A sauna village born in Ireland is about to take root in Denver's Platt Park neighborhood. Kota Sauna, a company known for communal sweat-and-plunge compounds rather than private treatment rooms, plans to open its first United States location at 1710 S. Broadway in mid-September, bringing five saunas, cold plunges, communal pools, and outdoor spaces filled with plants and trees to the busy commercial corridor.
The concept, according to WhatNow, centers on shared spaces rather than the solo-booth model many American sauna studios use. Guests will be able to move between heat, cold plunges and relaxation areas at their own pace, an approach the company says is designed to help people feel less stressed by the time they leave. Kota Sauna began in Ireland, where the founders' experiences with sauna culture across Finland, Lithuania, and the wider Baltic region shaped the company's design, and the brand initially opened in rural locations before moving into urban areas over the past two years.
Why Denver Won Out Over New York and Austin
Denver will serve as Kota Sauna's starting point for its broader U.S. market expansion, and the company says the choice came down to more than just available real estate. Per the same WhatNow report, Dan O'Connor said Denver felt like the right place after the founders visited both New York and Austin, pointing to the city's active population and its mountains and outdoor lifestyle as key draws. O'Connor also described the guest experience the company is building toward, saying guests can cool down and relax among plants and trees after sweating.
The physiological case for Denver lines up with broader regional trends. A 2025 analysis of Colorado real estate and wellness patterns identified Denver as an especially strong market for contrast therapy, citing high-altitude recovery needs, long winters, and a highly active outdoor population, according to Mile High Hot Tubs. The Kota Sauna Denver location will offer, in the company's own framing, a place to sweat, cool off, relax and spend time together.
A Building That Has Cycled Through Several Identities
The address itself has a history of shifting with Denver's social scene. The site previously housed Grandma's House, a craft brewery, before becoming HomeDog, a pet-friendly coworking and dog daycare space that opened in 2025, according to Uncover Colorado. Its transformation into a communal sauna village marks yet another turn for the 1710 S. Broadway location, tracking a broader pattern of Denver commercial spaces pivoting toward experience-driven, social wellness models.
Kota Sauna has already leaned into building buzz ahead of its opening. In February, the company launched an international giveaway offering an all-expenses-paid trip to Denver for two, including flight, a seven-night stay, VIP access, and unlimited sauna use during its September opening event, the company said in a social media post.
Denver's Crowded Race for the Thermal Wellness Dollar
Kota Sauna is not the only major thermal wellness venture eyeing Denver. Hoodline previously reported that La Alma is set to land a $27 million bathhouse, Coba Bathhouse, a 13-thermal-experience complex slated to open in early 2027. That project, combined with Kota Sauna's arrival, signals that Denver has become a primary target for large-scale communal bathing concepts as the industry expands nationally.
The momentum extends well beyond Colorado. Ireland itself saw 242 independent saunas open over five years, with roughly 90% of those launching since 2020, according to market data reported by SaunaNews. In the U.S., the sauna market is projected to expand by $161.3 million between 2025 and 2030, while the global sauna studio market is expected to reach $4.3 billion by 2034, per data cited by Business Insider. That same reporting notes that Zillow listings mentioning wellness features rose 33% year-over-year, while listings citing spa-inspired amenities grew 22%, and that the market for cold plunge tubs and contrast therapy equipment is projected to grow from roughly $355 million in 2025 to $660 million by 2033.
Social Wellness as an Alternative to Nightlife
Large urban bathhouses across North America, including Canada's Othership and New York's Bathhouse, have been gaining ground by marketing communal saunas and cold plunges as alcohol-free social wellness alternatives to traditional nightlife, a trend Hoodline explored in its coverage of a mega sauna reshaping Atlantic Avenue in Brooklyn. As operators like Kota Sauna expand into U.S. cities, they are also stepping into a regulatory environment that is still catching up. Industry legal analysis from SaunaNews noted in April that municipal health departments across the country are actively drafting specialized health codes and water sanitation regulations tailored to commercial cold plunge and communal thermal bathhouse facilities, a process that could shape how shared plunge pools operate at sites like the one planned for South Broadway.
For now, the details that matter most to Denver residents are simpler: five saunas of varying temperatures and sizes, communal pools, cold plunges, and outdoor greenery, all set to open at 1710 S. Broadway in mid-September as Kota Sauna makes its first U.S. bet on the Mile High City.
