Melt Sauna & Cold Plunge is reimagining what a sauna can be. The Subiaco space – which opened last Friday – is blending wellness with a social, welcoming spirit to create what founder Scott Taylor and general manager Lauren Grant are calling “hosvitality”.

With an unpretentious fit-out designed for regular, community-style sauna sessions without the sterile gym feel or the exclusivity of a luxe spa, Melt houses two high-spec saunas and a cold plunge. The sauna fits 24 people and the cold plunge can comfortably accommodate 12, but sessions are rarely packed. Temperatures hover at 88 to 93 degrees for the sauna, and nine degrees for the plunge. Taylor says sessions are intentionally affordable and accessible at $25 for 30 minutes or $35 for a full hour.

Founder Taylor tells Broadsheet it’s the “hosvitality” ethos that sets Melt apart. “[Melt’s] designed like a bar – the fit-out, the sounds, the lighting and the post- and pre- sauna session seating. What you’d normally do in traditional hospitality arenas [is] totally appropriate to come and do [here].”

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To seal the deal the space is complete with an array of self-serve beverages, including iced coffee (with your milk of choice), water and XO herbal teas. For the tap-coffee sceptics, Taylor promises that “life’s too short for mediocre coffee, you’ve got to hang with the big dogs”. So the on-tap brew comes courtesy of local independent roaster Micrology.

In partnership with Beyond Blue, the team launched a free hour between 5am and 6am for anyone looking to take advantage of the mental health benefits of sauna and cold plunging. “People [treat] the term ‘mental health journey’ like it’s often something negative,” he says. “But it doesn’t have to be. It’s just trying to be one per cent better every day.”

With that in mind, the 5am sessions are permanently free. “If people are badass enough to get out of bed at five in the morning, the least we can do is stand beside them and support them.”

Saunas are divided into “more chat” and “less chat” sections – a nod to the idea that some come to recharge socially and connect and others may come to physically recover, unwind and drown out the outside noise.

Melt Sauna & Cold Plunge
7-10/1 Forrest Street, Subiaco
0437 708 917

Hours
Mon to Sun 5am–10pm

meltsaunas.com
@melt_saunas