Peckham has never been short of places to eat, drink, dance and make a night of it. But the newly re-located and renovated Sauna Social Club is offering a rather different kind of night out: one where you can sweat, plunge, listen to ambient music and leave feeling better than when you arrived.
Tucked beneath the railway arches on Brayards Road, the revamped Sauna Social Club takes the original concept of a sauna and listening lounge and turns it into something that feels part wellness space, part social club, part alternative music venue. The new space has been designed around three simple benefits: physical, social and spiritual wellbeing.
Physically, the appeal is the classic hot-and-cold ritual. There are three distinct saunas to move between, including the chatty Bunker, the silent Treehouse and the Herbal sauna, which adds an aromatic, sensory dimension. The idea isn’t to rush through a workout, but to slow down, sweat it out and then brave one of the cold plunges. With water at 10°C, 6°C and a genuinely icy 3°C, there is a level of cold for everyone, from tentative toe-dippers to committed plungers.
Then there is the social side. Rather than disappearing into a spa where conversation is frowned upon, Sauna Social Club actively encourages connection. The chatty sauna and newly expanded lounge make it somewhere to meet friends, strike up conversations with strangers or simply hang out afterwards over tea and a snack. The space is deliberately designed as an alternative to the pub, putting community and wellbeing at the centre rather than alcohol and late-night excess.
And then there is the spiritual, or perhaps simply the head-clearing, element. The silent sauna offers a chance to switch off, while the music turns the whole experience into something more immersive. During the recent Ambient Sauna sessions curated by Sisu, Cosmic Caz took to the decks, weaving atmospheric, ambient selections through the space. The music flowed into the sauna, creating the strange and wonderful sensation of sitting in intense heat while being enveloped in sound.
It is this combination that makes the refurb feel particularly Peckham: wellness without the earnestness, nightlife without the hangover, and music without the need for a dancefloor. You can sweat, plunge, listen, chat, sit quietly or simply lounge around.
Sauna Social Club isn’t just somewhere to go and have a sauna. It is a new kind of social ritual, and one that feels very much in tune with the way London wants to spend its evenings now. The original sauna location can also be used for private and corporate hire.