Saunas

LegacyUser

hi all, im gonna go unreg for this.

Just wondering if anyone can offer advice or reviews of the Boilerhouse in Dublin?

Aard

Advice: wear a condom, or, alternatively, don't go.

oisindoyle

Unreg me please wrote: »

hi all, im gonna go unreg for this.

Just wondering if anyone can offer advice or reviews of the Boilerhouse in Dublin?

What do you wanna know ?...
Its 20 euro in ,you meet ALL SORTS ,,some hot ,some not .Be safe dont do anything you dont wanna do ...
Anything else?

ANXIOUS

If I was you, I'd stay away from then. The largest group if Irish people that have HIV/aids are homosexual men. So i would urge restraint.

If I was you I would explore other alternatives. Why put so much at risk?

Annasopra

ANXIOUS wrote: »

The largest group if Irish people that have HIV/aids are homosexual men.

any stats to back this up?

Aard

ANXIOUS wrote: »

The largest group if Irish people that have HIV/aids are homosexual men.

Lol. No, actually.

Stark

Just make sure you don't have any sex with gay men and you'll be fine.

sitstill

If you wanna go to the Boilerhouse, then go. Once you've experienced it, you can decide whether its the kind of thing youre into or not.

Use protection though. My friend is a nurse in the STI clinic in St James's and said that in the past year or so, bigger numbers of gay men are being diagnosed with HIV and many of them are saying that they were visitors to the Boilerhouse. Probably worth bearing that in mind.

ANXIOUS

Johnnymcg wrote: »

any stats to back this up?

Yes I have a few that you may like, my orginal statement was based if percent if population. I'm on my itouch so can't really link and quote properly.

Health Protection Surveillance Centre wrote:

New infections among men having sex with men rose a staggering 42.3% in the twelve months between 2008-09.

That stat suggests to me that their us something seriously wrong with the way gay men are addressing their sexual health. Something needs to be done about this urgently, it saddens me that this horrible virus continunes to infect so many new people. I think that these saunas and similar instituions are causing this situation to be much worse than it needs to be.

Of the 395 new cases reported in 2009, 138 were men that had sex with men. So that is 28.6% of the total. Now if we take how many gay people there are in ireland 156,075.5 people

[Population of ireland est. 4,459,300 / number of gay men in ireland 3.5% (seen 7% qouted somewhere before so just divided by 2 for gay men) = 156,075.5 people]

So if we simply divide the numbers the percentage of population of men who sleep with men that caught hiv/aids was 0.08% only in 2009. Compare this to the percent of the rest of the population = 0.005.

[Population 4,459,300 - 156,075.5= 4,303,224.5 / (395-138=257) -> 257/4,303,224.5 * 100= 0.005

As you can see it is a significant difference, and shows that men who sllep with men are at a higher risk of catching hiv/aids.

akaspike

No pun here but
the bottom line is play with fire and you'll get burnt .

Boards is a great magazine to flick past and ask questions. If your thinking about going to these places then your filling a need, in which you don't understand yet.
First of all asked why? Try and deal with it and talk to a confidential line for support. You wouldn't be asking questions about it if you didn't fear what you were getting into.

Don't jump into deep water if you want to explore an urge thats been building up inside. Stop and think about who you are and take the steps that need to be inserted. If not chances are you'll get burnt and inflict your pain onto other unsuspecting guys and jump out quickly, then occasionally dip in when you think it's chilled, ending up in a double mess and it will eat at you. (depending on your personality)

Don't cheat, double life styles catch up quickly. Don't contribute to disease and get tested no matter what way you want to go.

I know my above post my be a downer but common sense sometimes is the best cure, and hey i'm guilty of having a night without thought, but if your planing on a weekend with ………. then question your life, health and just come out. it might just save you.

