Soul Water Sauna, Edinburgh: Portobello and Granton Guide

What Soul Water Sauna is

The company describes its saunas as built on centuries-old sauna practice adapted to the Scottish coast, with hosts stoking the fire and conversation doing the rest. The model is host-led rather than self-service: you book a session, arrive, change, and take your seat in a cabin that someone else is tending. That matters more than it sounds, because a wood-fired sauna depends on a host reading the room and feeding the stove through the session.

The two locations are not interchangeable. Portobello is the small, intimate version — a promenade cabin with a sea view and a short walk to cold water. Granton is the group version, with more saunas, a plunge and open-air showers. Choosing between them is mostly a question of how many people you are, whether you want a plunge pool or the open sea, and how far you want to travel from the centre.

Portobello: the promenade sauna

The Portobello sauna is a purpose-built mobile cabin sitting on the promenade of Portobello Beach, in east Edinburgh. It holds up to eight people, which makes it feel closer to a private bothy than a public bathhouse, and the host keeps the fire stoked throughout the session. There is a small changing area and space for belongings, so you are not juggling bags in the heat.

The cold-water option here is the North Sea itself, a few steps from the door. That short walk is the whole appeal and also the honest catch: on a windy morning the promenade is exposed, and the walk back wet is bracing. Bring something easy to pull on for the crossing and leave it where you can grab it without a search.

Because the cabin is small, Portobello suits couples, small groups of friends and private bookings rather than a big communal afternoon out. If you are a party of six or eight, book as one group and treat it as your own session. There is also a Portobello Turkish Baths, Edinburgh tradition a short distance away if you want a different kind of heat on the same trip.

Granton: two cedar saunas and a cold plunge

At Granton, on the city's northern shore, Soul Water Sauna runs two Siberian cedar saunas with views over the Forth and room for groups of up to 25. The site has open-air showers, a cold plunge and a sheltered changing area, which makes it the more practical choice in poor weather and the easier one for a mixed group with different tolerances for cold.

The combination of a plunge and the sea a stone's throw away gives you a choice of cool-downs: step into the plunge for a controlled shock, or walk to the water for the full coastal version. Having both on one site means nobody in the group has to compromise. If the cold plunge is the main draw, our guide to sauna and cold plunge in Edinburgh covers how the city's venues handle the hot-cold loop.

The cedar cabins are the setting where the Finnish sauna tradition is most obviously the reference point: two hot rooms, a cool-down, a rest, then back in. Finns usually stay 5 to 15 minutes per round rather than trying to outlast the room, and that rhythm works well here, especially with a group where some people want a long sit and others want a quick dip and out.

How a session works

Book online before you travel. Sessions are sold as timed slots rather than drop-in visits, and the published seat lengths are 65 minutes and 95 minutes, so pick according to whether you want a single unhurried round or time for several. Private bookings are also offered for groups who want the cabin or site to themselves.

On arrival, expect a straightforward sequence: check in with your host, change in the cabin or sheltered area, shower, and take your seat with a towel under you. The host tends the stove at Portobello; at Granton you move between the two saunas, the showers and the plunge at your own pace. Afterwards there is no restaurant or bar on site, so plan food and a hot drink for after you leave rather than as part of the session.

One safety line covers the whole visit: drink water, skip alcohol before bathing, step out if you feel unwell, and speak to a doctor first if you have a heart condition or are pregnant. Sauna etiquette here is the ordinary northern European sort — keep noise low, respect other people's space, and shower before you go in.

Prices and booking

A seat in the community sauna starts at £14.50 for a 65-minute session and rises to £21 for a 95-minute session, with private bookings starting at £110. For a coastal sauna in a capital city those are moderate prices, and the shorter slot is the sensible first booking if you are unsure how much heat you want.

Payment and booking run through the company's own site, which is also where gift vouchers and event listings appear. Weekend and holiday slots go first, so book well ahead if your trip is short and the sauna is a fixed point in it. Private bookings need more lead time than single seats.

