O’Kari

I’ve visited a few hammams in the past, and O’Kari is definitely my favorite overall! I went a couple of months back with my grandmother on her birthday and wanted to spend a relaxing afternoon, so we decided to try it out. Needless to say I had a wonderful experience! Very friendly, professional staff, amazing and relaxing environment, I will definitely be coming back next time I’m in Paris.

I’ve had the idea to visit an Hamman for as long as I’ve been coming to Paris. I just never made the time to do it until this trip.
I was able to book a same day appointment at O’Kari. I arrived for my two-​hour long appointment at 3pm. The place is very clean and well run. If you live in California and have visited a Korean Spa, this is very similar.
There were a few people that worked there that spoke English to help me along the way. This is a female only spa and you will see some nudity! You can bring a thing underwear to wear or they will give you a paper thing.
The idea is that you steam, you scrub, you get a mask on your hair and face, you scrub some more, you get a head massage, you go back and steam, and sit in the cool jacuzzi, then steam again and complete the treatments with a massage.
They do try to upsell you on the special masks. I did buy them. The whole thing took over three hours, when it was supposed to take two. Even if the masks added some time, it was like 15 minutes. If you are on a time frame, let them know in advance.
Plan on leaving with wet hair or allow some time to dry it there.
Pretty unique expereince.

Amazing space and feel, incredibly welcoming and accommodating staff, they take incredible care of you. Perfect for a ladies only event or just to treat yourself. MUST see if in Paris!

Every part of our experience at O’kari was excellent! I came with my daughter, who is 16. We were made very welcome by all the staff and especially the proprietress. We did the package «de beaute «which included hair conditioning, shampoo, salt scrub, facial, steam, pool, and massage. We escaped the heat of the day for three hours and left feeling restored and fabulous.

Way to relax after walking around Paris for two days like a good tourist! After a trip to O’Kari, my hair smells wonderful like the hammam’s ecalypse scent. The honey hair wrap /​facial was way too quick, and the full body scrub was to be expected (ow, indeed). My familiarity is with Korean jimjillbangs in Los Angeles and regular olé spas in ‘merica — this was my first hammam, in Paris!
I emailed the night before and confirmed an appointment for 10:30am on Saturday by email — hurray! I was sipping espresso and eating a baguette a street away, checking email with café WiFi in hopes of confirming the hammam appointment. Sure enough, they were responsive and gave me the door code (when I asked) because I had already checked out the mysterious address at 9am that morning.
It’s such a fun thing to be able to gain entrance into a soothing courtyard, then go into the underbelly of a building to pad around a hammam, being directed gently by nice French women doing their best to speak English.
I knocked out during my massage so can’t really say much about that — woke up two hours later refreshed, and enjoyed some tea and baklava before getting back into street clothes to walk around Paris some more.
note: this review is for the 3-​hour version

Stop looking and just call to book your appointment at O’Kari! I just moved to Paris, and I needed a relaxing spa experience. After googling and reading review after review, I chose to spend 3 glorious hours at O’Kari. I had never been to a hammam, so I tried to read the helpful reviews on Unilocal as well as other blogs. This is an amazing relaxing and cultural experience. This is not your typical American spa, I think it is actually better. I chose the package that included the steam room, black soap, body scrub, hair treatment, face scrub, massage and pool relaxation… worth every cent! I walked out feeling refreshed and relaxed. I will certainly be returning soon! To my American readers– step out of your comfort zone and experience something different. I promise you will be happy you did!

