London’s wellness scene is getting a more sociable address in early 2027, when SONARA opens inside the One Twenty development on King’s Road in Chelsea.
Billed as Britain’s first bathing and dining club, the concept brings heat, cold, steam, rest, treatments and food into one continuous experience rather than treating them as separate appointments.
It’s a timely idea for a city where wellbeing is often packaged as quiet isolation, because SONARA puts conversation and shared ritual back at the centre of recovery.
At a glance
- SONARA will open in Chelsea in early 2027 as Britain’s first bathing and dining club.
- The club will span more than 1,500 square metres across two floors, with bathing rituals, treatment spaces and an 80-cover restaurant.
- It will welcome members and day guests, with Founding Membership details to follow ahead of opening.
A social ritual for King’s Road
SONARA is being shaped around the older idea that bathing was once a shared civic and social act, not just a private wellness booking.
The club’s rhythm is deliberately fluid, allowing guests to move between heat, steam, cold immersion, rest, treatments and dining at their own pace.
On arrival, guests will change into swimwear and a robe before taking a table in the restaurant, which remains theirs for the duration of the visit.
That detail matters, because the table becomes a base from which the day unfolds, whether guests are stepping away for a bathing cycle, returning for a light dish or lingering over a longer meal.
The oak-lined banya at the centre of SONARA
The focal point will be London’s largest traditional oak-lined Banya Chamber, with room for up to 30 guests.
Inside, trained Steam Masters will lead Parenie, a whisk-steaming ritual using handcrafted veniki made from birch, oak or fir.
The practice uses rhythmic movement and gentle contact to gather and direct steam around the body, intensifying warmth in a way intended to support circulation and ease muscular tension.
Each heat cycle will be followed by cold immersion and rest, creating the contrast-led rhythm that sits at the heart of the club.
Confirmed spaces include a Snow Room, Red Salt Grotto, Cold Plunge, Shower Buckets, Floating Room and Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber, with further bathing, treatment and recovery areas still to be revealed.
Private suites with global references
For guests who want the experience kept entirely to their own group, SONARA will include four Private Suites of around 90 square metres each.
Each suite will accommodate up to 10 guests and include a private Banya Chamber, Cold Plunge, dining space and relaxation areas.
The design themes will draw from distinct architectural traditions, spanning the intimacy of an English country house, the calm of a Moroccan riad, the elegance of a Chinese courtyard and the warmth of an Alpine chalet.
Treatments can be arranged within the suites, while a dedicated Steam Master will guide the bathing sequence from the first heat through to the final cycle.
Robe-led dining and membership plans
Dining is not being treated as an add-on, which is where SONARA’s proposition becomes more interesting than a conventional spa format.
The 80-cover restaurant will take a European-inspired approach, with dishes designed to work at different points in the visit, from a light plate between bathing cycles to a fuller meal as the experience stretches out.
Guests will dine in robes, keeping the atmosphere continuous rather than splitting the day into wellness first and restaurant later.
SONARA will be open to both members and day guests, while membership will include access to a private Members’ Lounge and a year-round programme of gatherings and experiences.
More details on the interiors, treatments, culinary programme and Founding Memberships are expected before the Chelsea opening.
At its best, SONARA could give London a different kind of wellness venue, one built less around retreating from the world and more around spending time well with other people.
