Massaging the truth about sex saunas?

THE three blonde girls are sitting in deep red velvet armchairs, each wearing skimpy black slips, their legs lazily crossed or tucked up under them. Seated beside them are two men, aged somewhere between 25 and 35, youngish but older than the girls, and looking incredibly sheepish in their white bath robes.

All are bathed in a crimson light, reflecting from the walls and emanating from the red bulb hanging from the ceiling. One of the girls is smoking, but there is no conversation. Instead they watch a television which is fixed on the opposite wall. It is showing Sky News, an odd choice of channel given its location. More bizarrely, there’s a parrot sitting on a perch in a window recess to the left of the room, which is being fed by another girl.

But that is perhaps the least strange thing in the underworld of Edinburgh’s saunas which the authorities deny are brothels, but where sex can be purchased for as little as 50; where a female sauna boss is quite happy to have her daughter-in-law work as one of her girls, and where the prostitutes happily end their working day or night by going out clubbing together.

I turn to the man standing next to me, the receptionist who was dressed casually in a open-necked shirt and trousers. He had buzzed me inside through the private intercom system, the only thing which from the outside proved the building was open for business, as the forbidding heavy curtains closed across all the windows prevented any window shopping.

I had obviously sounded unsure just asking "for a massage please", for once inside he immediately asks me if this is my first time in the sauna. It was my first time in any Edinburgh sauna - a fact some might find hard to believe given the seeming proliferation of the places in recent years. So popular do they seem to have become under Edinburgh City Council’s and the police’s "blind-eye" policy that the number of saunas has more than doubled over the last decade - from around 12 to 27, according to one sauna worker. Likewise, the number of prostitutes has also risen, and a sauna can have anything from five to 15 women working in it at any one time.

The effective decriminalisation of brothels by granting saunas and massage parlours entertainment licences happened in 1982 when the council tried to "manage" the rise of Aids and HIV, and there’s been a steady rise in numbers since which, along with sex shops and lap dancing bars, has prompted many people to suggest that the Athens of the North is now more like Amsterdam.

This is a comparison which draws laughter from a male receptionist at a different sauna - whose boss owns two such premises - but he agrees business is booming.

"You’d be amazed at who comes in here. It’s all different types," he says. People think it’s all seedy but it’s not like that at all. It’s the guy next door who comes here. We get a lot of regulars, but we get a lot of new guys, too. It’s about half and half.

"A lot of the guys that use this sauna use all the saunas. They tend to have their favourite in each place.

"It’s a thriving industry. It’s definitely growing. Ten years ago, you’d be lucky if there were 12 saunas here, now it’s closer to 30. It’s big business now."

He works in a sauna with four "cabins" and five staff, and explains: "We’ve got eight staff on the books between the two saunas. Most sauna owners tend to just have the one.

"Some of the staff can make quite decent money. It just depends on how good they

are at their job. We also get some women looking for guys or wanting women. Some of the saunas have guys working there."

HE goes on to reveal that the saunas work on a no appointment basis, and says: "It’s just the luck of the draw. It varies a lot depending on times of the month and when the guys have got money. It’s always busy at the end of the month when they’ve had their pay packet. Weekends and the end of the month must be a big bonus for the owners.

"Mind you, no-one wants to put their heads above the parapet and say how well they’re doing just now with the current licensing situation."

The situation to which he refers is the legal challenge raised by anti-sauna campaigner Michael Anthony, who has objected to the licence renewal of 19 Edinburgh saunas. While even the council’s solicitor has claimed in a letter that the authority is oblivious to what goes on inside saunas, Mr Anthony is now hoping to close them down under European human rights legislation.

Perhaps those in authority should just walk inside and see for themselves. It’s a week night when I visit one of Edinburgh’s best- known saunas so it’s fairly quiet. Apart from the clientele and the red lighting it feels like I could be in the front room of any New Town flat. The receptionist points at the girls and asks one to give me a tour of the "facilities". She escorts me downstairs for a brief look at the basement premises of four luxury bedroom suites and changing room.

In contrast to the deep red hues that filled the TV room, this area of the sauna was bathed in harsh, yellow light. A small bank of lockers stood in front; to my left, a couple of changing cubicles. A sauna and steam room were also available, while a tumble drier filled with towels stood in the corner.

The blonde girl, who on closer inspection looks about 20, tells me the routine - take a shower, don a robe or towel and come through to the lounge. "Take your time," she adds. After showering, I put on a pink robe and walk back to the TV room, taking a seat on one of the sofas, no doubt looking as sheepish as the two men who had been there when I arrived, but who had now disappeared.

The receptionist appears again to explain the prices for the rooms. I accept half an hour for 15. He then offers me a choice of soft drinks - no alcoholic ones were to be seen. I take an orange juice.

