Saunas and bathhouses in London

Saunas and bathhouses in London

Mayfair, Knightsbridge and Chelsea are home to the five-star hotel spas, where a spa day with lunch is priced as a special occasion and weekend slots go weeks ahead. Shoreditch has led the city's bathhouse and social sauna boom, with hot–cold circuits in railway arches and on rooftops that open late and book by the ninety-minute session. Kensington and Paddington hold the established holistic clinics, combining acupuncture, osteopathy and reflexology under one roof, while Soho's studios run yoga, breathwork and sound baths from early morning to late evening.

Alongside the traditional Turkish baths and Victorian bathhouses that survive in a handful of cities, the past few years have brought a wave of social saunas — wood-fired cabins on harbours, riversides and city rooftops, paired with cold plunge pools or a swim in open water — and urban bathhouses built around a hot–cold circuit. A visit is booked by the session, usually 60 to 120 minutes, and the format is simple: heat, cold, rest and repeat. Some venues run guided sessions such as Aufguss (towel-waving infusions), breathwork or sauna yoga, and many have quieter times set aside for women-only or silent sessions.

The saunas and bathhouses listed here are in Shoreditch .

Services on offer

Between them, the saunas and bathhouses in London offer sauna, cold water therapy, steam room and sound baths.

• Sauna in London Traditional dry heat at 70 to 100°C, from spa suites to social saunas
• Cold Water Therapy in London Ice baths, cold plunges and contrast therapy with sauna
• Steam Room in London Humid heat around 45°C, gentler on the body than a sauna
• Sound Baths in London Lying still while gongs, bowls and chimes wash over you

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