What’s here

Here’s what you’ll find at Balta Chill.

We’ve borrowed a lot from the sauna bars and hubs we loved going to in Estonia and Finland - then built our own version on a farm in East Sussex.

The saunas

Two very different saunas

One thing we loved about sauna hubs in Estonia and Finland was having different saunas to move between. Wood-fired saunas all behave a little differently too, so even the same sauna won’t feel exactly the same every time. We’ve started with two - both built from scratch by us and both loosely based on saunas we loved in Estonia.

Our light, social sauna.

Hele is loosely based on the sauna at Põhjala brewery in Tallinn. The benches face inwards, so it’s easy to have a conversation without everyone sitting directly opposite one another. We’ve also pointed it towards the horse fields outside. On a good evening, the sunsets do most of the work.

Talking sauna
Thermo aspen and thermo alder
Capacity: 10

Our dark, silent sauna.

Tume is the more traditional-feeling of the two. It’s darker inside, a little more enclosed, and intended to be the quieter sauna. If you fancy sitting in silence, listening to the stove and looking out at the trees for ten minutes, this is the one.

Silent sauna
Radiata pine & intense thermo alder
Capacity: 12

The cold plunges

Two ways to cool off.

Our plunges started life as water tanks on a Star Wars film at Pinewood Studios. They've had a fairly dramatic change of career!

One is chilled to around 7-9°C. The other is left at the mercy of the British weather and usually sits somewhere around 19°C.

Use either, both or neither. Cold plunging is very much optional.

7-9°CCold plunge~19°CAmbient plungeOptionalAlways your call

Amenities

The practical bits.

Outdoor cold showersFor rinsing off and cooling down between sauna rounds.

Indoor changingWarm, dry and significantly nicer than getting changed in a car park.

Hair dryersSo you can leave looking vaguely like yourself.

ToiletsTwo indoor unisex toilets.

The main space

Come for the sauna. Stay for a bit.

The indoor space is still evolving. There’s a bar, café and seating for around 30, so you can have a drink before your session, take a break between rounds or hang around afterwards. We also use the space for yoga, meetups, parties and other things that seem like a good idea. If you have one, let us know!

See the build