What to bring

Bring a towel to sit on, a second towel to dry off with, and swimwear. A seat cover or small towel under you is standard practice in shared saunas and keeps the benches comfortable for the next session. Bring water, and a warm layer and shoes you can slip on for the walk to the sea.

Portobello's changing area is small, so pack light and avoid hard cases. At Granton the sheltered changing area and open-air showers make the logistics easier, but you still want a bag that closes and keeps clothes dry while you are in the water. Leave valuables at home where you can.

Best time to go

The sea off Portobello and the Forth at Granton stay cold year-round, so the hot-cold contrast is strongest in winter and the walk back is most comfortable in summer. Spring and autumn give you a middle path: cool water, a bracing promenade and fewer people competing for weekend slots. Wind is the variable that decides how pleasant the outdoor parts feel.

Mornings are generally calmer on the promenade, and an early slot leaves the rest of the day free for the city. If you are booking a group, take a private slot rather than squeezing into a shared session, because eight seats at Portobello fill quickly and a large party at Granton takes up most of the capacity.

Getting to Portobello and Granton

Portobello sits on the coast to the east of the centre and is served by buses along the seafront, with the sauna on the promenade a short walk from the main road. Granton is on the northern shore and is best reached by bus from the city centre. Check routes and times with the city's transport operator on the day, as coastal services thin out in the evening.

Both sites are outdoor, so a cold walk between sauna and water is part of the experience rather than a flaw in it. Allow extra time on windy days and carry a bag that keeps your dry clothes dry. If you are combining the sauna with other swimming, the Portobello Swim Centre is nearby for a warm shower afterwards.

Where Soul Water Sauna fits among Edinburgh's saunas

Soul Water Sauna occupies the beach-and-coast end of Edinburgh's sauna scene: wood-fired, small at Portobello, group-friendly at Granton, and always tied to cold water. It is the natural pick for anyone who wants the sea in the loop rather than a city-centre heat room. The same coastal logic drives the Lost Shore Sauna, Edinburgh's surf-side option, which is worth a look if you want another outdoor session on a different stretch of water.

Between Portobello and Granton, choose Portobello for a small, atmospheric session with the North Sea at the door, and Granton for a bigger group, a plunge and shelter when the weather turns. Both reward booking ahead and both are better with a towel you can sit on and a warm layer waiting.

Soul Water Sauna and dogs: what you need to know

If you are visiting Edinburgh with a dog and wondering whether your four-legged companion can join you at Soul Water Sauna, the answer is straightforward: the saunas are people-only spaces, so a sauna session is best planned around your dog rather than with it. At Portobello, the traditional wood-fired sauna sits on the promenade of Edinburgh's beloved Portobello Beach, with room for up to 8 people, a small changing area and space for your belongings. Because it is a purpose-built mobile sauna with a host stoking the fire throughout, there is no space set aside for animals inside.

The same applies at Granton. There you choose between two Siberian Cedar saunas, suited to individuals or larger groups of up to 25 guests, and the site has open-air showers, a cold plunge and a sheltered changing area. Sessions are communal or private bookings, and with the sea just a stone's throw away, a refreshing dook is part of the experience. None of this lends itself to bringing a dog into the heat, so plan your visit for a time when your dog can stay behind.

The practical way to manage it is to think about session length. A seat in the community sauna starts at £14.50 for a 65 minute session and rises to £21 for a 95 minute session, while private bookings start at £110. That gives you a clear window to arrange dog care, or to walk your dog along the beach first and then head into the sauna. At Portobello the beach itself is the obvious place for a walk before or after your slot, since the sauna is right on the promenade; at Granton the water is moments away.

Remember the sauna tips and the before-you-book information on the operator's site, and treat the sauna as the dog-free part of an otherwise dog-friendly day by the sea.

Plan Your Visit

Book a slot on the Soul Water Sauna site before you travel, pick Portobello for intimacy and the open sea or Granton for two cedar saunas, a plunge and shelter, and budget for a 65- or 95-minute session. Bring two towels, swimwear, water and a warm layer for the walk to the cold water.

If you want to compare these two coastal sites with the rest of the city before committing, work through the saunas in Edinburgh guide and match the venue to the kind of session you actually want.