As London’s love affair with saunas heats up, writer Alex Cohen shares his top picks across the capital.
Londoners can’t seem to get enough of a good sweat. Despite a city full of hot yoga studios and the heatwave of a poorly ventilated Tube carriage, thousands are still queuing up for the chance to perspire in a cedar sauna box.
Once a niche activity, public saunas are now booming across the city, with new spots popping up everywhere and weekend sessions booking out weeks in advance.
If you’re looking for an authentic sauna experience that’s affordable enough to make a habit of and welcoming enough to feel like a big, sweaty community, these are the best spots in town, from hidden gems to well-loved institutions.
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Community Sauna Baths
Locations: Hackney Wick, Bermondsey, Peckham and Stratford
A London institution despite only opening in 2021, the Community Sauna Baths have expanded from Hackney Wick to Peckham, with two more sites set to open in Camberwell and Walthamstow this year.
My first visit was to the South Bermondsey location — an unexpected oasis tucked among salvage yards and garages. Take your car for an MOT and give yourself one while you wait.
Beyond the warm welcome, the free herbal tea and chatty sauna-goers make this one of the city’s most heartwarming experiences.
With sessions starting at just £9.50 an hour, plus discounts for job seekers and free slots for NHS workers, Community Sauna Baths truly lives up to its name.
For more information or to book, visit Community Sauna Baths
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Revitalise Urban Spa
Location: Clapton
This spa boasts a huge, pristine steam room, but it’s the infrared saunas that draw a sporty crowd. On my last visit, a lacrosse player told me he could feel his injuries easing and muscles relaxing with each session.
For me, though, the real highlight was the cold plunge. Three striking copper tubs, straight out of a sculpture park, make cooling off feel like stepping into a comically oversized saucepan. Some regulars come just for the plunges, and I can see why.
At £25 an hour (£35 with infrared access), it’s a little pricier than other saunas on this list, but if recovery is as important to you as relaxation, it’s well worth it.
For more information or to book, visit Revitalise Urban Spa
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Sauna Social Club
Location: Peckham
With dusky mood lighting, live DJs and lounge-style floor seating, Sauna Social Club has transformed a South London railway arch into something between a wellness retreat and a listening bar.
The sauna itself is unassuming, but it’s what happens around it that makes this place special. If, like me, you need time to decompress after a sauna session, the longer Social Sauna sessions (£24.99 for nearly two hours) let you stick around and unwind with fellow sauna-goers in the lounge.
This one is best enjoyed with friends. The Friday and Saturday night ‘Ambient Sauna’ sessions might just be the healthiest night out in London.
For more information or to book, visit Sauna Social Club
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Blocfit
Location: Brixton
Before London’s sauna obsession, there was the bouldering boom, and Blocfit, one of the city’s most respected climbing gyms, combines both under one roof.
Between the old bathtub-turned-cold-plunge and the scattering of bonsai trees, I’d say the vibes are immaculate.
You don’t need to climb to enjoy the sauna. I retired my bouldering shoes years ago, but sauna-only passes are just £10, and the real bargain is the £40 monthly membership (£80 if you want climbing and lifting access too).
For more information or to book, visit Blocfit
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The Finnish Church
Location: Rotherhithe
True to national form, London’s biggest Finnish church has a sauna instead of a crypt.
It’s hard to talk about the city’s best saunas without mentioning this one, but it’s still on my wish list, as the £12, 90-minute sessions are incredibly popular and I’ve yet to snag a booking. That said, I’d expect nothing but top-tier löyly (the steam that rises when water meets hot rocks) from London’s most authentic Finnish sauna.
After your session, pop into the church cafe for traditional cinnamon buns and Karelian pastries.
You can also book the entire sauna from just £25, making it one of the most affordable private sauna experiences in London.
For more information or to book, visit Suomen Merimieskirkko
Why are saunas so popular?
My own sauna awakening happened in Finland, where sessions in traditional wood-smoke saunas are punctuated with plunges into the frozen Baltic Sea.
For Finns, it’s a way of life — so much so that I was once surprised to find a roomy sauna in a Helsinki flat where I expected a bathroom. With 90% of the world’s happiest population sweating it out at least once a week, according to Finnleo, it’s hard to argue with the results.
There’s plenty of evidence that regular sauna sessions benefit heart health, skin, lung function and stress levels. But their recent surge in popularity may also be tied to the rise of non-alcoholic social activities among young Londoners. In Finland, many public saunas double as community hubs, just as good for the soul as they are for the body.
And that’s the key: regularity. A few perfumed, luxurious visits a year weren’t enough for me. I wanted a down-to-earth, social sauna that could become part of my weekly routine, and London’s sauna scene delivered.
Feature image credit: Freepik
