The Countdown Is On: Bathhouse Opens in Philly Next Week

Bathhouse Philadelphia opens to the public on September 25th. / Photography by Seth Binstead

Social spas are having a major moment in the United States, as more people want to connect and unwind in the good-for-you ways these communal saunas, steam rooms, and pools of varying temps provide.

In Philly, the bathhouse scene got seriously legit last December, when the tony Fusion Spa & Resort debuted in Northeast Philly. And next Friday, Bathhouse, a popular social wellness brand, will open its first social spa outside of New York City. This is huge news, marking the first bathhouse in all of Center City.

The moody new social spa spans roughly 36,000 square feet inside the recently renovated Bellevue. While guests enter through the former Tiffany & Co. space on Walnut Street, most of the amenities unfold downstairs in the historic hotel’s exposed-brick basement. There, you’ll find three saunas — infrared, dry, and banya — plus a steam room.

Bathhouse Philadelphia’s infrared sauna

There’s also a trio of pools: a bracing cold plunge, a “neutral” pool in the mid-90s, and a hot pool topping over 100 degrees.

Bathhouse Philadelphia’s cold plunge

The dry sauna doubles as Bathhouse’s “event sauna,” home to daily Aufguss sessions. German for “infusion,” Aufguss is a multi-sensory sauna ritual that, at Bathhouse, lasts about 15 minutes. A sauna master melts snowballs over the sauna’s hot rocks to create a burst of humid steam, then uses rhythmic towel motions to circulate the hot steam around the room. Essential oils, music, and colorful lights are often incorporated to add to the sauna ceremony’s ambiance.

Bathhouse Philadelphia’s dry sauna, which doubles as the “event sauna” for daily Aufguss

The Philly location will also offer recovery massages, which can be booked on their own and include access to the spa’s other amenities. Unlike Bathhouse’s Flatiron and Williamsburg sites, though, Philly’s won’t offer body scrubs.

A third-floor terrace will feature a fourth sauna and pool, plus a lounge area and small eatery serving light bites, smoothies, tea, coffee, beer, and wine. Still under construction, the terrace is expected to open in early 2027.

Bathhouse debuted in Williamsburg in 2019 and was such a hit that it opened a second location, in Flatiron, in 2024. (Travel + Leisure once dubbed it “not your grandmother’s banya” for its chic, modern spin on the traditional social spa.) Now, the brand is expanding nationally, starting in Philly, with plans for Minneapolis next year.

Bathhouse Philadelphia’s banya

“Bringing Bathhouse to Philadelphia as part of the Bellevue redevelopment is a meaningful milestone for us,” says Bathhouse co-founder Travis Talmadge. “We’re excited to introduce sauna culture and best-in-class recovery modalities to a city known for its social, fun, and dynamic energy — values that are central to the Bathhouse experience.”

Bathhouse will be open daily, from 8 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. You can book a day pass here. The cost of a day pass ranges depending on day and time — right now, they start at $29.

Bathhouse Philadelphia is located at 1418 Walnut Street in Center City.