Hot. Cold. Relax. Repeat. At Sauna House, a modern bathhouse with saunas and cold-plunge pools, the hot-cold treat – ment is the recipe for tranquility and well-being. Drawing from the ancient practice of contrast bathing (alternating between hot and cold water) and commu – nal Roman bathhouses, the Downtown Bonita Springs spa, set to open in the fall, offers a tech-free space to recharge.
Community and wellness converge at the second outpost of the Asheville, North Carolina-based brand. From the moment you enter the bright, plant-filled lobby in the Waterline Bonita Springs complex on Old 41 Road, you’re prompted to unplug. Phones are mandatorily stowed in lockers before you float into the public bathhouse (cells are allowed in private areas, so you can queue up your preferred tunes via Bluetooth, but only if your whole party agrees). A drink bar provides local pro – visions, like teas from Tigertoes Herbs and Teas and kombucha from Flying Eagle Kombucha, to keep you hydrated throughout the two-hour sessions. And, soothing, coffee shop-style music plays throughout the public spaces.
Robert Sorenson, the owner of Sauna House Bonita Springs, discovered Sauna House during a visit to Asheville. A for – mer wellness director at Naples’ large retirement community Moorings Park, Robert was training for an Ironman race and looking for a sauna in the area. He’d long used ice baths and saunas to recover from workouts. “From my first time step – ping in there, I was like, ‘Wow, this place is fantastic,’” he says. “The two-hour pass went by in a blink, and the way I felt after was incredible—I was ready to run through a brick wall.
Inside the 4,500-square-foot, biophilic space, guests find a 30-person, communal bathhouse with a large, 180-degree-Fahrenheit, Finnish-style dry sauna and three plunge pools, kept at about 40 degrees; three sultry, neonlit private rooms with their own saunas, pools and locker rooms; and two private infrared saunas, which deliver similar benefits as the steamy spaces at gentler temperatures. A co-ed locker room has private showers to clean off before your session (several showers are also scattered throughout the facility to rinse between the sauna and pool). “We’ve got showers all over the place,” Robert says with a laugh.
To help offset the ecological footprint from electricity and water waste, the team uses compostable beverage containers and organic Everyone soaps and participates in the 1% for the Planet program, which allots 1 percent of annual sales to a local environmental group.
As a doctor of education in health professions with a master’s in gerontology (study of aging) and years of marathon training, Robert is intimately familiar with the benefits of heat and cold therapies. Perks of saunas and contrast bathing have been touted for millennia, dating back about 2,000 years in Finland. While promises of detoxifying the body of impurities and building superhero immunity are largely unbacked by science, there are plenty of studied reasons to take the plunge.
Heat therapy is associated with improved heart health and pain management, Robert says: “You are placing stress on the body in a way that’s similar to low-intensity, steady-state cardiovascular training. With cold plunging, we’re looking at a boost in muscle recovery due to the decrease in inflammation and improved mental and emotional health from the release of dopamine.” The quick transition from hot to cold causes blood vessels to constrict and dilate, which may aid with circulation. Contrast bathing fans report experiencing better sleep, less stress and relief from the pain associated with common issues, like arthritis, sprains, inflammation and exercise soreness.
For Robert, it’s the best nervous-system reset—practices, like deep breathing, meditation and sound therapy, get our chronically overstimulated bodies out of the ‘fight-or-flight’ mode and into the ‘rest-and-digest’ state.
The spa follows Sauna House’s trademarked Hot-Cold-Relax method, which calls for a few rounds of 15 minutes in the sauna, one to five minutes in the icy plunge pool, and relaxing for 10 to 15 minutes on heated furniture between each hot-cold cycle. Cleanliness is a top priority for Robert, with daily, sauna-wide scrubdowns and sanitation-monitoring tech. “The cold pools have more technology than a spaceship,” Robert says, laughing. “That tells us everything about the particulate levels, what the chemical balance is, and what we need to do to make sure that the water stays clean and safe.”
Robert wants to narrow the gap in accessibility for modern contrast bathing therapy, which has, until recently, been largely reserved for athletes. “Make it affordable so everyone can benefit from these simple treatments that can improve you physically, mentally, socially, emotionally—everything,” he says.
Community is another big benefit, and it’s one the Sauna House team takes seriously. Last year, the U.S. Surgeon General and World Health Organization declared loneliness to be an epidemic for Americans and the world at large. Sauna House joins the national trend of social wellness clubs that aim to inspire togetherness through health-centric practices—a mindful alternative to boozy nights out and a chance to engage in a setting where people are already primed for human connection.
Strangers become friends in the chic lounge areas, and loved ones connect without distractions in the private rooms. Robert also plans to host yoga classes, live music and alcohol-free, after-hours socials, like the Sauna Disco nights hosted at the Asheville flagship, with oscillating lights and groovy ‘70s tunes. “Strike up a conversation,” Robert says. “You never know who you’re going to meet in a sauna.”
