Sonara brings new social wellness model to London

Described as London’s first fine bathing and dining club, Sonara is set to open on the King’s Road in Chelsea in late 2026.

Centred around a social wellness model that will integrate thermal bathing, wellness treatments, dining and socialising, Sonara will include a two-floor banya and dining club.

A 30-person oak-lined banya will sit at the heart of the 1,500sqm club. There will also be a snow room, a red salt grotto, a hammam, a floating room and a hyperbaric oxygen chamber.

The offer – open to both members and day guests – is designed to create an uninterrupted wellness experience, which draws eating, bathing, resting and socialising into one continuous ritual.

Rather than focusing on one-to-one wellbeing, Sonara is founded on the belief that restoration was never meant to be solitary.

The unique operating model will see guests changing into swimwear and a robe on arrival, before first visiting their table in the restaurant. This will be reserved for the duration of the visit and become their base within the club.

They will then move between their table, thermal experiences, treatments and relaxation areas – eating between bathing cycles before returning to the bathhouse.

A rhythmic thermal experience

The thermal journey will include traditional parenie whisk-steaming rituals using handcrafted veniki whisks made from birch, oak or fir.

The rituals, led by steam masters, include rhythmic movement and gentle contact, using the veniki to gather and direct steam around the body, intensifying the heat to encourage circulation.

Each cycle of heat is followed by cold immersion and periods of rest, creating a rhythm of contrast and recovery.

Guests will be free to pause, return and repeat at every stage, allowing each visit to follow its own rhythm.

Private banya suites

Sonara will also have four 90m private suites, accommodating up to ten guests.

Each suite will have its own identity, emulating an English country house, a Moroccan riad, a Chinese courtyard and an Alpine chalet.

Suites will feature a private banya chamber, cold plunge, dining and relaxation spaces, with a dedicated steam master to guide bathing rituals

Further details of the club’s proposed treatment offering are yet to be revealed.

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