LegacyUser

Hey there, a few months back I decided to take the plunge and go to the Boilerhouse. This was down to mostly curiosity. After a nice out me and a mate from Switzerland decided to go for it, he said he's been to a few back home so had a bit of experience with gay saunas. I didn't plan on having sex and I didn't. I went, sat in the jacquzi and went into the steam room. i walked around, had a peek, and that was it. If you're looking for the experience that I had I'd suggest it, no harm done. Now I can tell my friends I was in the Boilerhouse... It's a great story to tell, but again I wasn't looking for sex (though I have had dodgy sexual experiences!).

TylerIE

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Yes I have a few that you may like, my orginal statement was based if percent if population. I'm on my itouch so can't really link and quote properly.

QUOTE =Health Protection Surveillance Centre New infections among men having sex with men rose a staggering 42.3% in the twelve months between 2008-09.

[Population of ireland est. 4,459,300 / number of gay men in ireland 3.5% (seen 7% qouted somewhere before so just divided by 2 for gay men) = 156,075.5 people]

So if we simply divide the numbers the percentage of population of men who sleep with men that caught hiv/aids was 0.08% only in 2009. Compare this to the percent of the rest of the population = 0.005.

[Population 4,459,300 - 156,075.5= 4,303,224.5 / (395-138=257) -> 257/4,303,224.5 * 100= 0.005

As you can see it is a significant difference, and shows that men who sllep with men are at a higher risk of catching hiv/aids.

I would bring your figures up a little bit for the % of the population who are gay - probably closer to 10% on average based on the more recent anonymous research (the figures which suggest 2-8% are often coming from face to face interviews where people cannot speak truthfully re sexuality).

Looking at 49%(census IIRC) of the population being Male = 2,185,057 and 14% (US Figures for Males, Clapp et al, 2003) of them being gay = 305,908 = 0.04% of the Gay population.....

This leaves 4,153,395 people. Now that percentage of the rest of the population goes up to 0.006.

In this perhaps we should consider that hetrosexual men by mere virtue of the actual physical elements of their sex lives they are less likely to catch HIV/AIDS so perhaps the above figure of 4,153,395 shouldnt include all hetrosexual men either....

Obviously I totally agree that the Boilerhouse isnt advisable but we can skew statistics to make things look worse (or better) than they are, and I think Anxious your figures are skewed slightly. Furthermore your Original statement was that the largest group of people with HIV/AIDS are homsoexual men- the figures you gave are for those who caught it last year.

BuffyBot

It does annoy me the downright tut-tutting to hysteria that seems to go on here at the merest mention of places like the Boilerhouse on this forum.

OP, by all means go. What's sauce for the goose is not always sauce for the gander. Take sensible precautions, have fun and if you like it great. If you don't, well that's great too. The only person who can, and should make such descions is you.

TylerIE

BuffyBot wrote: »

It does annoy me the downright tut-tutting to hysteria that seems to go on here at the merest mention of places like the Boilerhouse on this forum.

OP, by all means go. What's sauce for the goose is not always sauce for the gander. Take sensible precautions, have fun and if you like it great. If you don't, well that's great too. The only person who can, and should make such descions is you.

Sorry I didnt answer the OPs question.

An acquaintance attends regularly. It suits him as he likes older "silver daddy" types, and likes doing stuff in view of others. He doesnt ask people about HIV status routinely, but on the one occasion he did, the guy was positive.

If you'd prefer a younger guy (under 40) then its rare that youd find it there. They have an U25s night on Tuesdays and a sometimes foreign students go then.

He also wouldnt go weekends as its a bit crowded and if your drunk you may find yourself in a position where someone else may assume your consent - he had an experience where one guy stood in front of him and another behind him and attempted to force participation, and another where an old guy cornered him and shoved poppers in his face (although normally this would have suited him, the sheer forcefulness of the scenario was too much). He also described some older fruitcakes who attend.

Finally I did state above if you really feel the need to go and then find yourself in a position where you want to get involved then at least try be selective by maybe getting a lie of the land first, and perhaps engage in safer activities. And of course use protection in activities where same is recommended.

