The Top Thermal Bathing Experiences That Live Rent Free in My Mind
I have spent a lot of time imagining what I want the full Sisu + Löyly Nordic Bathhouse experience to be as we get ready to expand our facilities. When I close my eyes, I don’t just see saunas, cold plunges, steam rooms and pools — I see places where design, nature, and culture come together in ways that feel unforgettable. We are off to a good start! The current Sisu + Löyly Nordic Sauna experience is already quite memorable according to our guests. To help shape the expansion vision, I’ve sought out and visited other bathhouses and thermal destinations around the world over the past few years. My favorite thermal bathing experiences all capture something essential about their setting. Collectively they remind me what is possible when you allow sense of place lead design. These are the top places that I would love to go back to someday:
The warm Infinity Pool at Balnea
Balnea is in a league of their own. Tucked on a pristine lake, framed by snowcapped mountains two hours outside of Montreal, it is a breathtaking example of what happens when nature is given the spotlight and design works in harmony with it.
Strøm sits right on the banks of the St. Lawrence River, only minutes from the heart of Old Quebec City. I love how it proves that deep calm doesn’t have to mean isolation — serenity can be found right alongside urban life.
Sky Lagoon offers beauty and dramatic views in a large format experience. Its infinity view blurs the line between the water of the arctic ocean and northern horizon. You feel like you’re part of something vast and elemental. It is easy to forget that the location is in an industrial park just 10 minutes from downtown Reykjavik, Iceland.
Blue Lagoon in Iceland is iconic because it is inseparable from its volcanic landscape. The waters, the lava rock, the light — they all belong to that place, and together they’ve created a destination that people travel across the globe to experience.
Löyly in Helsinki shows how modern architecture and tradition can meet. It’s bold and striking, yet it still feels like a community space — a reminder that a bathhouse can be both inspiring and approachable at the same time. The ramp into the Baltic Sea is epic.
Cedar Grove Sauna takes the opposite approach — intimate saunas, situated on several idyllic ponds in rural Maine. It is beautiful and authentic and the saunas are imbued with so much soul. This is truly a bucket list experience.
Scandinave Mont Tremblant blends seamlessly into its forest and mountain surroundings. There’s something powerful about stepping into water while being enveloped by trees and peaks — it makes the natural world part of the ritual. The experience fits in very well in a ski mountain town.
When I look at these places, I don’t see a blueprint to copy. I see inspiration. I see reminders that the most powerful thermal experiences are those that reflect their environment — whether that is volcanic rock, the urban jungle, mountains, forest, riverbank, or oceans edge.
This is the inspiration that will guide the design of the Sisu + Löyly Nordic Bathhouse — and experience that could only exist here — rooted in the North Shore, yet connected to a global tradition of wellness and ritual.
