5 spectacular hotel saunas

Spectacular saunas

Maybe it is not so surprising considering I am from the north, but I love saunas. And the man I am married to is an even bigger aficionado. One could even say that he is obsessed. So my brief from him when planning our vacations is to please, please, please book us into hotels with sauna. Preferably a really good one.

One might wonder, what is a good sauna? To him it is simple, that it is hot enough. For me, I like when it is as private as possible and that it is either a great piece of design or that it offers a marvelous view. To be honest, I must admit that I like when all these criteria are met. And luckily there are plenty of hotels out there that knows what us sauna lovers truly appreciate.

Below I have listed 5 of my (ok, our) favorite hotel saunas that to us are something extra:

Miramonti, South Tyrol, Italy

The sauna at the Miramonti is sitting high up on a mountain side, above the hotel. Like any self respecting sauna, this one has floor-to-ceiling windows displaying the splendor of the surrounding South Tyrolean mountains. It is such a joy (and also a little surreal) to sit here watching birds flying beneath you, lower down in the valley. And once you are done with your stint in the sauna, there is an incredible infinity pool ready to cool you off, with an equally spectacular view.

Read more about the my stay (and the sauna) at Miramonti here.

Trevarefabrikken, Lofoten, Norway

Lofoten is such an incredible place that my vocabulary is too limited to even begin to do it justice. What is interesting in places like these, is that you could place any kind of rubbish sauna somewhere and it would still be amazing. This one, at Trevarefabrikken is anything but rubbish. It is situated in a separate wooden cabin, right by the wild Atlantic, so regardless of weather you will be in awe while enjoying a good sweat.

Read more about my stay (and the sauna) at Trevarefabrikken here.

Breac House, Donegal, Ireland

In the northwest corner of Ireland there is a hotel called Breac House that I absolutely love. Niall and Catherine have created a design destination far off the beaten track. And right in front of the hotel, in a mini version of the main building, you'll find the sauna, resting on a meadow high above the village of Dunfanaghy with views of the rolling hills of Ireland in the distance.

Read more about my stay at Breac House here.

Juvet Landscape Hotel, Møre & Romsdal, Norway

There are design hotels and then there are Design Hotels. Juvet Landscape Hotel is truly one of the Design Hotels with capital letters. This fantastic hotel is located in the fjord region of Norway in some truly spectacular surroundings. The spa and sauna of the hotel is in a separate, camouflaged building down by the wild river (the only way you know it is there is that there is a chimney sticking up through the ground) where the floor-to-ceiling windows gives let’s you enjoy the splendor of the dramatic Norwegian landscape.

Read more about my stay (and the sauna) at Juvet here.

SEPP, Salzburgerland, Austria

In the category of spectacularly designed saunas I can’t think of any that can rival the one at SEPP Hotel in Maria Alm. It is basically a vintage Airstream caravan that has been repurposed into a sleek and spacious sauna. It is sitting on the roof top of the hotel, next to the bar and the pool. And since this is the Austrian Alps, the view is dramatic, close to breath taking.

Read more about my stay (and the sauna) at SEPP here.

So, these are five of my favorite hotel saunas.. Do you have any that you would like to recommend? Please write me.

/RG