Edmonton bathhouse Steamworks has been open for a short three years, yet in that time it has managed to carve out a sizable niche of the market it caters to. Its success, both with locals and travelers, has been earned through its sheer size and the caliber of experience offered. Customers from around the globe have told management that Steamworks is a world-class establishment.

Steamworks co-creator and partner in ownership, Henk Kalkman, is pleased with this response because it is exactly what was gunning for. “[Steamworks was opened because] there was nothing offered of this size,” he explains. It is truly massive: 7000 square feet, laid out on two floors including 2000 square feet of beautifully tiled showers, sauna, and steam rooms (yes, plural). If size matters, then Steamworks is hung like a horse.

Scale was not the only concern for Kalkman and the other co-creators; to be unquestionably awesome, Steamworks would have to be top-notch in every way. To gather ideas, the lot of them “went on a bathhouse tour of North America”, he states. This research has paid off. It was decided that Steamworks would be “designed as a place to have a sexual adventure”, with the effect of being in a maze, to “never know who or what will be around the next corner”; even the lighting was modified to “enhance the visual appeal of customers,” Kalkman says. Every effort was taken to create a bathhouse that would rival those found in the biggest cities on the continent.

One would intuitively expect such an undertaking to be plagued with major problems in construction and operation, but Steamworks has not been burdened with any serious trouble at all. The one issue with its construction had to do with its huge size – a space so large had to be professionally drafted for the City of Edmonton to allow licensing! The owners were congratulated by a health inspector for keeping Steamworks so clean and, Kalkman explains, “a visiting vice-cop said it was the nicest place he’d been in.” He made clear how proud he and the other owners are of Steamworks and its operation – they love the look of it and the way it runs. Customers respond in the same way; the bathhouse has reached maximum capacity more than once, which can be a rarity in the city.

One issue Kalkman wishes to address is the rumor that the building housing Steamworks is slated to be demolished to make way for condominiums. This is not true, and Kalkman surmises that the rumor started when construction began on a nearby building and scaffolding was directly in front of the business. Rest assured, Steamworks is here for the foreseeable future and has no plans to close.

A number of promotional grabs are available for the steamer on a budget: a visit on a Thursday earns the guest a free pass for a following Thursday; and a visit on a Friday/Saturday earn you a free pass on Sunday. As well, they offer a daily special from 4 pm to 7pm where lockers and rooms may be rented for six dollars and nine dollars respectively. Regular prices range depending on the time of visit from six to thirteen dollars for a locker, and from nine to eighteen dollars for a room. Double rooms are also available, and so are a few other specialties you may enjoy trying if you haven’t before.

If you’ve never been to Steamworks, you owe yourself a trip even if just to steam off some summer sweat. Have fun and play safe.

Steamworks

11725 Jasper Avenue (rear entrance)

(780) 451-5554