Im not going to link to it but maybe find its website and become acquainted with it first, and maybe PM someone who has been.

ANXIOUS

lst wrote: »

I would bring your figures up a little bit for the % of the population who are gay - probably closer to 10% on average based on the more recent anonymous research (the figures which suggest 2-8% are often coming from face to face interviews where people cannot speak truthfully re sexuality).

Looking at 49%(census IIRC) of the population being Male = 2,185,057 and 14% (US Figures for Males, Clapp et al, 2003) of them being gay = 305,908 = 0.04% of the Gay population.....

This leaves 4,153,395 people. Now that percentage of the rest of the population goes up to 0.006.

In this perhaps we should consider that hetrosexual men by mere virtue of the actual physical elements of their sex lives they are less likely to catch HIV/AIDS so perhaps the above figure of 4,153,395 shouldnt include all hetrosexual men either....

Obviously I totally agree that the Boilerhouse isnt advisable but we can skew statistics to make things look worse (or better) than they are, and I think Anxious your figures are skewed slightly. Furthermore your Original statement was that the largest group of people with HIV/AIDS are homsoexual men- the figures you gave are for those who caught it last year.

Yeah i those figures were the only ones i could find, if you take 10% of the population to be gay you need to divide that in two.

Yeah i clarifired my original statement to make it percent of population.

What ever about the stats what is evident is that, gay peopel have a much higher chance of catching aids. This is something that needs to be sorted asap.

azezil

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Yeah i those figures were the only ones i could find, if you take 10% of the population to be gay you need to divide that in two.

Yeah i clarifired my original statement to make it percent of population.

What ever about the stats what is evident is that, gay peopel have a much higher chance of catching aids. This is something that needs to be sorted asap.

*hands ANXIOUS a condom* There now, sorted

azezil

Stark wrote: »

Just make sure you don't have any sex with gay men and you'll be fine.

Shouldn't be a problem in the boilerhouse :pac:

ANXIOUS

lst wrote: »

Sorry I didnt answer the OPs question.

An acquaintance attends regularly. It suits him as he likes older "silver daddy" types, and likes doing stuff in view of others. He doesnt ask people about HIV status routinely, but on the one occasion he did, the guy was positive.

Are you actually serious? Would the HIV positve person not make it known to all their sexual partners? Just think if the condom split or something, surely to god they should have a choice if they want to take that risk.

ANXIOUS

azezil wrote: »

*hands ANXIOUS a condom* There now, sorted

I understand that using a condom signicftly reduces my risks of catching anything. How come this message doesn't seem to be getting through to gay men? I'm straight btw.

Annasopra

STIs is completely off topic - if you want to discuss it start a new thread

ANXIOUS

Johnnymcg wrote: »

STIs is completely off topic - if you want to discuss it start a new thread

Sorry, I was just trying to get the whole thing around saunas.

Aard

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Are you actually serious? Would the HIV positve person not make it known to all their sexual partners? Just think if the condom split or something, surely to god they should have a choice if they want to take that risk.

I think they already made the choice by walking into said establishment.

ANXIOUS

Aard wrote: »

I think they already made the choice by walking into said establishment.

I completly agree with you, I just can't grasp why people would go to saunas.

oisindoyle

ANXIOUS wrote: »

I completly agree with you, I just can't grasp why people would go to saunas.

You're straight so how could you grasp it ?...

By some of your above comments you are assumeing that all gay people who go to the Boilerhouse are all engageing in unsafe anal sex.....not all gay men engage in anal sex ANXIOUS and many many practice safe sex!

Gay men go to saunas because they are horny.Some want to have anonymous sex with other anonymous gay men .Others go to chill out ..Most go for sex ..Whats wrong with that ?

