Your Sauna Experience

How your session works and what to expect

Sauna Experience

How things work and what to expect

This page gives you an idea of how your sauna session will go and what to expect

Upon arrival you will be welcomed by a member of staff who will show you the facilities and carry out a quick safety briefing.

Remember that you will need to bring your own towels and suitable bathing attire. See our Frequently Asked Questions for more on what you need to know before experiencing our sauna.

After leaving your personal belongings in one of the lockers at reception, you will walk across the grass (approximately 30 metres) to the sauna trailer. Here, you will leave your spare towel/robe, shoes and locker key in the changing area. Wearing your swimwear and with towel in hand, you will then head through the glass door into the sauna, which will be hot and ready for you. You aren’t expected to worry about the wood fire that heats the sauna stove  – we take care of that, including adding more logs should it be needed.

Once inside, you’ll see that there are two tiers of seats in the sauna: the higher bench and the seats closest to the stove will be hottest. Choose your spot and sit on the towel that you have brought with you.

A traditional sauna experience incudes alternating rounds of warming up in the sauna, and then cooling down, resting and hydrating. You should only stay in the sauna for as long as feels comfortable – this can be as little as 3-5 minutes or up to a maximum of 15 minutes at a time. During this time, enjoy the warmth and allow your body and mind to relax and unwind.

When you are ready to cool down, you can rest and take in the views in our purpose-built ‘cool-down’ trailer, or outside in the fresh air. You may want to rinse off in the cold water shower – or the outdoor bucket shower if you are brave enough! And if you want to fully embrace the hot and cold experience, take a dip in our cold-water plunge pool. If conditions allow, you could use the sea as your plunge pool, but this is at your own risk – please take care and be aware of tides and sea conditions!

Whichever way you choose to cool down, remember that people have different tolerances to hot and cold, so listen to your body and go with what feels right for you – this is your experience and there is no pressure to do anything other than what you are comfortable with.

If you do immerse yourself in cold water or use either type of shower, please go slowly and give your body time to adjust before going for the full dip or rinse. For most people, going from a hot sauna into cold water isn’t something your body struggles with, however for some people this may pose a health risk – especially if you have any underlying health conditions. If in doubt, we always recommend checking with a medical professional first.

After you have cooled down, head back into the warmth of the sauna, and repeat the cycle until the end of your session. (Please allow enough time for changing within your booked time slot if using the changing area).

Private Sauna

If you book a Private Session, you get exclusive use of the sauna for up to 8 people.

Have a great time with your family and friends

Communal Sauna

Booking a Communal Session means you’ll share the sauna with other members of the public.

For your comfort, we limit Communal Sessions to a maximum of 6 people.

FAQs

For answers to Frequently Asked Questions, from what to bring to where to park, please click or tap on the button below.

Choose how you want to sauna

Private or Communal

At Criccieth Sauna your session can either be Private, for you and your party of up to 8 people, or you can book a place in a Communal Session with other members of the public.

For your comfort, we limit the number in a communal session to 6, to allow everyone a little more space.

Sauna sessions are available in 50 or 80 minute blocks, including time for changing.

We are regularly open from Friday to Monday every week; please see our booking page for available sessions.

If you would like to arrange a bespoke sauna experience or private hire outside of our normal opening hours, please contact us.

why use a Sauna?

Sauna health benefits

WHY USE A SAUNA?

health benefits

Not convinced? We aren’t medical professionals, but the people who wrote this paper entitled Cardiovascular and Other Health Benefits of Sauna Bathing: A Review of the Evidence certainly are. Then there’s What to Know About Saunas and Your Health from WebMD, and Let’s talk sauna and mental wellbeing from the British Sauna Society. And of course there’s plenty of other information on the Internet for you to search for.