We like the sound of pampering at Powfoot in Scotland – a spa for hire. Up to four people can share this log cabin for 2 hours from £35 (no towels, robes or drinks) to £135 (with towels, robes, chocs and champagne). It contains a sauna, small pool and hot tub. Best of all, you’re left alone to enjoy the facilities in peace.
Do you know a sauna for hire that you can recommend?
You’re looking at Version 1 of our roundup of the saunas in Birmingham city centre. We think it’s ready enough for sharing, but we’d really appreciate feedback from people who know the area better!
Church Street Birmingham B3 2NR
Previously disused Birmingham Eye Hospital. Contains Health du Vin spa – see below.
Contains Amala Spa and club – see below.
Formerly Radisson SAS.
12 Holloway Circus, Queensway, Birmingham B1 1BT
Website
People staying at the hotel can use the 18th floor Health Club free.
Gym, fitness area, sauna, spa.
70 Broad Street, Birmingham B1 2HT
Mixed sauna, officially swimwear compulsory.
Sauna, jacuzzi and fitness centre.
As of February 2010, the fitness centre is being refurbished but the sauna is available.
1 Piccadilly Arcade, Birmingham B2 4HD
This is a women-only health club. Sometimes falsely called Riviva. Unfortunately they’ve forgotten to renew their .com and someone else has grabbed their domain. We believe it has a sauna. Also offers yoga and massage.
Hyatt Regency Birmingham, 2 Bridge Street, Birmingham B1 2JZ
Gym, 16m heated indoor swimming pool, sauna, solarium, steam room, whirlpool and a cold water plunge pool. Plus treatments.
Sauna is mixed and a costume or bikini is required.
42-44 The Priory Queensway Birmingham B4 7LA
Formerly a LivingWell. One of two Bannatyne’s clubs in Birmingham.
Pool hall includes hydrotherapy spa, sauna and steam room. There might be multiple saunas.
Gym and beauty treatments available.
Mon-Fri 6:30am-9:30pm, Sat-Sun 10am-5pm.
We don’t know for definite that you can go as a day visitor, but we expect that it is possible.
60 Broad Street 3, Brunswick Arcade Birmingham B1 2JF
Formerly a LivingWell Premier.
Mon-Fri 6:30am-10pm, Sat-Sun 8am-8pm.
Pool, hydrotherapy spa, sauna and steam room.
We don’t know for definite that you can go as a day visitor, but we expect that it is possible.
55 Temple Row, Unit 5, Birmingham B2 5LS
Mon-Thu 6am-10pm, Fri 6am-8pm, Sat 9:30-3pm, Sun closed.
Sauna, steam room, jacuzzi. Gym, treatments. No pool.
You can usually get a trial membership fairly easily, but day passes are not typically available from this chain.
Church Street Birmingham B3 2NR
“A secluded sanctuary in which to relax and recharge, incorporating a vast, state-of-the-art gym, with sauna, steam and powerful drench showers, plus five treatment rooms.” Although it might not have a sauna, as there’s only one reference to it! Can anyone help us out?
“Swimming costumes should be worn in the unisex steam rooms.”
There are many venues that lack a sauna. We list here only ones where there may be confusion.
126 New Street, Burlington Arcade, Birmingham B2 4JQ
Sometimes listed as having facilities, but in fact does not have a sauna or leisure facilities – they suggest you visit Bannatyne’s.
Sometimes still listed as having facilities, today this hotel only has a gym, with no pool, sauna or steam room facilities.
“Health/Fitness Center On-Site” turns out to just be a Cardio vascular fitness room.
Offers access to Bannantynes Gym in Brindley Place at discounted rate of £5.00 per day, but it’s off-site.
12 Hagley Road, Five Ways, Birmingham B16 8SJ
Has pool, spa and steam room – but no sauna.
“Peppermint Palace” and “Ambassador Sauna” in Digbeth both turn up under Saunas, but they’re not what we consider real saunas.
So, hopefully this saves some people some time when they’re looking for a place to enjoy a sauna in Birmingham – but we do need your help to improve this data! Comment below or email editor@realsaunas.co.uk
Real Saunas will also be listing hostel saunas.
A sauna may seem an unusual facility in a no-frills, low-cost accommodation, but it’s communal and cleansing, so it can add a lot to a hostel stay.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of hostels with saunas – your help is appreciated by comment of via the Contribute link.
1 Achluachrach, By Roy Bridge, Fort William, Inverness-shire, Scotland
Booking information
Sauna. Details unknown, but popular in reviews.
5/7 Yates Street, Blackpool, England FY1 2JS
Booking information
Sauna: open coals (from picture)
Also: hot tub.
20-21 New Steine, Brighton, East Sussex, England BN2 1PD
Booking information
From the name you wouldn’t think it was a hostel! It’s booked through HostelBookers but may be better described as a guesthouse.
Available to: guesthouse guests (extra charge)
Spa on the ground floor consists of 4 treatment room, sauna, steam room and a relaxation area.
69 – 71 – 73 Tower Road, Newquay, Cornwall, England TR7 1lX
Booking information
Sauna aimed at thawing out surfers!
In this post we focus on the saunas in Manchester’s city centre hotels.
