2023 IS THE YEAR OF SAUNAS IN ESTONIA
The year of saunas has begun! Saunas in Estonia are so popular that the Estonians have even decided to name a whole year after them – the Year of Saunas 2023. We share the essence of the Estonian sauna culture with our visitors from distant countries and introduce the sauna area of the Frost Hotel.
ABOUT SAUNA
Sauna is a small room that is heated with either wood-heated or electric heater. Sauna users sit on a wooden platform, and when exposed to heat in the sauna room, the bodies of sauna users start to sweat and cleanse themselves. In classic Finnish saunas the air is hot and dry, very resilient people heat the air in sauna to even be over 100 degrees. Air humidity can be increased by throwing water to the hot rocks on the sauna heater. Air humidity increases and makes the skin sweat and cleanse even more. The traditional sauna ritual of Estonians also includes whisking with birch branches to cleanse the body.
SAUNA IS GOOD FOR YOUR HEALTH
Going to sauna has been a part of the culture of many nations for hundreds of years. Foremost, a sauna is a place to clean your body but also a place to relax, pamper yourself and alleviate the tensions. Nowadays, Estonians have built saunas in their flats, houses and summer houses. And if you do not have your own sauna, visiting your friends on a Saturday evening and going to sauna together is very common. Estonians go to sauna on warm summer days as well as on crispy winter days – we enjoy this activity all year round. As part of the sauna ritual, sauna users jump into a pond or lake in the summer, while in the winter a hole is cut in the ice covering the body of water in order to cool oneself off and also to improve one’s health.
Visit Estonia writes: “It is good to remember that throughout the ages, body and soul ailments have been treated in the sauna – originally in the smoke sauna –, which has also been used for communication with the souls of ancestors, meetings with friends, giving birth and washing the dead”. The idea of the original sauna, the smoke sauna, was to let go of everything old.
Contemporary saunas also offer other useful functions. For instance, going to sauna can help to improve the circulation and reduce blood pressure. Also, perspiration helps to remove toxins from the body and improve the condition of the skin. Going to sauna is a great option to relax after a workout or an exhausting workday, relieving stress and anxiety.
SAUNA AREA OF FROST HOTEL
Frost Hotel also has a sauna area to offer more pleasant relaxation experiences for our customers. The sauna area has two saunas – a Finnish sauna with dry and hot air and a steam sauna with high humidity rate. The sauna area of Frost Hotel can be distinguished from other similar areas by the attention to the details – the area has a more private atmosphere typical of a boutique hotel, which is created, among other things, by custom-made designer furniture. The sauna seating platforms are made of high-quality magnolia wood, and the floors are made of high-quality precious wood, which is warm to step on with bare feet and is more slip-resistant.
The temperature in the Finnish sauna is 90 degrees. The sauna is equipped with a sauna heater with stones on it – pouring clean tap water on the hot stones helps to increase the air humidity. The steam sauna can be characterised by 40-degree air temperature and high air humidity. One can cool down after sauna by using the different jet modes under the shower.
CHLORINE-FREE POOL WATER
What makes Frost Hotel unique is the fact that the guests cannot smell the strong and bitter scent of chlorine in the relaxation area. The pool water is purified by using salt, which has a natural and mild effect on the skin. Water purified with salt is safe for health and meets the high standards and requirements established by Estonian authorities. The pool water of the hotel also flows through the shungite stones. Shungite is an acknowledged and valuable mineral and known for its purifying properties. It cleans the water basically of all the organic matter. Click here to read more about shungite. The pool water is heated to a pleasant 29 degrees. The pool also has an additional bubble function for larger or smaller bubbles. The bubbly pool water massages the muscles, shaking the whole body to offer even deeper relaxation. The guests can switch this function on and off according to their preference, customising their user experience.
FROM HOTEL ROOM TO SAUNA IN YOUR BATHROBE
When visiting the sauna area of Frost Hotel, you only need to bring your swimwear and your toiletries. Soft bathrobes are available for guests in their hotel rooms, in the sauna area the guests can use large bath towels, the dressing areas are equipped with lockers and hair dryers. In this way, everything is ready for a pleasant sauna experience, and the guest only has to choose the date when to visit Pärnu and the Frost Boutique hotel.
Welcome to the Year of Sauna 2023 and to enjoy the exquisite sauna experience in Frost!
