Guided sauna sessions in Raglan.
A guided sauna session at Solspring runs 90 minutes and is hosted from the moment you arrive. Three rounds in the sauna of around fifteen minutes each, with the warm soaks and cold plunges free to use in between. Your guide leads all three. Nothing in it is compulsory. $45, including GST.
Arriving
Come five to ten minutes before your session starts. Your guide will show you around the space and explain how the session runs, so you are not working anything out on your own.
Getting ready
Get changed, then take a warm or cold shower. There is time to sit in the warm soaks for a few minutes before your guide invites everyone in for the first round.
Into the heat
Fifteen minutes in the sauna. Every guide has their own style, but all of them work with music, essential oils and Aufguss, steam moved through the room with a towel. Sit lower down if you want it cooler, and step out whenever you like.
Ten minutes, yours
Rinse off first, then do as you like. The warm soaks, the cold plunges, the courtyard, or in the evening the fire. Most people alternate. Some sit and watch the sea instead.
The same shape, twice more
Two more rounds of fifteen minutes, with a break between them. No two guides run it the same way, so no two sessions are quite alike.
About twenty minutes left
The space is yours until the session ends. Back into the sauna, into the cold, into a warm soak, or rinse off and get changed slowly. Most people leave slower than they arrived.
One house rule worth knowing before you come: rinse off under the showers after each sauna round, before getting into any of the pools.
Where the session happens.
One sauna seating twenty-one, two warm soaks, a cold plunge and an air-temperature plunge, arranged around an open-air courtyard looking west over the Tasman Sea with Mt Karioi behind. In the evenings there is a fire going.
The air-temperature plunge is not chilled. It sits at whatever the air has been doing, which makes it a gentler way to cool down if the cold plunge is more than you want on a first visit. All four pools are chlorinated.
- Sauna85–92°C
- Warm soaks35–40°C
- Cold plunge1–6°C
- Air-temperature plunge12–25°C
“This is such a gem!! I’m so glad I stumbled upon Solspring! The sauna and the pools are wonderful. I did a guided session which was great to have someone doing essential oils, some meditation and keeping the flow going. 10/10 recommend. There are also hot and cold showers.”
Caity B
“The most wonderful sauna experience I have ever had in New Zealand! The sauna is embedded in a beautiful setting and it’s so cozy, and stunningly crafted. The guided seasons take you on a meditative and spiritual journey and not to forget- the ice bath after cools you right down.”
Isabella M
No two guides run it the same way.
Every guide works with music, essential oils and Aufguss, but the mix is theirs. Some lean on breathwork, some on quiet, some keep a room of strangers laughing. It is the reason regulars come back on particular days.
You do not need to know any of this before you arrive. Turn up, say it is your first time, and let them run it.
Questions about guided sessions
Do I have to do everything the guide does?
No. Your guide leads the round, they do not check whether you followed it. Sit lower down where it is cooler, step out early, skip the plunge, or sit a round out in the courtyard. All of that is normal.
Do I need to rinse off between rounds?
Yes. After each sauna round, rinse off under the showers before getting into any of the pools. It is the one house rule and it keeps the water good for everyone.
How is a guided session different from an open session?
Both run 90 minutes and both cost $45. In a guided session a Solspring guide hosts all three rounds, working with music, essential oils and Aufguss. In an open session you have the same space and the same elements at your own pace. There is also the Long Flow, which is two hours in the open format, most mornings.
What is Aufguss?
Aufguss is the practice of pouring water infused with essential oils over the hot stones, then moving the steam through the room with a towel. It is what makes a round feel like it is being led rather than simply sat through, and every Solspring guide does it their own way.
Is a guided session alright if it is my first time?
Yes, and most people in any given session are on their first or second visit. Your guide shows you around before it starts and explains how the session runs, so you are not working out the sequence on your own. Tell them it is your first time and they will keep an eye on you.
How much does a guided sauna session cost?
A single session is $45 including GST, guided or open. Passes are from $22 a visit and memberships from $15. If it is your first visit, two people can come together for $45 for the pair, one session each.
Arriving, parking, what to bring, the temperatures, bringing young people and who should check with a doctor first are all on the first visit page.
Come and be shown how it goes.
Guided sessions run through the day, seven days a week. If it is your first time, bring someone with you. Two people, one session each, $45 for the pair.
Book a guided session New here? The first visit page covers arriving, parking and what to bring. Passes and memberships are on the prices page, and you can meet the people who host sessions on the team page.