After googling and reading all the blogs of locals and Americans living in Paris, I decided on O’Kari…a more luxe option for the hammans and women only.
The O’Kari is in a very cool part of town that I hadn’t visited before, near rue Montorgueil which is the food district of Paris. This street basically is closed to traffic and has food stalls of every type (butchers, patisseries, fresh produce, tea stores, etc.). Back to O’Kari…this spa is inside a private courtyard and run by this Frenchwoman of Algerian descent. There isn’t much of a foyer so you pretty much start in the dressing room where you’re assigned a locker, flip flops and a paper thong. Yes for the faint of heart, bring a bikini but I personally don’t recommend it because you’re there to get a scrub down!
After getting into your robe and flip flops, you are led to the steam room which was warm and steamy. We made an early appointment which I’m glad we did because it was super quiet. After getting all steamed, we were taken to the main room with beautiful arches and four stone tables spread around the room. We climbed onto the heated stone table and laid on our stomachs. The scrubbing started with loofah-​type mitts, followed by more scrubbing all over our bodies. We were hosed down in between the scrubs. Since we splurged for hair and face masques, this happened next… I can’t remember the ingredients for each of the masques but they were both made of fresh edible ingredients (e.g., honey) so we got to taste them! After our final hose-​down, we were baby soft and so relaxed. Our therapists were very young — in their mid-​20s and super competent at their jobs.
We then alternated between going into the lukewarm pool and steam room to further relax. Then, we were ready for our massages which was so relaxing that both my sister and I knocked out for an hour. By this time, the spa was pretty busy so there were probably ~10−12 people in the spa which we felt because the place isn’t that big. Luckily, we were at the end of our treatment so we were served the best mint tea and a pastry of our choice. After nearly four hours at the O’Kari, we felt that it was the best spent 200-​euros (~$ 239) ever… the best part was that we didn’t have to add gratuity because it was included!

This is a wonderful hammam that gets it right. The service is welcoming, the facilities are very tidy and the staff is professional. If you are a bit on the shy side — I would recommend wearing a bikini bottom. They do provide a white disposable paper string…(!) There is a small locker room area where you can lock up a purse (and perhaps some inevitable Paris shopping).
Once there, they walk you through the whole experience. Steam room, scrub and massage. All the treatments were really top notch. The mint tea afterwards was awesome. Would happily recommend and return!

This place sucks, seriously.
I went there with my friend at 4:30pm-ish — we had an appointment a 5pm but the receptionist we called said we could come as early as 4:30pm so that’s what we did. We got in and we literally had to wait 2 hours before we could get into the spa area where the hammam, the pool and the massages take place. The place didn’t even own single use flip-​flops, they gave us havaianas that had been used before but apparently had been ‘sanitized’.
We complained about the wait and we still were not told when we would be able to get inside the spa area. We told them we had dinner plans afterwards and were told that it would be great once inside the spa area so we should re-​schedule our dinner plans.
When we finally got inside, we were told to go to the hammam, and we were not even given a towel to go to the hammam with. We had our bathing suit on but it is still gross to sit our bottoms down on the stone where everybody sits down and puts their feet on. We asked about towels and were told that they didn’t give towels out for the hammam but that we should not worry, since the place is very sanitized. Yeah right… when do they have time to sanitize during the day when there are always people inside. The only time they can sanitize is in the evening or early in the morning and that means the place fills up with germs during the day. Plus there was a ton of water lingering around on the floor, which made the hammam look a little dirty.
Also when we got sick of waiting inside the hammam we went into the pool and we were told off for going there, as apparently we were supposed to wait to get our massage, body scrub etc before going inside the pool. But nobody told us the order of things so how were we supposed to guess…
Also at some point we were waiting on the side of the pool and a cleaning lady stood up on it with her shoes on to pick up some water glasses, that is gross!!! that is where we sit down in our bathing suits for goodness sake… Then we had to wait forever for our turn to get the massage etc, and since we couldn’t wait any more we decided to leave.
Btw I got a huge breakout the evening and day after. That is because I had not taken my cc crème makeup off my face, and that in turn is because the makeup remover they had had fallen on the floor and looked so cheap that I didn’t want to put it on my face. Gross.
I am definitely not going back.

Excellent moment de détente entre amies. Les soins sont de qualité et l’accueil est très sympathique et chaleureux.
Je recommande vivement cet établissement.

