Brooklyn now has a sauna that feels less like a spa room and more like a neighborhood theater. Bathhouse's new Atlantic Avenue outpost, which opened this spring, centers on an "event sauna" that seats more than 100 people, a cavernous room that recently doubled as the stage for national Aufguss performances.
A new, sprawling bathhouse in Boerum Hill
According to a press release from PR Newswire, Bathhouse opened the Atlantic Avenue location to the public on May 16, 2026, with about 32,000 square feet of space in total, including roughly 27,000 square feet indoors and 5,000 square feet outdoors. The company lists three indoor thermal pools, one outdoor pool and multiple thermal rooms, and says an additional outdoor sauna is slated for this summer. The site at 540 Atlantic Avenue sits just a few blocks from Barclays Center and is pitched as a neighborhood-scale hub for recovery and social programming.
People came to watch, not just sweat
Naosha Gregg described sitting among roughly 70 to 80 other people as practitioners led the Aufguss ritual and turned the room into something closer to a performance than a typical sauna. The piece noted theatrical touches like custom projectors, a robust audio system, color-changing lights, hot rocks and essential oils that amplified the spectacle. "It feels incredible," Tovi Wayne told Time Out after his routine, capturing why the format reads as communal therapy and live entertainment at the same time.
Aufguss goes national — Brooklyn hosted a stage
According to SaunaNews, the Atlantic Avenue event sauna served as a centerpiece for the Aufguss USA Nationals 2026, giving U.S. competitors a stage large enough to showcase show-style Aufguss for packed audiences. SaunaNews reported that the Nationals expanded this year and that the venue's 100-plus seats made it possible to present theatrical, costume-driven performances alongside more traditional ritual formats. Industry coverage framed the event as evidence that guided sauna experiences are shifting from a niche wellness oddity into a viable commercial format.
What the space offers and how they keep it clean
As outlined by Bathhouse, the Atlantic Avenue thermal circuit includes a hot pool at 104°F, a cold plunge at 50°F, a neutral pool at 98°F, an event sauna that reaches up to 175°F, a banya, an infrared sauna and a steam room. The company also details nightly deep cleans, continuous filtration and automated chemical controllers for pool management, along with etiquette policies and a no-phone rule in amenity areas. Day passes start at about $29 and the location lists extended daily hours, which let the space function as both a daytime recovery center and an evening event venue.
What locals should know
Industry coverage notes that the Atlantic Avenue outpost is Bathhouse's latest expansion beyond Williamsburg and Flatiron, and that the brand is explicitly positioning the site as a neighborhood destination. CityBiz framed the opening as part of a broader trend in which recovery-focused wellness spaces intersect with hospitality and entertainment in dense urban neighborhoods.
Whether you go for contrast therapy or to see towel work turned into a cheering-room spectacle, Atlantic Avenue has reshaped what a sauna can look like in Brooklyn, part spa, part stage and very much part of the borough's summer event calendar.
