{"id":146021,"date":"2025-09-10T07:36:08","date_gmt":"2025-09-10T07:36:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/146021\/"},"modified":"2025-09-10T07:36:08","modified_gmt":"2025-09-10T07:36:08","slug":"the-bathhouse-and-wellness-trend-is-gaining-momentum-and-adelaides-new-aalto-community-is-part-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/146021\/","title":{"rendered":"The bathhouse and wellness trend is gaining momentum, and Adelaide\u2019s new Aalto Community is part of it"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Image: Jack Fenby<\/p>\n

Wellness is having a moment across the globe. It feels like almost overnight that protein powders, PBs and high-intensity training are being replaced with \u201cholistic\u201d and \u201ccommunity\u201d catchwords in the fitness<\/a> industry. 2025 is all about slowing down, switching off, and sweating it out in a sauna before plunging into an ice bath \u2013 with strangers who might just become friends. <\/p>\n

In Adelaide, that shift has arrived in the form of\u00a0Aalto Community, a new bathhouse tucked behind a roller door in Goodwood that opened its doors last week. The project is the work of friends with professional sporting backgrounds, who wanted to bring a more holistic and community-driven way of looking after body and mind. <\/p>\n

For co-founder and former Fremantle Dockers player Tom Emmett, inspiration struck while playing footy in WA. <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d go to sauna and ice bath places along the coast, and at first it was purely for recovery,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut then I realised I was actually going there to socialise \u2013 to talk to people outside of footy. When I came back to Adelaide, I realised it didn\u2019t exist here. I thought, \u2018This would do so well.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Aalto\u2019s set-up is designed with that in mind. Inside is open plan and modern, dressed in about 150 plants, with Finnish-inspired saunas, and communal spaces to \u201cshare the ritual.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you walk in, you get access to the whole space,\u201d Emmett says. \u201cThere\u2019s a large traditional sauna, three individual ice baths, open showers, and a tea and lounge area in the foyer, so you can arrive early or stay afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

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And unlike some club-style wellness spaces, it\u2019s deliberately drop-in friendly.<\/p>\n

\u201cAccessibility is probably the key word,\u201d says Emmett. \u201cWe\u2019re about being open to anyone \u2013 people here for the weekend, or someone with a friend visiting from interstate who wants recovery after a night out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s come-and-go, not membership-gated. We\u2019re here, we\u2019re open, and it\u2019s a safe, clean environment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aalto reflects a wider shift away from the \u201cthrash yourself\u201d mentality of traditional training and into a new, holistic era. <\/p>\n

\u201cPlaying AFL and training at that professional level, I know the intensity of that world, and for a long time, the mindset was about training as hard as you can,\u201d Emmett says. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut people are starting to value longevity and balance. You\u2019re not always going to be young \u2013 it\u2019s about looking after yourself long-term.\u201d <\/p>\n

And around the city, a handful of other destinations are also riding the wellness wave. Even my pilates studio sets aside a fifteen-minute post-sweat meditation (shout out Love Athletica).<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s Glam Adelaide\u2019s picks.<\/p>\n

CHANGE <\/p>\n

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The first of its kind in Adelaide, CHANGE is a complete \u201cHouse of Health\u201d opening in the 88 O\u2019Connell precinct this spring. The luxe facility combines reformer Pilates, functional training, yoga, breathwork, and a run club with high-end recovery spaces like saunas, steam rooms, twin ice baths, and a magnesium pool. CHANGE aims to be elevated, but very much community-driven, \u201cthe heartbeat of North Adelaide.\u201d<\/p>\n

Foundation memberships on sale Sunday September 14\u00a0
More info here.<\/a><\/p>\n

DEVAAR HOUSE <\/p>\n

Davaar House is a historic North Adelaide property reimagined as a sanctuary for mind, body, and soul. Founded by Fiona and her husband Oscar, the space was from a mission to create a safe, restorative environment where people can prioritise their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. <\/p>\n

The offering spans everything from massage, facials, and naturopathic consultations to infrared saunas, float pods, reformer Pilates, red light therapy, and more. <\/p>\n

More info here.<\/a><\/p>\n

BREATHE STRETCH FLOAT<\/p>\n

Breathe Stretch Float is a five-star boutique wellness sanctuary in the heart of the Adelaide CBD. Best known as home to South Australia\u2019s first and only Himalayan Salt Cave, and host to award-winning sound immersion journeys, it offers a mix of float therapy, massage, salt therapy, Tibetan Singing Bowl treatments, meditation, and more. <\/p>\n

More info here.<\/a><\/p>\n

TEMPLE DAY SPA <\/p>\n

Temple Day Spa has long set the benchmark and the one of the first for indulgence in Adelaide. Founded in 2013 by Sharon Templeton, the five-star retreat was created as a sanctuary of luxury and serenity, offering everything from full-day spa packages and couples rituals to facials, massage, hydrotherapy and body sculpting treatments.<\/p>\n

More info here.<\/a><\/p>\n

If there\u2019s one thing that\u2019s for sure, it\u2019s that Adelaide is leaning into new ways to look after body and mind. Conversations with strangers \u2013 whether it be in a plunge pool, run club, or sauna \u2013 are fast becoming unavoidable (and that\u2019s a good thing). Wellbeing and slow living are on trend, and we predict Adelaide will see plenty more of it. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think this is only the beginning,\u201d adds Emmett. \u201cLoneliness has been declared a global health concern by the World Health Organisation, and people are searching for more meaningful ways to connect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSpaces like Aalto encourage conversation \u2013 especially since you\u2019re already breaking down barriers getting disrobed \u2013 and it\u2019s been nice seeing those connections form already.\u201d<\/p>\n

What: Aalto Community
Where: Unit 1\/72 King William Rd, Goodwood
@aalto.community<\/a><\/p>\n

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