These NYC Spas Are All About Group Wellness, With Sauna Parties and Communal Sound Baths

A spa might not be the first place you’d go when hoping to meet people. And yet, New Yorkers are doing just that. Communal bathhouses are not uncommon in the city—the Russian & Turkish Baths, in the East Village, is nearly 135 years old. But in the past few years, wellness spaces that expressly encourage group experiences and conversation have opened their doors.

“When people breathe together, cold plunge together, and move through discomfort together, something shifts,” says Amanda Laine, cofounder of Othership, a spa that first opened in Toronto in 2022 and now has locations in the Flatiron and Williamsburg neighborhoods of New York. Othership hosts “sauna parties,” which include breath work, live music, and dancing, for up to 90 people.

A similar concept is at the heart of Bathhouse Flatiron, which hosts Aufguss ceremonies—for these German rituals, a “sauna master” rhythmically waves a towel to circulate heat and essential oils, all to an electronic playlist. The modern space, with six pools, three saunas, a steam room, and café, attracts a scene, especially on a Friday night.

Meanwhile, at Sage + Sound, on the Upper East Side, the focus is on meditation and sound baths; there are also workshops on tarot, Reiki, astrology, and other spiritual practices. “New York is intense and overstimulating,” says cofounder Lacey Tisch. “People crave somewhere to recharge, slow down, and connect with others outside of work or home.”

Then there’s the more intimate elahni in NoMad—dubbed the first “wellness speakeasy” in the city—which offers small-group, guided contrast bathing sessions. After, guests sip nonalcoholic stress-relieving tonics together, with ingredients like ashwagandha, at the adjacent bar. 

The latest to the scene is, ironically, not new: The Well, which suffered from a flood at the end of 2024, was one of Manhattan’s first communal wellness spaces. It reopened this fall with reimagined studios and a thermal corridor of saunas and plunges, plus the return of its fitness classes, discussions, and workshops with visiting experts in topics like menopause and longevity. 

A version of this story first appeared in the November 2025 issue of Travel + Leisure under the headline “All Together Now.”