Robert Hammond, President of Therme US and founder of Culture Bathe-ing. @thehighlineguy @thermegroup @cultureofbatheing https://cultureofbathing.substack.com/ https://cultureofbathe-ing.com/ https://www.thermegroup.com/therme-group-us
President of Therme US and founder of Culture Bathe-ing.
@thehighlineguy @thermegroup @cultureofbatheing
New York City has so many bathhouses and sauna offerings. That’s why I want to focus mostly on what myself and some others are calling Manhattan’s Wellness Alley, which is more or less the stretch from NoHo to Flatiron. The great thing about this area being the heart of the city’s developing bathing culture for me is that every stop on this circuit is within a 15-block radius of my home in the Village.
It’s amazing how many bathhouses there are in New York City and this circuit really just scratches the surface. There are a lot of new offerings close by in Brooklyn and then some more classic spots in deeper Brooklyn. For a better sense of all the offerings, check out my Google Map with over 30 bathhouses and growing. As I said in my Substack article on this topic, it feels like we’re at the beginning of something huge here. A new bathhouse is opening almost every month, and I’m really looking forward to SCHWET, which is opening this summer. The Culture of Bathe-ing is thriving here in New York City!
| Sauna | Description | Adjacency | |
| 1 | Russian and Turkish Baths | This will always be the first bathhouse I ever visited, back in the ’90s, and I think most people would agree that it’s the OG NYC bathhouse. Unlike so many of the newer spots, this one isn’t trying to be fancy. It’s the closest you’ll get in the city to an old-world Eastern European banya. And I won’t judge you if you finish with a vodka shot, or a Baltika, or whatever else they’re pouring. | It’s on one of my favorite blocks in New York, right in the heart of the East Village, East 10th between 1st Ave and Avenue A. There’s an eclectic crystal shop called Crystals Garden, a plant store that still feels like the New York I moved to, a Japanese sticker-and-stamp store called Nico Neco Zakkaya, a great bakery called From Lucie, and a string of quirky little food spots in between. The whole area is worth a slow wander through either before or after the heat. |
| 2 | Othership (Flatiron) | This is the bathhouse I’ve visited the most over the past few years, and the one that’s most distinct from a traditional bathhouse. To me it’s a really thoughtful North American take on the tradition. I love the structure: there’s a hangout room and an event sauna where you can just chitchat with friends, or you can go through one of their guided programs and a cold plunge room and come back to the hangout afterward. The staff is friendly and well-trained, and the cold plunge is famously brutal. I think it’s the coldest in the city. | It’s right next to The Gallery by Odo, which is the less expensive outpost of a Michelin star Japanese restaurant. They also have nice plants and always show great art. Right across the street is Fireclay Tile, a time store where the samples are so beautiful I’ll buy a one even when I’m not actually in the market. |
| 3 | Bathhouse (Flatiron) | This is my go-to double-date spot. It’s more of a traditional bathhouse format in that there are no prescribed activities, and no programming you have to follow. I’ve gone and spent the whole time just sitting in the warm bath catching up with a friend. That being said, they have the most developed Aufguss program, led by Alonzo Solorzano, who won the US Aufguss championship in 2025. They have a bar and snacks on-site, which I love because bathing makes me hungry. Like Othership and The Altar, it has a vaguely night club lighting feel. | It’s not right next to Bathhouse, but you can walk a few avenues west to the High Line, the elevated rail line turned public park that I co-founded and ran for 20 years before getting into the world of bathing. That’s why my instagram handle is The High Line Guy. |
| 4 | Elahni | Probably the least-known stop on the circuit, but actually one of the first to open. It’s been nicknamed the “speakeasy bathhouse” because it’s a small second-floor space with a four-person sauna, a four-person cold plunge, and a wellness bar to enjoy after you’re done with a circuit. The two owners are almost always there, and they’re warm and knowledgeable, so this is the place I’ll take both first-timers nervous about contrast therapy and friends who are deep into it. They also have a free take-with-you library that really captures the spiritual side of the practice. | Rizzoli Books is right around the corner, which has a really good section devoted to New York City books and architecture. And Madison Square Park is close by, with its beautiful old trees and the original Shake Shack, if you’re into that. |
| 5 | Lore Bathing Club | I was happy when Lore opened, because it’s a very different product. It’s a membership model, meant to be the kind of place you can drop into every day. There’s basically one big main room with what might be the biggest cold-plunge tub in the city and a large event sauna. They do some great Aufguss sometime led by the two founders themselves. It’s more welcoming than some of the more nightclub-feeling spots, and its clientele has a real range of ages. It’s also near my office, so I can get in and out in 30 minutes when I have to. | A few favorites nearby: Gasoline Alley Coffee, a great Japanese clothing store called 45r, and Clockwork Jiu-Jitsu, where my son trains. If I time it right I get to watch him on the mat before or after a sweat. |
| 6 | The Altar | The newest stop on the circuit and the closest to my apartment, so I’ve been going a lot. Beautifully designed and you can tell they really worked with a range of craftspeople. They have one of the best curated shops and even if I don’t buy anything, I always go to look at the packaging. The last things I bought were a St. Lucie sauna serum and an over the counter peptide drink that tasted like gasoline. The crowd skews a little more gay and a little more fashion-forward, which I don’t mind. And they have a whole longevity clinic attached so if you want to do peptide injections and sit in a hyperbaric chamber, then this is the place. | Union Square Greenmarket (Mon/Wed/Fri/Sat) is right there. Plus two of my favorite coffee shops in the neighborhood, OCafe, which has great Brazilian pastries, and Travelers Poets and Friends, where they make fresh pasta every day and the baristas are actually Italian. It’s also not too far from my favorite store in the city, Eva Joan, where you can bring any piece of clothing and they’ll embroider anything of your choosing on it. |
1–2 things that would make a sauna trip to New York City special
It’s amazing how many bathhouses there are in New York City and this circuit really just scratches the surface. There are a lot of new offerings close by in Brooklyn and then some more classic spots in deeper Brooklyn. For a better sense of all the offerings, check out my Google Map with over 30 bathhouses and growing.
As I said in my Substack article on this topic, it feels like we’re at the beginning of something huge here. A new bathhouse is opening almost every month, and I’m really looking forward to SCHWET, which is opening this summer. The Culture of Bathe-ing is thriving here in New York City!
