Below ground, and out in the yard
Sauna and garden
The bonded store held goods on which duty had not yet been paid. Its granite walls are a metre thick and it has no windows, which suits a sauna very well.
The sauna
Wood-fired, in the old bonded store
You go down the granite stair past the lobby and through a door that still has its iron strap hinges. The room is lined in heat-treated aspen, which won't burn the back of your legs, and seats ten on two levels. The wood-fired stove is lit by hand about an hour before each sitting, so the heat builds slowly and holds.
House guests book by the hour at reception. There are usually two sittings in the evening: a shared one from 18:00 and one from 20:30 that is quiet by agreement, meaning no conversation or telephones. Towels and a linen seat cover are provided. Swimwear is up to whoever is in the room, and the sittings are mixed unless a group has taken the hour.
The sauna is for guests of the house, and it can't be booked from outside or used by visitors.
After the heat
The cold room and the river steps
Next to the sauna is a cold room kept at eight degrees, furnished with a bench and a bucket shower. Two or three minutes is usually enough.
From November to March, when the river has a lid on it, the steps down to the water are cleared and a hole is kept open at the bottom. Guests who want to use it tell reception first, and someone stays on the quay while they are in the water. We don't promote it and wouldn't want anyone to try it on a whim. If you have a heart condition, please don't.
The round goes heat, cold, rest, and again. Most people skip the rest, though it matters most, so there are four chairs in the corridor outside and a jug of water that is kept filled.
How it is meant to goOutside
The courtyard
A cobbled yard lies behind the building, roughly twelve metres square and enclosed on three sides. Its four birches came from a nursery north of the city in the year the hotel opened and are now taller than the first floor. Benches line the south wall, and a long table gets used for breakfast in July.
The yard is open to guests all day, and the Courtyard Rooms look onto it. Smokers use the far end by the gate, which is the only place on the property where smoking is allowed.
Practical
Booking
Book at reception, in person or by telephone, on the day or the day before, one hour at a time. House guests pay nothing for the sauna, and there is no treatment menu because we offer no treatments.
Children
Children may use the 18:00 sitting with an adult. The cold room is not meant for children, and neither are the river steps.
Access
The sauna is reached by stairs only: eleven steps, with a handrail on both sides. We're sorry about that, but we haven't found a way to put a lift into a granite vault.
Closed
Mondays for cleaning and chimney work, and for two weeks in early January.