Don't straight men go out every weekend hoping to "score" with a girl ,an anonymous girl they just met just for a shag ?... many engage in UNSAFE sex and i'm sure the status of ones sexual health never gets asked either ..shocking isn't it

Aard

Yeah, the Boilerhouse seems to be the, eh, quick and dirty way to get laid. It certainly would save a lot of cash spent on drink in a club. It'd be impossible for a straight guy to find a casual fuck so readily; just listen to the Rammstein song!

rainbow kirby

Aard wrote: »

It'd be impossible for a straight guy to find a casual fuck so readily

*ahem* Coppers

ixoy

ANXIOUS wrote: »

I completly agree with you, I just can't grasp why people would go to saunas.

I imagine if there was a place where straight men could go, pay a token entry fee, and find lots of women up-for-it, who didn't need introductions or smalltalk or wining or dining, that there'd be a certain number who would be eager and avail of it. But like with gay men, many would have no interest either.

Bottle_of_Smoke

rainbow kirby wrote: »

*ahem* Coppers

Lol that is such a silly myth. Its no different to any other place in dublin other than the fact it is 3 men to every girl due to said myth. Opens late though!

OP I don't have any experience of this kind of place but I don't think you should go alone, not the first time anyway. Have you any mates who'd be interested?

I'm not suggesting something bad will happen to you but I felt nervous going into a lap-dancing club once and that was with 4 other guys! If you go with a mate you can relax and have a laugh before meeting others.

Get extra strong condoms, if one broke you'd be terrified waiting the 3 months before you could tested. And I'm not pontificating I'd do the same if there was a straight equivalent of the boilerhouse.

stephen_n

ANXIOUS wrote: »

Health Protection Surveillance Centre]New infections among men having sex with men rose a staggering 42.3% in the twelve months between 2008-09.

Interestingly you have probably hit on a fact there that is pertinent to the boiler-house. Men who have sex with men are not always gay men and usually that term is specifically refers to men who don't identify as being gay but who have sex with men. This would also further skew the figures beyond the 10% mark oh those who actually identify as being gay. There are apparently alot of these type of men who use the boiler-house.

ANXIOUS

stephen_n wrote: »

Interestingly you have probably hit on a fact there that is pertinent to the boiler-house. Men who have sex with men are not always gay men and usually that term is specifically refers to men who don't identify as being gay but who have sex with men. This would also further skew the figures beyond the 10% mark oh those who actually identify as being gay. There are apparently alot of these type of men who use the boiler-house.

I see where you are coming from but, I don't think it'd still raise the percentage to 10.

I'm going to look into this in some detail.

Annasopra

Please don't discuss STIs amongst MSM anymore in this thread - start a new thread

rob6970

Hey just after reading the thread on saunas and as im new to this could someone actually tell me what goes on in there?

Annasopra

rob6970 wrote: »

Hey just after reading the thread on saunas and as im new to this could someone actually tell me what goes on in there?

People have sex


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bathhouse

LegacyUser

This place is best avoided.

john_reilly74

mango salsa wrote:

rob6970 wrote: »

Hey just after reading the thread on saunas and as im new to this could someone actually tell me what goes on in there?

People have sex


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_bathhouse

An eyeopener to top all! Just out of interest, does anyone know if these joints are safer in France or Germany? The reason being i'd imagine people here to be more risk averse than the Germans say, and less likely to wear a condom.

gaa131

sitstill wrote: »

If you wanna go to the Boilerhouse, then go. Once you've experienced it, you can decide whether its the kind of thing youre into or not.

Use protection though. My friend is a nurse in the STI clinic in St James's and said that in the past year or so, bigger numbers of gay men are being diagnosed with HIV and many of them are saying that they were visitors to the Boilerhouse. Probably worth bearing that in mind.

Well, it's also worth bearing in mind that HIV is contracted in the BH in the same way it is contracted everywhere else. If a person is taking risks in a place like the BH then it's very likely they're taking risks, period. Anyone who has unprotected sex with a complete unknown, regardless of where it takes place, is asking for trouble.

