Islandview Sauna Club
1000 Beaufait, Detroit
Feb. 14, 2026
I’ve never been a sauna person, and as a general life policy, I avoid being cold as much as possible. But I really enjoyed my afternoon at Detroit’s new Islandview Sauna Club. The club had a soft opening at the beginning of the year (read Ryan’s experience here) and recently expanded to opening throughout the weekend.
The compound is pretty small and in a unique – and very Detroit – location on Detroit’s East Side. Situated in a small stretch of woods, it’s composed of three small saunas (including two converted from horse and cattle trailers), two individual plunge pools, a bonfire and a large tent for registration, storage and changing. Across the street is a brewery, both nestled in an industrial neighborhood.
The concept is modeled after Nordic tradition where people alternate between sitting in the extreme sauna heat and plunging into ice cold water. The owners recommended spending about 15 minutes in the sauna followed by five minutes in the plunge pool, going back and forth as many times as you want (the experience is $25 an hour.)
I made it through two rounds, trying out two of the three wood-burning saunas and each of the two plunge pools. I managed to last 20 minutes in the sauna in the first round (only because I found myself in a great conversation talking about local theater) and made it up to my knees in the plunge pool for about 10 seconds.
But only shocking the lower part of my body made me feel unbalanced, and I figured if I was going to experience this place, I should do it properly, so I went back to try again. This time I lasted a little over 10 minutes in the sauna and did a full dunk up to my neck in the plunge pool, maybe also for 10 seconds (but it still counts.)
While immersing myself in freezing water was, expectedly, pretty miserable, I was surprised at how good I felt afterwards. At first I felt kind of numb, but then I felt very alert. Perhaps starting the journey in a scenario that makes you wonder how long it would take you to boil to death from the inside makes you feel even more alive once you’re out on the other extreme. I left feeling both energized and calm, which was welcome after a week battling terrible allergies and stress.
But the best part of the experience might have been the socialization. Islandview Sauna Club was designed to facilitate camaraderie, which is hard to avoid when crammed with strangers in tiny spaces. The bonfire out front also offered a relaxing atmosphere for people to talk and relax, and the owners encourage visitors to hang out before and after their scheduled sauna time. There’s something about being half-naked in close proximity to other half-naked people in an uncomfortable scenario that makes it easy to talk to strangers, and I had some really lovely conversations.
While the owners bill it as a rustic escape within the city, to me, the Islandview Sauna Club was more about the physical and mental health benefits. On days when your muscles are sore or you’re overwhelmed with life or you just feel lonely – Islandview Sauna Club offers a great fix.