Hotel chain: Independent
Official hotel website
Leisure club name: Y Club
Leisure club website
Available to: Hotel guests (free), leisure club members, day-pass visitors, spa package customers.
Information based on: Visit, web research.
Sauna: Mixed-gender use.
Also available: pool, steam, gym, race tracks, spa treatments.
Towels are not provided.
Hotel chain: Britannia Hotels
Official Hotel website
Leisure club name: Spindles Health and Leisure Club
Leisure club webpage
Available to: Hotel guests (at additional cost £2.50 per day or £5 per week), leisure club members.
Information based on: Visit, web research.
Sauna: Mixed-gender use.
Also available: pool, steam, gym.
Sauna interior is pictured on website in slideshow, empty.
Venue offers spa treatments (eg full body massage, £30).
Towels are not provided.
Hours: Mon-Fri 7:30am-10pm. Sat 9am-8pm. Sun 10am-5pm.
Children (2-16 years) restricted to 10am – 5pm.
Official hotel website
Hotel Chain: Thistle
Leisure club name: Otium Health & Leisure Club
Leisure club webpage
Available to: Hotel guests, leisure club members, day visitors
Information based on: Visit, web research.
This has a sauna in the male changing room, and presumably a sauna in the female changing room.
Also available: Steam room (which I don’t recall using), hot tub, tiny swimming pool (described as a “plunge pool”).
Hours: Mon-Fri 7am-12noon; 3pm–8pm. Sat 7am–9pm. Sun 8am-12noon.
Peter Street, Manchester M60 2DS
Official hotel website
Chain: QHotels
Leisure club name: Leisure & Spa at The Midland
Leisure club webpage
Available to: Hotel guests, leisure club members.
Information based on: Visits, web research.
Sauna 1: Male-only sauna in male changing room, open rocks.
Sauna 2: Female-only sauna in female changing room, open coals.
Also available: Pool, hot tub, decent gym.
Towels are provided.
Open: Mon-Fri 6am-10pm, Sat-Sun 7am-8pm.
Chain: Radisson Edwardian
Official hotel website
Leisure club name: Sienna
Official club website
Available to: Hotel guests, leisure club members, spa customers, day-pass visitors (£12).
Information based on: Visits, web research.
Sauna: Mixed-gender sauna in area near pool, automatic.
Also available: swimming pool, hot tub, steam room, gym, spa treatments.
Towels are provided.
There is a cold water fountain.
Chain: Park Inn
Official hotel website
Leisure club name: Pace Health Club & Nu Spa
Leisure club website
Available to: Hotel guests, leisure club members, spa customers, day-pass visitors (£15).
Information based on: Visit, web research.
Sauna: Mixed-gender sauna overlooking pool, open rocks.
Also available: swimming pool, steam room, gym.
Towels are not normally provided.
There is no water fountain.
Chain: Hilton
Leisure club chain: LivingWell.
Available to: Hotel guests, leisure club members, spa customers, day-pass visitors (£10).
Information based on: Visits, web research.
Sauna: Mixed-gender sauna near pool (by entrance to ladies’ changing), open rocks.
Also available: swimming pool, hot tub, steam room, gym.
Towels are provided.
Gym reception sells water bottles, but there is a water fountain by the entrance to the ladies’ changing.
Chain: Novotel (Accor)
Official hotel website
Available to: Hotel guests.
Information based on: Visit, web research.
Also available: “hamman” (steam), gym.
Towels are provided.
There is only one changing room (which does have a cubicle).
Official Hotel website
Sauna exterior is pictured on website in slideshow and gallery.
Available to: Hotel guests, spa treatment customers.
Information based on: Visit, web research.
Heat suite contains multiple varieties of sauna, all for mixed-gender use.
Towels are provided.
There is a water fountain, which was annoyingly warm when we visited.
Official Hotel website
Hotel Chain: Malmaison
Sauna available to: Hotel guests, spa treatment customers.
Information based on: Web research.
This hotel has a gym and a spa. Their own site doesn’t list a sauna, but many third party sites do. It’s unclear whether the sauna is attached to the gym room or the spa. One of the few mentions that we’ve seen in a review said that it wasn’t working when they visited (in 2006).
Official Hotel website
Chain: Rocco Forte
Available to: Hotel guests, spa customers
Information based on: Web research.
Sauna 1: Male-only sauna in male changing room.
Sauna 2: Female-only sauna in female changing room.
Website notes that it is usual to go naked in these saunas.
Also available: gym, spa treatments.
There are many hotels that lack a sauna. We list here only ones where there may be confusion.
Chain: Ramada Jarvis
Official hotel website
No sauna presently!
This had a Sebastian Coe health club in the basement, however following refurbishment this facility is no longer officially listed – but some sites may still have old information.
Chain: Crowne Plaza
This new hotel does not have a sauna. The Crowne Plaza Manchester Airport does, and the Midland Hotel (listed above) was a Crowne Plaza for a period – so confusion may arise.
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If you have any more information, please do share it with us in the comments. Or if there’s something you’d like to know, ask away! We’re also very keen to know what sort of format people like for this information. Remember, we intend to list every publicly-accessible sauna in the UK. Ultimately we’ll have everything in a searchable database, but this post lists our first 9 saunas. There are many more to go!
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