It's getting hot in here — how saunas became the new pub
It’s 5pm on a Thursday in the heart of the City and various sets of finance bros and PR execs are celebrating the last day in the office before the weekend. Ties are off, conversation is flowing freely and someone’s just cracked a joke about asking ChatGPT to rewrite their Hinge profile.
But there are no pints in hand or cheese and onion crisps in this post-work hangout. Here at Sauna & Plunge on Shoreditch’s Tabernacle Street, the air is filled with an earthy scent of cedarwood, floor-to-ceiling plants line the room and there’s an ultra-chic pair of ice baths in the corner for when the heat gets too much. Sticky floors and overpriced drinks are out, fluffy white robes are in. Saunas, it seems, are no longer a footnote at the end of a gym session — they’re London’s hottest new hangout.
“People are crying out for ways to gather and socialise,” says Rob Rea, a performance coach at Sauna & Plunge who believes saunas are the new pubs, or golf courses even, as Londoners seek out new spaces to catch up outside of the office. “I sat in a sauna the other day and heard a business deal being made.”
Sauna & Plunge — an Instagrammable yoga studio-type venue (yoga classes are indeed available downstairs) just around the corner from Old Street station — isn’t the only new spot drawing a buzzy crowd of Londoners seeking a social space with proven health benefits. “Our sauna events include storytelling, sound baths, queer poetry, aromatherapy, breathwork, life-drawing and singing,” says Grace Church, events manager for Community Sauna Baths, a not-for-profit organisation running accessible saunas in Bermondsey, Peckham, Hackney Wick and Stratford.
New venues are cropping up across the capital, from Barnes to Docklands. And Hackney recently hosted the UK’s first sauna festival, Saunaverse, for the second year in a row, with hundreds of Londoners alternating between saunas and ice-cold plunge baths, beer in hand, to the soundtrack of bands and DJs (if you happened to be in Hackney Wick at the end of April, you probably noticed clouds of steam evaporating into the air above the art studios and craft breweries). “What’s interesting is that in the UK, sauna seems to be less about health optimisation and more about enjoyment and social connection,” says Mika Meskanen, chair and founder of the British Sauna Society. “We’d be better off with less social media and more social sauna.”
So why are so many Londoners choosing to get their kit off and steam themselves like dumplings together? The answer, according to experts, might be more similar to the pub than you’d expect. “With short-term exposure to stress like the high heat in saunas, you can achieve a ‘natural high’,” says neuroscientist Lana Powell. Max Reynard, co-founder of Sauna & Plunge, agrees. “Sauna lowers inhibitions — whilst driving productivity,” he says. “We're waking up to the fact that social interaction doesn't have to take place with a drink in hand. We just may not have had many good alternatives in the UK for social interaction outside of pubs and restaurants because that's so ingrained in our culture.”
Many converts now swear by the Finnish tradition for finding a rare moment of connection in what is often a rushed, lonely city. “I have really interesting conversations in the sauna that I would never normally strike up in another context,” says Ella, a regular community sauna user. “I actually feel more confident chatting in the sauna to strangers because everyone is in such a zen and friendly headspace.”
Chevy Rough, a regular at Sauna & Plunge, agrees. And for him it’s the mindfulness aspect that draws him in the most. “There’s nothing better than dumping my phone in the locker and heading to the sauna,” he says. “It’s often in these moments, as my body comes down through the gears, that I come up with ideas and solutions to all the daily problems I might be trying to escape from.”
The health benefits of saunas are a major draw, of course. In Nordic countries like Finland, the world’s happiest country for the seventh year in a row, saunas have become a part of their DNA thanks to the proven respiratory, cardiovascular and mood-boosting benefits. “Regular sauna sessions have been linked to reduced risk of cardiovascular disease, respiratory conditions, and even mental health disorders,” explains Carlos Urrutigoity, general manager at luxury wellness members’ club, Grey Wolfe. “Sauna use is associated with improved mood, better sleep, and decreased levels of stress markers like cortisol.”
Here in London, social saunas might not have reached the nudity stage, but a more innovative, less traditional approach to saunas is certainly fostering a new kind of social element. Community Sauna Baths run regular creative sessions such as grief saunas, life drawing classes and social circles for the trans community; Sauna & Plunge offers yoga and breathwork classes alongside its infrared sauns and ice baths facilities; and Saunaverse — expected to return next spring — offers everything from gluten-free food trucks to dance workshops and local DJ performances.
“Operators in the UK see saunas more as creative platforms rather than faithful reproductions of the original,” says Meskanen. Pints in the sauna might not be a London ritual just yet, but it might only be a matter of time. Grab your robe.
London’s hottest social saunas
Community Sauna Baths
With locations across London, this not-for-profit community project puts the social aspect of sauna culture front and centre. Prices are affordable and accessible, so just show up and meet like-minded people for a fun and invigorating sweat and plunge.
Price: From £8.50
Locations: Bermondsey, Peckham, Hackney Wick, Stratford
The Finnish Church
Providing a centrepoint for Finnish expats who live in the UK, the Finnish Church has both public and private sauna sessions available. With the public sessions costing as little as £10, this is a traditional and accessible way for anyone in London to experience authentic Finnish sauna culture.
Price: From £10
Location: 33 Albion St, Rotherhithe, SE16 7HZ
britannia.merimieskirkko.fi/en
New Docklands Steam Baths
The sauna experience at New Docklands is truly old-school. With Russian-style steam baths for an authentic ‘schvitz’ and a cedarwood sauna as well as a cold plunge pool, this is touted as “the best steam in London”.
Price: from £23
Location: 30a Stephenson St, Canning Town, E16 4SA
Sauna & Plunge
Sauna & Plunge offers a fully immersive experience with both infrared and steam saunas as well as ice plunge pools to complete the hot and cold therapy treatment. Their studio in Shoreditch is modern and stylish, and is conveniently located just around the corner from Old Street station.
Price: From £30
Location: 124 Tabernacle St, Shoreditch, EC2A 4SA
Grey Wolfe
Private members’ club Grey Wolfe offers a complete menu of wellness treatments, from Swedish massage and reflexology to wellness mapping and even a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. Members have unlimited use of its infrared sauna as part of this.
Price: Price on enquiry
Location: 71 White Hart Ln, Barnes, SW13 0PP
