Equinox Expands Sauna Offerings Across 15 Flagship Locations

Equinox, the premium fitness brand, is making one of its largest facility investments in years, and it's going toward thermal wellness. The company is significantly upgrading sauna, steam, and cold plunge facilities at its top-performing locations across New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, and San Francisco.

Scope of Investment

The upgrades include expanded sauna rooms with increased capacity, dedicated cold plunge pools (where none currently exist), improved ventilation and humidity control systems, and aesthetic renovations designed to create what Equinox describes as a "thermal wellness journey" within each club.

Several locations will add Finnish-style saunas alongside their existing steam rooms, creating a multi-modality thermal offering. At least three clubs will feature outdoor cold plunge installations.

Our members are telling us that thermal wellness isn't a nice-to-have anymore. It's becoming one of the primary reasons people choose and stay with Equinox.

Upgrade Focus: Expanded sauna rooms. New cold plunge pools where none exist. Improved ventilation and humidity control. Aesthetic refresh designed to create a "thermal wellness journey" within each club.

Strategic Context

The investment comes as Equinox faces intensifying competition from both traditional fitness brands moving upmarket and purpose-built thermal wellness venues like Bathhouse that are attracting high-income consumers with more focused offerings.

The thermal wellness upgrade is part of a broader strategy to justify Equinox's premium pricing, which can exceed $300/month at flagship locations, by delivering amenities and experiences that lower-cost competitors cannot match.