How Some Luxury Hotels Are Making Thermal Bathing a Centerpiece
By Arlene Scott
Senior Wellness Correspondent & Hospitality Consultant
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From Aman’s private banya and hammam spa houses to Marriott’s new design lab, hospitality groups are giving sauna and thermal bathing a bigger role.
In this story2 sections
At some luxury hotels, thermal bathing is moving from a supplementary spa amenity toward the center of the guest experience.
Who’s building what
Aman, which has long integrated bathing rituals into its properties, offers private Hammam and Banya Spa Houses across its portfolio, including Banya Spa Houses at Aman New York and Aman Nai Lert Bangkok. KLAFS, the German sauna manufacturer now owned by Kohler, has become one of the go-to partners for ultra-luxury hotel sauna installations.
Where it shows up
The trend is particularly pronounced in Nordic, Alpine, and Japanese-inspired hospitality concepts, where the bathing experience is woven into the architecture itself.
The shift is also changing how these projects get designed. Rather than bolting a sauna room onto a basement spa, architects are now integrating thermal suites into the primary guest experience, with natural light, outdoor access, and views treated as essential features. For a closer look at how modular manufacturing is enabling these builds, see our analysis on modular saunas and what they mean for commercial builders.
Equipment and partners
KLAFS, which Kohler acquired in January 2024, has emerged as a leading supplier for ultra-luxury hotel sauna installations. Custom stone, glass, and wood fabrication is becoming standard in the high end, pushing projects well beyond what off-the-shelf manufacturers offer.
For the sauna industry, luxury hospitality represents both a revenue opportunity and a brand-building platform. A KLAFS installation in a flagship luxury hotel does more for the brand than any trade show booth.
The luxury end has been the whole story so far because that is where the capital is discretionary. The volume end is a different mechanism entirely, and it moved in August 2026 when Marriott brought a bathhouse operator into its Design Lab, putting the question of a hotel thermal spec in front of a system of more than 10,000 properties rather than one flagship at a time.
Update, August 14, 2026: This article now includes Marriott’s August 2026 alliance with Therme Group and its design lab.