A brunette sits by my side but my opening conversational gambit - a "how are you?" - is met with little more than a giggle. I turn and concentrate on the television. Sensing my unease, the receptionist offers a few calming words, advising me to relax and pick a girl when ready.

I asked a petite brunette girl sitting quietly in the corner if she could give me a massage. As she leads me back downstairs she tells me her name is Karen. The bedroom itself is spacious, with a hot-tub against the one wall, opposite a large, comfy-looking double bed reflected on the ceiling by a huge mirror. Karen turns the lights down, filling the room with a mixture of soft blue and pink light. "That’s a bit more romantic," she says.

I switch my robe for a towel and she ushers me on to the bed for a gentle back massage. As I lie face-down it’s easier to avert my gaze as she is now naked, her black slip having been dispensed with. We chat briefly and she tells me she is 22 and has been working there for "a few months", although she hopes to go college.

I ask her how lucrative her job is and she admits to making "good money" which pays for her two-bedroomed flat - although there are often "quiet days". She says there are usually seven girls working in the sauna on a usual shift, and that they generally get on well, sometimes going clubbing after hours, although not every sauna is so friendly.

Then, after the polite chit chat, she tells me the services on offer: 30 for a "body-to-body" massage, 40 for oral sex and 50 for the "full service", which she confirms is sex.

The prices seem to be more or less the same across Edinburgh, and it seems that the staff are fairly treated by their owners, making a reasonable wage. A worker at a different sauna says: "You can make quite a bit of money. It just depends. Some people have clients coming back time and time again. Some always ask for the same girl."

At another small sauna, owned by the mother-in-law of one of the girls, a member of staff says: "We’ve got five girls. We get about ten customers a day. It does get a bit busier at the weekend. I’ve been working here since 1991, so I’ve got quite a lot of regulars. You can earn quite a bit."

Another woman at a different sauna adds: "Business varies from day to day. We can get a handful or up to 20 or 30 at the weekend. There is a lot of money to be made. It depends on what shifts the girls are working and if they’re a busy girl. We’ve got a strong client base. About half our clients are regulars but you also get a lot of new people. There’s about 15 girls here. The girls normally go home after work but sometimes go out to a pub or club together."

After making my excuses and leaving, I head for another in the opposite end of town. By now I have a fair idea of what to expect, and the black signs and window blinds don’t seem quite so intimidating now.

I walk in and look for the person in charge. The reception is empty so I press the small buzzer on the wall. A woman, possibly in her late 30s or early 40s, suddenly appears. She has long blonde hair and is wearing a tight leather mini-skirt, stockings and small black top. This time I was immediately charged 20 for a room and then taken through to the changing area. On my way I pass a poster written on a piece of A4 paper advertising, in poor English, a forthcoming "adult" party night. "80 - all inclusive," it states.

After saying hello to young guy - obviously a regular client given his relaxed "alright mate?" as he dresses (and I later see him giving one of the girls a kiss as he leaves with a "that was great, doll"), I shower and wrap a towel round me before heading to the TV room, noting on the way the small cupboard-like sauna in the corner, looking extremely unused.

This time the TV is tuned to a football match. A half-eaten ham and pineapple pizza sits in its box on a small glass coffee table. A woman comes in and offers me a drink, so I ask for glass of water. Trying to sound more knowledgeable, I ask her how many girls are available.

She answers that she is free. She couldn’t be more different from the previous girl. She has peroxide blonde hair with dark roots, is tall and slim but has an imposing presence, and is definitely older although she refuses to tell me her age.

The whole place seems like a much smaller outfit, although I did catch a glimpse of another girl who I presumed, from the fact she was wearing only a towel, had just been with a customer.

I tell my masseuse that she sounds Scandinavian. Smiling, she corrects me - she’s German - before promptly leading me through to the bedroom.

The setting is much less comfortable; the pale walls and bright light in sharp contrast to the other sauna. I am also startled by her matter-of-fact tone as she runs through the options, making no bones about what was on offer. This time it was 40 for oral sex, 60 for full sex and 80 for the "special". I decide not to ask her what the latter option consists of, and instead mumble some excuse and insist on leaving.

She looks surprised, but not overly concerned, and shows me back to the changing room. I am embarrassed, and hurriedly put on my clothes before heading for the exit.

It’s been a quiet night for both girls with a client like me, but it seems there is no end to the numbers who do want the full services on offer. Most girls tend to work for the sauna owner - it seems most are owned individually rather than there being one big sauna boss with a string of businesses - but there are others who rent out rooms from the owners and pay rental rather than giving a cut.

One female sauna owner says: "Business is pretty steady but I would say there’s definitely been a rise over the last few years. You get your good days and your bad days. We get a variety of people coming in here. We get people from all different jobs.

"Every day’s different. You can’t put a figure of the number of men you’re going to get coming in. The girls get on in the building but they don’t socialise together. They’ve all got their own friends. To most of them it’s just a job which pays well."

Additional reporting by Miranda Fettes