Chez O’Kari j’aurais besoin d’aller chaque mois!
Quel havre de paix que cet institut, je crois que je né me suis jamais sentie aussi détendue qu’en sortant de cet endroit.
J’ai fait un soin de 2h avec une amie, l’accueil était parfait, on a été chouchoutée du début à la fin.
Dans le soin était compris un bain de vapeur, une exfoliation au savon noir, un gommage complet du corps, un savonnage au savon d’alep, un shampoing massant du crâné et haut du dos sur pierre chaude, le jacuzzi avec une citronnade puis un modelage de 30 min.
Premièrement je n’ai jamais été aussi propre! Et on sort détendue, sur un nuage.
Il y a également un salon de thé avec des pâtisseries.
C’est un institut réservé aux femmes et ils font des offres spéciales tous les mois (à voir sur leur site).

O’Kari, how I love you. I saw you often during my month-​long sabbatical in Paris (yes I’m a lucky girl) and I just couldn’t get enough. You were warm, loving, but yes, sometimes sweaty. And I loved you all the same. (I’m a hopeless romantic after all.)
After my first visit to the lovely O’Kari hammam & spa, I was hooked. The ambiance was clean, warm, homey, and comfortable. The owner, Karima (pronounced «Carrie-​ma»), explained how a hammam/​spa works: First, you get an assigned locker with a robe, flip flops, and disposable thong underwear. (girls: the thong is worn with the skinny string behind and between your butt, you’re welcome). You undress completely and use the bathroom because you’re going to risk a UTI if you don’t go now. Then, put the robe on and walk towards the lounge. Someone greets you and takes you inside.
You then get disrobed with only your thong on. (Don’t be shy, you don’t know anyone here.) I was instructed: «Hammam and then outside, hammam and then outside». Got lathered with black soap between visits inside the hammam. (Don’t get into the cool indoor pool until AFTER your gommage scrub, ladies).
You will be given a refreshing lemonade with a cute pink straw after you do the «hammam/​outside» routine several times. After you’re good and sweaty, your gommage begins. If you miss the feeling of your mommy lathering you and scrubbing you down, you’ll feel amazing during this process. The actual gommage scrub down does not hurt. Stop being a wuss. You get rinsed, soaped, and scrubbed within every inch of your body. Yes, even between your fingers and toes.
After this process is over, you are rinsed thoroughly and then told to do the hammam process again. This time, you get to dip into the cool (not freezing) pool to close your pores.
After the final hammam routine, if you opt for the massage, you will be led into the massage room and told that you can nap afterwards for as long as you’d like. Nobody is rushing you. The massage is nothing short of fantastic. Highly recommended. Imagine relaxing oils being smothered over your naked body by a beautiful masseuse. I’m not a lesbian by the way, I just appreciate a woman’s beauty. (note: guys, this is a women’s only hammam — sorry to get you excited!)
Close your eyes. Breathe deeply and enjoy. Your mind and body will thank you for treating it to such luxury. After the treatment is over, you are led back to the lounge where you get to enjoy a Middle Eastern sweet treat (caution: they are VERY sweet) and delicious spiced tea while still wearing your robe. Sit back and relax or grab your phone and ask for wifi access so you can write and post your own tribute to this amazing hammam & spa.
*Helpful hint #1: Call to make a reservation ahead of time; they speak decent English but keep your communication skills as clearly and simply as possible. Try if you can to book an unusual day/​time (say Monday or Friday at noon) so that you have the place almost to yourself if you’re body-​conscious. Bring a change of underwear if so inclined, and bring a makeup bag so you can refresh your beauty afterwards.
*Helpful hint #2: Press «P» (for Porte) when you arrive at the front gate. Push the door open after the buzzer sounds. Walk inside and you’ll see the spa entrance to your left.
When you leave, twist the key on the door lock and pull UP (I was THAT idiot fiddling with the door several times trying to get out on my second visit). Pull out. Come back. A Bientot!