As for the BH - been to it twice - horrid, horrid, horrid place. I don't know how any person with even a modicum of self respect could use this place on a repeated basis. It's unhygenic, unclean and it's operated in a manner which leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from sti's there is every chance of contracting a skin infection because of the dirtiness - people are allowed to walk around in bare feet on floors that are wet, damp and semen covered - it's a perfect environment for nasty bacteria and diseases.

I believe that they've started throwing drunk customers out without giving them the chance to put their clothes on and that money and other belongings have been going missing from the lockers of customoers.

In a word this place is a dive.

john_reilly74

gaa131 wrote: »

sitstill wrote:

If you wanna go to the Boilerhouse, then go. Once you've experienced it, you can decide whether its the kind of thing youre into or not.

Use protection though. My friend is a nurse in the STI clinic in St James's and said that in the past year or so, bigger numbers of gay men are being diagnosed with HIV and many of them are saying that they were visitors to the Boilerhouse. Probably worth bearing that in mind.

Well, it's also worth bearing in mind that HIV is contracted in the BH in the same way it is contracted everywhere else. If a person is taking risks in a place like the BH then it's very likely they're taking risks, period. Anyone who has unprotected sex with a complete unknown, regardless of where it takes place, is asking for trouble.

As for the BH - been to it twice - horrid, horrid, horrid place. I don't know how any person with even a modicum of self respect could use this place on a repeated basis. It's unhygenic, unclean and it's operated in a manner which leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from sti's there is every chance of contracting a skin infection because of the dirtiness - people are allowed to walk around in bare feet on floors that are wet, damp and semen covered - it's a perfect environment for nasty bacteria and diseases.

I believe that they've started throwing drunk customers out without giving them the chance to put their clothes on and that money and other belongings have been going missing from the lockers of customoers.

In a word this place is a dive.

well you were there twice so something attracted you back?

oisindoyle

gaa131 wrote: »

Well, it's also worth bearing in mind that HIV is contracted in the BH in the same way it is contracted everywhere else. If a person is taking risks in a place like the BH then it's very likely they're taking risks, period. Anyone who has unprotected sex with a complete unknown, regardless of where it takes place, is asking for trouble.

As for the BH - been to it twice - horrid, horrid, horrid place. I don't know how any person with even a modicum of self respect could use this place on a repeated basis. It's unhygenic, unclean and it's operated in a manner which leaves a lot to be desired. Apart from sti's there is every chance of contracting a skin infection because of the dirtiness - people are allowed to walk around in bare feet on floors that are wet, damp and semen covered - it's a perfect environment for nasty bacteria and diseases.

I believe that they've started throwing drunk customers out without giving them the chance to put their clothes on and that money and other belongings have been going missing from the lockers of customoers.

In a word this place is a dive.

I think if I went to a dive then once would be enough but you went TWICE,,how odd..
As for some of the other "serious" accusations which you made ,,perhaps you should file an official complaint with the BH and the Gards

oisindoyle

guestie009 wrote: »

This place is best avoided.

Oh do tell ,,Why?

LegacyUser

just wondering what is worn in these sauna's do you have to wear shorts/speedos or do you go naked.

fluffybiscuits

You walk in, pay your entry fee and put your clothes in a locker. You are given a towel which you wrap around your waist and then you can look in the different areas. The first floor has a dark room with a maze , second floor there is a jacuzzi (which looks like a giant bowl of porridge) and a steam room with a darkened area and on third floor there is cruising areas with private booths and a sling. THe ground floor has a cafe .

On entry first you pay the twenty, they give you condoms, lube and the towels.

-Dont feel pushed into anything you dont want to do
-Rubber up
-Use lubricant that wont erode a condom

Above all have fun . It fills a need. Different people have different opinions but I think its fine. Went there when I first came out years ago, rarely had a bad experience but its there to serve a purpose. Best times to visit is Friday afternoon to catch the culchies going home or Sunday when the married lads seem to be floating about. Saturday and Friday nights are crap, drunken ****wits off their head.

