The best saunas in London

If there’s one country that knows how to sauna, it’s Finland – the original home of the treatment. No surprises then that Rotherhithe’s Finnish Church (a meeting place for London-based Finns) has a top class version for natives and newbies alike. It’s small and only holds eight people, so either be prepared to share or book a private session for you and your pals from £25/hour.

Londoners love a rooftop bar, so it makes sense they would also love a rooftop sauna. As well as being home to east London’s favourite skyward drinking den, it’s a badly kept Hackney secret that the rooftop of Netil House is home to a series of private sauna cabins, showers and cold water plunge barrels which you can book for 30, 60 or 90 minutes. Prices start at £11 per person and it’s a great innovative date idea or way to catch up with a sauna-loving pal. And once you’ve got all those toxins sweated out of your body, head across the roof to Netil360 for pizza and drinks and to continue your relaxed day.

Community Sauna Baths is a sweltering oasis in the concrete-y maze that is Hackney Wick. 90 minute sessions start at £9.50 for off-peak times, and they offer concessions for students and people receiving universal credit and free morning sessions for NHS workers. For the ultimate sensory experience, take the plunge into one of the ice baths in an old whiskey barrel. It's very Hackney. 

The Community Baths also have outposts in Stratford, Peckham and Bermondsey, with sites opening in Walthamstow and Camberwell in 2025. 

As far as sweaty splurging goes, fancy West End hotel The Corinthia’s Espa should rank near the top. Luxurious spa days start from £175, or you can join as a member for more regular gym ’n’ steam action. But with super stylish, top-end facilities, including an epic-sounding amphitheatre sauna (gladiators not included), sometimes you’ve just got to treat yo’self.

There's a true tranquillity to be found in this holistic salon. At the front of the space, you can get a manicure or shop for candles, bath salts and skincare products. On the lower-ground floor, there are treatment rooms and a wonderful private infrared sauna. During a 25 or 45-minute stint, you'll get access to your own deliciously-smelling private room with a shower, water and the infrared sauna, which revives and boosts your immune system, helps you sleep better, soothes aches and pains, and is good for the skin. 

With five locations across London, this one’s got the capital covered (our fave is the Old Street one at Ironmonger Row Baths). Alongside their high-end saunas, the thermal spa package (a pretty reasonable £40 for two hours) also includes hydrotherapy pools, a hammam (Turkish baths), plunge pools and more. 

If you want to get more bang for your buck, then Brockwell Lido might just be your answer. Here, the Health Suite (featuring a sauna, steam room, jacuzzi and plunge pool) is an additional extra tacked on to their main gym and swim facilities. But for just £8 you can use the spa and gym. In the winter, you can brave the outdoor sauna too. A true beauty bargain.

Trad saunas too flimsy for you? Fancy yourself a bit of a heat freak? Hoxton’s Banya No.1 might the one you’ve been looking for. Modelled on Russian spa rooms, it’s an intense, steamy experience that involves water being splashed onto pieces of 700º cast iron inside a brick furnace. Not one for the faint-hearted. There's a second outpost in Chiswick, too, for the west Londoners. 

Want to heat-treat your aching muscles but don't want all those other naked bods in the room? Well, here you can try out your own personal infrared sauna. Professing to be 20 per cent more effective at eliminating toxins than regular saunas, these one-person pods don't come cheap (prices start at £40 for 25 minutes). But for some true me-time, they're top of the list.

Bayswater’s Porchester Spa claims to be the city’s oldest, but it’s still more than capable of competing with its more modern cousins. Day prices are comparatively cheap compared to some of London's most prestigious spas – non-members can expect to pay just under £30 a pop – and you’ll have the run of its sauna, steam rooms, hot rooms and plunge pool in the centre’s nearly 100-year-old surrounds. And relax.