I just spent the most amazing day at this wonderful Hammam located in the Second. It may have been my best day at a spa ever.
I signed up for the beauty package which included plenty of time in the steam room, being rubbed down with therapeutic black soap oils, relaxing poolside, then receiving an amazing full body and face scrub on a warmed Granite table, and that’s just the beginning.
Following my scrub, I relaxed in the pool with a incredible citrus beverage while I waited for my massage. The massage was also amazing and three hours later I emerged into the tea room to sit and enjoy Turkish pastries with beautiful brewed mint tea to restore me.
Everything went like clockwork– I literally had to just show up and everything was taken care of for me. I was ushered along as the day went on and I never had to think. It was flawless. They were very patient with my French and tried to speak English and it went very well.
Some specific tips: when you arrive, there is a very difficult door that you will type a building code into — then push hard! I had embarrassing difficulty with the door. But they came and got me and were very nice to me.
Second if you have not been to a Hammam in Europe, this is pretty much spending the day naked with a bunch of other ladies. The areas for bodywork are communal, as is the steam room, the pool, the relaxation area, and the massage room It really is not at all embarrassing but it is little bit different than the way we do it in US, just drop your robe and get relaxed!

La garantie d’un super moment!
Un petit coin, central dans paris mais en retrait des bruits de la rue, on se sent tout de suite privilégiée, dans un cocon. Accueil au top, vestiaire ultra propre, avec un nécessaire plus que complet à disposition de chacune…
Salles et soins vraiment à la hauteur, la décoration est élégante et raffinée, il y a toujours quelqu’un pour nous conseiller ou nous orienter… on est «aux petits oignons»!!
Rapport qualité /​prix vraiment irréprochable. J’ai même craqué pour un soin visage supplémentaire parce que d’une ça sent trop bon, et de deux on a vraiment pas l’impression de se faire avoir.
On repart avec un gant de gommage offert, et le sourire aux lèvres!

Lieu magique, une vrai pause dans Paris. J’ai choisi gommage et massage je voulais que ça dure toute la soirée !! Le lieu fait voyager, on oubli un temps qu’on est à Paris. Quand je suis sortie, j’avais la peau si douce, je me sentais revivre. On s’est occupée de moi comme une princesse gentillesse, tout est fourni, citronnade à la fin j’y retournerai ! Merci à toute l’équipe.

Super expérience, j’ai fait un soin basic et je né suis pas déçu du résultat: super accueil, lien magnifique, soins au top On sort complétement décontracter et ressourcer vraiment génial je recommande vivement ce hammam/​spa

I went to O’Kari the last day on my honeymoon. I bought a spot online and reserved in person, since my phone didn’t work while in Paris. The receptionist was very sweet, and was able to speak to me in English, because I barely know French. The spa itself was amazing. You go back and forth in the steam rooms, then they do the exfoliation, and then they give you a complimentary lemonade, which is super refreshing since you are hot most of the time. I didn’t realize the jaccuzi is lukewarm and isn’t hot like a regular jacuzzi, so I didn’t spend very much time in there.
The massage was fabulous, and then you lay relaxing on the massage table until you are ready to leave. It was a little strange because I didn’t know when I was supposed to leave, but you figure it out.
Overall, it was expensive, but I didn’t care because I was on my honeymoon. It was well work the price after all of the walking and sight seeing. Just wonderful.

Endroit très agréable, le personnel est sympa et discret (trop ?). Les soins sont de bonne qualité et durent longtemps (je suis restée 3 heures !). Les prestations restent un peu chères à mon goût pour du hammam/​massage mais je pense que ce sont les prix parisiens, à voir?

Vraiment le top !
J’ai passé une matinée fantastique, le décor est somptueux, le hammam sent bon l’eucalyptus et on peut s’y alllonger, le jacuzzi est super beau et les massages hypers relaxant (tellement agréables que j´ai même failli m’endormir !) Quand on sort de ce lieu magique on a vraiment l’impression d’être une nouvelle femme, toute douce, et toute neuve ! Allez y sans hésitation !

O’Kari
Si, à première vue, l’architecture du Hammam O’kari nous captive et nous invite au voyage en Orient. La qualité des soins qui est prodiguée est aussi ancestrale que le décor dépaysant. Le gommage aussi bien que le massage et les huiles et les essences à base de produits naturels nous offrent un bien-​être extra-​ordinaire. Pour avoir fait plusieurs hammams parisiens, O’kari reste, à bien des égards, une destination que je recommande pour le bien-​être.