Manhattan’s got a stunning new sauna spot in the Lore Bathing Club, a membership-based contrast therapy studio in NoHo with a 15-person infrared sauna, dry Finnish sauna of alder wood and pool room fashioned with a cold plunge pool and heated clay benches.
Rather than try to cater to every wellness whim with a laundry list of services, Lore zeros in on providing a contrast therapy experience in a more intimate setting than is available at other Manhattan bathhouses. Contrast therapy is the practice of alternating between cold and heat exposure purported to have therapeutic benefits including reducing inflammation and accelerating recovery.
“Our goal was to strip out the excesses of what we saw in these bigger locations and really focus on the essential elements,” says co-founder James O’Reilly. “Focusing on fewer parts, we could elevate each component and think differently about the experience overall.”
Lore memberships start at $89 per week or $200 per month for unlimited access Monday through Friday. Weekends are pay-per-visit for an approximately 75-minute session. Lore’s capacity maxes out at 55, so bathers will never feel cramped in its two-floor space. O’Reilly says, “Taking this approach of elevating these touch points is really hard to do if you’re catering to thousands of people a day.”
More Lore locations are on the way. O’Reilly anticipates opening eight to 10 doors across Manhattan and Brooklyn. “We describe Lore as a neighborhood bathing club, which positions it as something more familiar where you can become a regular, where it’s not this indulgence, but it’s just more everyday luxury,” he says. “As a result, we think that can fit really comfortably in many neighborhoods around the city.”
Lore upholds that cold water immersion a few times a week can support longevity and is enticing members with thoughtful touches like generous locker rooms outfitted with Jolie showerheads and Matter personal care products to encourage routine trips. It has a cafe at its reception serving La Cabra coffee, Masha tea, bone broth and freshly pressed juice, and guests can purchase a Jolie showerhead and Lore’s luxe waffle weave textiles on site.
“Our goal was to strip out the excesses of what we saw in these bigger locations and really focus on the essential elements.”
It’s no surprise that Lore’s 6,200-square-foot location is gorgeous given the CVs of the team behind it. O’Reilly was co-founder of NeueHouse, a chic coworking space closing Friday, and most recently was president of Life Time Work, the coworking arm of modern health club concept Life Time, where he expanded the firm’s coworking business to 20 locations nationally.
Adam Elzer was co-founder and CEO of Everyday Hospitality, the group behind Sauce Restaurant, Sauce Pizzeria and Coco & Cru, and grew the company to eight locations before selling it in 2023. Elzer also co-founded New York City dining destinations Empellón and Divya’s Kitchen, the latter an Ayurvedic restaurant that sparked the restaurateur’s interest in wellness, biohacking and holistic modalities such as meditation, breathwork and contrast therapy.
The duo brought in design heavyweights Studioilse, a London agency that counts Aesop, Anya Hindmarch and Cecconi’s among its clients, and Brooklyn-based Glossier flagship designer Ringo Studio to create a wellness escape in downtown Manhattan that embraces the traditions of sauna culture and the character of the city. The infrared sauna’s glass wall looks out to the alcoves of an old subway station under Great Jones Alley, offering a morsel of New York City many don’t get to see. O’Reilly and Elzer funded the venture personally along with unnamed angel investors.
The pair’s deep hospitality expertise allowed them to bring Lore to fruition in around 14 months. O’Reilly tried unsuccessfully to convince Elzer to join him at NeueHouse about a decade ago, and the two stayed in touch and bonded over their love for cold plunges. O’Reilly recounts, “Adam was one of the first people I called to sanity check, ‘Hey I’m thinking about leaving this very comfortable position I have at this bigger company to do something crazy, can you talk me out of it?’ and Adam was like, ‘No, this is cool, I would invest.'”
Elzer came on board and the two spent most of the 14 months finding the perfect location and navigating New York City’s Department of Health and Department of Buildings. Though Elzer was a Manhattan hospitality veteran, building an indoor swimming pool was a whole other matter. O’Reilly says, “There was a steep learning curve around what’s involved. There’s a whole host of consultants and people who need to guide you through the process.”
Lore joins a rapidly expanding bathhouse landscape in New York. While the contrast therapy cognoscenti will always name-check the 130-year-old Russian & Turkish Baths on the Lower East Side, many would-be bathers are looking for a more luxe experience provided by Lore and other modern bathhouses like Aire Ancient Baths, Bathhouse and Othership.
