Löyly review - Helsinki's best Saunas

During our stay in Helsinki, I was keen to divulge myself into the Finnish culture and what better way to do that than by visiting a Sauna?! Saunas are a vital part of the Finnish culture and locals will often visit Saunas before or after work, as part of their daily routine and some even visit Saunas during their lunch breaks to revitalise themselves for the afternoon.

I did a lot of research around Saunas in Finland and there was one in particular that stood out to me – Löyly. One of the main selling points of Löyly is that it is located on the seafront and the venue has meticulously placed steps next to the Saunas, which lead you into the Baltic sea for a quick dip to intensify the experience. I have always been extremely interested in Cold therapy and a particular desire of mine was to experience an ice bath after relaxing and sweating out my worries in a steaming sauna. Löyly was able to accommodate all of my dreams and I couldn’t be more grateful for this incredible experience.

We booked Löyly online before we arrived in Helsinki and the price is very reasonable at €24 a person. This includes entry into the spa area, which consists of 3 public saunas as well as one private sauna which can be enjoyed for public use when it is not booked out for a private function. There are 2 public Saunas located outside and 1 public Sauna is located inside, alongside the private sauna which can also be found inside. Each sauna is special in its own way and I particularly enjoyed the outside sauna that was located next to the steps for entrance into the Baltic sea. This sauna included a lovely view of the relaxing sea and as previously stated, prided itself in offering easy access to the opportunity for a dip in the cold sea. We visited Löyly at the beginning of January, therefore the weather was in the negative degrees However, this of course didn’t stop us from taking a dip in the sea and experiencing cold therapy in its most natural form.

After we had finished relaxing in the many saunas, we had worked up an appetite and were ready to indulge in some Finnish cuisine. There is a restaurant within Löyly and I can assure you that you will not want to miss out on the incredible food on offer. The price of the meals is quite expensive, although the quality of the food was definitely worth the money. I opted for the reindeer in a red wine sauce, served with mashed potato and Chris had the burger and chips. Both of our meals were delicious and the red wine was flavoursome and the perfect accompaniment to our meaty meals. The service was quite slow but I am assuming that this was due to it being prime dinner time and the restaurant being fairly busy. We were told to wait a couple of times before a waiter finally acknowledged our request to check on our drink order which we were waiting for, for some time. However this was our only small complaint and overall the experience was a pleasure and not one to be missed when in Helsinki.

You can book tickets and find more information on Löyly’s website