Where can you get a pedicure, sip coffee, check e-mail and have your kids play "jumping in the jungle" all at the same time? Urban Monkeys, Seattle's uber-urban loft space with fun for the entire fam.
Featuring an open, airy 18-ft. loft ceiling housing two studios; a kids' lounge with tables and toys; a curtained-off, sleek adults' lounge; two spa rooms; a nail bar; a computer bar; coffee bar; and a few varieties of energy bars, Urban Monkeys is otherwise known as a "jungle for kids" and an "oasis for grownups."
Owners Gina Hadley and Jeanna Peterson, both professionals and recent moms, began Urban Monkeys to create time well spent for parents and kids.
"There is no reason why everyone can't get something out of an experience," smiles Peterson. "We wanted to be the first place in Seattle to address the needs of both parent and child."
At Urban Monkeys, kids can take interactive classes while making plenty of new monkey mates. And parents can enjoy conversation, check e-mail and treat themselves to spa offerings with everything from manis and pedis to microdermabrasion, glycolic peels and waxing — all headed up by aesthetician Aimee Fuentes, founder of Glow Skin Care in San Francisco.
Toys and craft tables abound in the kids' lounge.
And how do these monkeys play while the parents sneak away to the adults' lounge? With supervised open gym time and a slough of cool classes that enhance kids' development while increasing their smile time. Each class is based on dance, movement, music or yoga, and teaches self-expression in a non-competitive environment. Taught by certified professionals such as Nurturing Pathways founder Christine Roberts, professional dancer Rebecca Schroeder, and personal training husband-and-wife team of Steven Stanfield and Monica Donald, Urban Monkeys' instructors teach kids everything from practicing better posture with the "belly dance" class and exercising their imaginations with "storybook acting" to limbering up papa with "daddy and monkey yoga."
"It's all about laying a healthy foundation for kids," says Peterson.
For parents, there are several parent-child classes, including prenatal yoga, which even offers free baby-sitting and parking!
Sneak away for a massage while your kids play.
Curious about Urban Monkey money matters? A family membership runs $150 per year, which entitles all immediate family members (plus any additional primary caregivers) to open gym time, pre-registration for quarterly classes, multi-class discounts, a free lip and brow wax, a free 15-minute chair massage, 10 Urban Monkey bucks (for a retail purchase), two guest passes per quarter and more.
Quarterly courses run about $225, or you can buy punch cards valued at $89 for five visits, or $169 for 10 visits to use at your convenience (based on class availability). For more information about the offerings at Urban Monkeys, consult the Web site or call for more information.
Please note that parents must be present at Urban Monkeys at all times, because this concept was designed for families to come together and stay together. So whether you're a parent or a monkey, Seattle now has a place where you both want to go.
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Copyright © 2008 The Seattle Times Company