Havent been in years but that is my experience.

Conor30

oisindoyle wrote: »

I think if I went to a dive then once would be enough but you went TWICE,,how odd..
As for some of the other "serious" accusations which you made ,,perhaps you should file an official complaint with the BH and the Gards

Maybe he went once 8 years ago and another time 3 years ago... Having gone twice still doesn't invalidate his opinion. :rolleyes:

Conor30

john_reilly74 wrote: »

well you were there twice so something attracted you back?

Sex probably.

LegacyUser

At the end of the day if your quiet horny and looking to meet someone with similar intentions, this place will cater for your needs. I have gone twice, not a place I would rush back to but the whole place does have advantages. I don't know about ye, but seeing a lot of sexy men parading around horny as hell can be quiet nice when your in the mood. However the place needs a Makeover, a new similar venue would go down a treat!!! Its just not run to a high enough standard , a better more exclusive yet affordable place would do very well in Dublin me thinks!

Liberal Irishman

been there!! wrote: »

I don't know about ye, but seeing a lot of sexy men parading around horny as hell can be quiet nice when your in the mood.

I'm not gay but I went to a few of them to check them out and found them to be very interesting indeed. And yes it is nice to see sexy men (some anyway) who are horny as hell. I think you'd have to go to one of the hedonism clubs in the Caribbean to find the equivalent in the hetro world.

In a perfect world I would like them but hell it's not a perfect world and when you add some paranoia into the mix you can be sure that nothing much was going to happen with me anyway!

All in all I found the experience to be quite nice, apart from the guy at the door inquiring if I knew what kind of place it was!!! I just found it a bit strange that he would base his opinion on a stereotype that I thought didn't exist!

As for the buildings being unsanitary and dingy (BH was quite new at the time so it wasn't that dingy) I would have to agree.

Annasopra

Liberal Irishman wrote: »

I'm not gay but I went to a few of them to check them out

Seems strange to me. Why

Liberal Irishman

mango salsa wrote: »

Seems strange to me. Why

I just found myself drawn to that environment. Curiosity, excitement I'm not really sure why. But I do know that I never tried (or pretended) to be anything that I'm not.

When I was writing the original post I wondered how long it would be before someone challenged me on the fact that I was saying I wasn't gay.
I get the impression that there is a reluctant acceptance of differing degrees of bisexuality within the gay community. I could be dead wrong about that, I suppose that it's up to every individual to decide for themselves, but I'd be interested in your opinions.

All that said, and without going into the details of my sexuality I am genuinely interested in other people's opinions, views and lifestyles.

floggg

In fairness, a statement like "I'm not gay" would generally be taken to mean you are straight not bisexuality. I imagine it was on that basis that people found your post strange?

What do you identify as if you don't me asking?

Annasopra

I just assumed that a statement that

I'm not gay = I am heterosexual

Liberal Irishman

floggg wrote: »

In fairness, a statement like "I'm not gay" would generally be taken to mean you are straight not bisexuality. I imagine it was on that basis that people found your post strange?

What do you identify as if you don't me asking?

Thanks, and I don't mind you asking in the least. The fact is that I'd like to give you an answer (believe me), but after many years of thought and contemplation I still haven't worked it out for myself!

Conor30

Liberal Irishman wrote: »

I just found it a bit strange that he would base his opinion on a stereotype that I thought didn't exist!

The Boilerhouse tends to get quite a few regulars (I'm led to believe), so when they see someone new for the first time, they might check that you know it's a gay place! Maybe you also have a nervous expression on your face going in the door (being a straight man and all:D).


It's great you're open-minded and tolerant but I'm surprised a straight man would go there on his own. Even the majority of gay guys wouldn't go near the place! What do your straight mates think of you checking it out. You enjoyed seeing horny men?:D