it was kinda predictable. There are several gay saunas in that vicinity - Gemini, Action (formerly Hunk), Gateway, My Way, Playground, Towel Club. So, grabbing meat at the penis deli at least ensures a place to eat it.
Note: FuelMix is neither advocating nor condoning cruising at that or any other public location. He is simply reporting what he saw.
Getting to Gemini's premises is a no-brainer. The building on Gloucester Road is very easy to find. The utterly docile security guard sits in the Lobby at the Ground Floor. Get in the lift, punch 7.
When the lift arrives on the 7th Floor, turn right, towards the unmarked Brown door, and ring the bell. The door opens onto the Reception Desk, where the twinky looking chinks on duty (at least at the time FuelMix appeared) spoke suprisingly good English. They were taking phone calls in English too, so white guys are apparently showing up there.
It's HK$128.00 bucks to get in.
Then what? Read Gemini 4
2010 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
Web: http://www.gemini-hk.com/index.html
Open: 24 hours
"C'mon, C'mon, C'mmmooonnn !! Fuck me ...!" gasped the Ugly Chink Fag, pawing at FuelMix's newly arrived and just naked hot muscular body. "OOOooohhh, look at that nice thick cock...mmmm...c'mon say you'll fuck me. I took Viagra and Ecstacy when I got here and I'm soooooo horny. Do you like Viagra and E? I have both.....only HK$80.00 each tablet..... you want? I have .......high quality E, no problem......you want?"
FM: No thanks
UCF: Why....? you don't like V and E?
FM: Not into drugs
UCF: Really? Not into drugs at all? How come?
FM: Don't need them
UCF: Oh......I take them every couple of days because I get soooo horny. Really? you dont't do V and E? Poppers?
FM: No
UCF: Oh.....you such clean boy! You foreign?
FM: You can't tell?
UCF: Does anyone want to play with you if you no take drugs?
FM: You, for starters
UCF: Ahhh c'mon I show you how to do E,. Very easy. You will like.
FM: Nah, no thanks
UCF: Everybody here doing V and E.....very popular with gay people you know. Lots of boys who come here do V and E before play and they take it here too
FM: Really?
And so began FuelMix's introduction to the very recently opened 24 hour Gemini gay sauna. Walking around to get the lay of the land, it appeared that the Ugly Chink Fag was right. The place, crawling with ugly twink chinks was a cafeteria for amphetamine and chemical junkies. Some were obviously flying and FuelMix felt like Air Traffic Control as he got increasingly pissed off at the narrow, really dark corridors and the disoriented, dazed chinks crashing into him.
If this is what they looked like on a Tuesday night, what the hell did they look like on a Friday or Saturday night?
But hey, FuelMix has a lot more to say about this place. The fascinated reader is just gonna have to tune in, because no where else on the web are the kind of reviews that FuelMix does.
2010 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
7th Floor, Hyde Centre
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Exit C
Tel: 2575 3445 or 64325900
Web: http://www.gemini-hk.com/index.html
It appears that this "new" gay sauna is in fact "Mister" located in Causeway Bay that opened briefly in December 2009 and then closed down a few days later due to an electrical fault in the building.
Note the new telephone numbers, the new website, but the same address and the same bragging of a 180 degree harbour view.
FuelMix will check it out in due course, but in the meantime, any fag is free to leave their comments if they've been there.
Flat A & C 7th Floor, Hyde Center
221 - 226 Gloucester Road
Causeway Bay
Hong Kong
MTR: Causeway Bay Station, Exit C
Tel: 2833 2922
Web: http://www.mister.hk/
This gay sauna officially opened on 12 December 2009 but is now closed until further notice due to an electrical fault in the building.
Please.....no jokes about how many fags does it take to change a light bulb....
© 2009 FuelMix All Rights Reserved
