[4] Stephen Holden of The New York Times described Spa Night as "a contemplation of the loneliness, tension and anxiety of outsiders pursuing a piece of the American dream" and "a looming family tragedy of immigrants desperately trying to maintain a foothold in an oppressive, upwardly mobile and conformist subculture.

"[5] Sheri Linden of the Los Angeles Times called the film "erotically charged, quietly devastating" and praised that Seo's "sensitive lead performance affectingly expresses the tension between tradition and personal identity.

"[7] Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter stated, "Ahn subtly teases out his protagonist's inner struggle, often by letting David interact with the small but fine-grained gallery of supporting characters.

"[8] Peter Debruge of Variety opined, "Cruising is a tricky dynamic to capture onscreen, and Spa Night only partially succeeds, concerned more with David's bystander curiosity than the sophisticated nonverbal seduction going on around him.

"[10] Sheila O'Malley of RogerEbert.com gave Spa Night 3 out of 4 stars and wrote, "The film is admirable in presenting the issues a gay kid faces in an extremely specific environment, and for resisting a more conventional storyline.