The best saunas in London

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.

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.

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. 

London’s newest sauna offers four different types of sessions to its visitors, each with its own angle. ‘Social Sauna’ offers just under two hours of access to the sauna and ice baths, plus unlimited time to hang out in the lounge and be social. ‘Ambient Sauna’ seshes on Friday and Saturday nights will be soundtracked by special DJ sets, while ‘Wellbeing Sauna’ will include activities like traditional sauna rituals, breath work, meditation, deep listening and stretchy yoga. If you’re short on time, opt for ‘Essential Sauna’, which gives you 50 minutes of off-peak access to the facilities.

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. 

Spending your Friday night sweating next to a bunch of investment bankers might well sound like some people’s idea of hell, but there’s no denying that Canary Wharf’s 5000 square metre ‘contrast therapy club’ is a seriously impressive venue. Opened in January 2025 to much fanfare, it features the largest sauna in the UK, a huge circular space with a capacity of 65 people. Alongside the mega sauna, ARC consists of a dimly-lit room filled with ice baths, and a sleek coliseum-shaped lounge decked out with a custom 300-watt sound system, where guests can take breaks between the intense sauna sessions while drinking loose-leaf tea. Visitors can book self-governed ‘free flow’ sessions lasting 50 or 70 minutes or a range of different classes incorporating breath and strength work, movement, meditation, myofascial release and lymphatic drainage techniques. On weekends there are also 120-minute Arc After Dark sessions, which promise to ‘push the boundaries of the conventional night out’ and feature aromatherapy and live DJs playing immersive soundscapes. As you might expect, sessions here don’t come cheap; individual classes are £29, or you can purchase a block of 10 for £250, while memberships start at £125 for five sessions per month. 

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.