Swimwear required saunas in Sydney, Australia
Escape Bathhouse
A north shore bathhouse on the Pacific Highway with a 38C mineral pool, a traditional sauna, a steam room and ice baths, plus a Placebo Bar serving non-alcoholic drinks. Swimwear is compulsory: "Appropriate swimwear at all times — no nudity", and entry is 18+, or 16+ with a parent. Sessions run $39 for the 60-minute early bird up to $99 for two hours at weekends. Closed Mondays. The whole space can be hired privately from $1500.
Nature's Energy Balmain
A bathhouse behind the Darling Street shopfront in Balmain, part of the Nature's Energy group. It holds a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, a mineral pool, a steam room, two ice baths, red light therapy and a salt scrub, with a recovery lounge to sit between rounds. Doors open at 6:30am every day and close at 8pm. A 90-minute visit costs $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 at the weekend, and the site asks bathers to "Please bring your swimwear."
Nature's Energy Glebe
The largest of three Nature's Energy bathhouses in Sydney's inner west, on Glebe Point Road. The circuit takes in traditional and infrared saunas, a hot spa, a steam room, four ice baths, red light therapy, a sea salt scrub and a recovery lounge, and it opens at 6:30am seven days a week. A 90-minute visit is $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 Friday to Sunday; 60-minute sunrise sessions start at $39. The house rule is simple: "Please bring your swimwear."
Nature's Energy Newtown
The King Street branch of Nature's Energy, which the group calls its boutique inner-west bathhouse. It has a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, a mineral pool, a steam room, an ice bath, a salt scrub and red light therapy. It keeps shorter hours than Glebe and Balmain, opening at 10am on weekdays and 9am on Saturday. A 90-minute session is $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 Friday to Sunday, and bathers are asked to "Please bring your swimwear."
Sense of Self
The Sydney outpost of the Melbourne bathhouse, in an old antiques warehouse on South Dowling Street: "A sprawling maze of mineral pools, saunas, cold plunges, steam, scrubs, treatment rooms". Sessions run two hours and are limited to eight bathers, so mornings are quiet by design, with no talking between 7am and noon and a strict phone-free rule. All genders bathe together in swimwear. Off-peak $75, peak $85, with a $35 Hammam scrub kit as an add-on.
Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
The 2000 Olympic and Paralympic swimming venue at Homebush still opens its pools to the public, and behind them sit a sauna, a steam room and "4 spas which are included in the entry price". The heat rooms carry an extra fee paid at the service desk, are limited to swimmers over 16 and to 20 minutes at a time, and users "must wear recognised swimwear made from lycra or nylon at all times".
Escape Bathhouse
A north shore bathhouse on the Pacific Highway with a 38C mineral pool, a traditional sauna, a steam room and ice baths, plus a Placebo Bar serving non-alcoholic drinks. Swimwear is compulsory: "Appropriate swimwear at all times — no nudity", and entry is 18+, or 16+ with a parent. Sessions run $39 for the 60-minute early bird up to $99 for two hours at weekends. Closed Mondays. The whole space can be hired privately from $1500.
Nature's Energy Balmain
A bathhouse behind the Darling Street shopfront in Balmain, part of the Nature's Energy group. It holds a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, a mineral pool, a steam room, two ice baths, red light therapy and a salt scrub, with a recovery lounge to sit between rounds. Doors open at 6:30am every day and close at 8pm. A 90-minute visit costs $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 at the weekend, and the site asks bathers to "Please bring your swimwear."
Nature's Energy Glebe
The largest of three Nature's Energy bathhouses in Sydney's inner west, on Glebe Point Road. The circuit takes in traditional and infrared saunas, a hot spa, a steam room, four ice baths, red light therapy, a sea salt scrub and a recovery lounge, and it opens at 6:30am seven days a week. A 90-minute visit is $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 Friday to Sunday; 60-minute sunrise sessions start at $39. The house rule is simple: "Please bring your swimwear."
Nature's Energy Newtown
The King Street branch of Nature's Energy, which the group calls its boutique inner-west bathhouse. It has a traditional sauna, an infrared sauna, a mineral pool, a steam room, an ice bath, a salt scrub and red light therapy. It keeps shorter hours than Glebe and Balmain, opening at 10am on weekdays and 9am on Saturday. A 90-minute session is $59 Monday to Thursday and $69 Friday to Sunday, and bathers are asked to "Please bring your swimwear."
Sense of Self
The Sydney outpost of the Melbourne bathhouse, in an old antiques warehouse on South Dowling Street: "A sprawling maze of mineral pools, saunas, cold plunges, steam, scrubs, treatment rooms". Sessions run two hours and are limited to eight bathers, so mornings are quiet by design, with no talking between 7am and noon and a strict phone-free rule. All genders bathe together in swimwear. Off-peak $75, peak $85, with a $35 Hammam scrub kit as an add-on.
Sydney Olympic Park Aquatic Centre
The 2000 Olympic and Paralympic swimming venue at Homebush still opens its pools to the public, and behind them sit a sauna, a steam room and "4 spas which are included in the entry price". The heat rooms carry an extra fee paid at the service desk, are limited to swimmers over 16 and to 20 minutes at a time, and users "must wear recognised swimwear made from lycra or nylon at all times".