Kraków Thermal - Błonia in Krakow

Top sauna! Built underneath a football stadium (entrance on the left of the car park - not obvious). Several saunas, 13m pool, jacuzzi, even a cold plunge barrel in the corner of the showers. The USP has got to be the sauna master shows, hourly at :15. Announcements in Polish only, but you just need to know: *The Panorama sauna is huge (80 seats, I reckon, on 4 tiers *Entrance in 4 waves - top deck first *Two sauna masters ceremonially pour water and place essential-oil-infused ice balls on the altar-like stove *Each evening features the music of a different band, chosen by the SM. My night was Portishead - great, but the sound system farted out some of the bass notes. *The SM performs a towel-twirling dance for the duration of one song, then they swap over. It starts off with a simple figure-of-8 (like you intuitively do with poi balls) to distribute the löyly. It soon develops into more impressive twirls, keeping the towel flat and rectangular. The crowd-pleasing move involves throwing and (most times) catching the spinning towel. Oh and one SM managed a pizza-dough spinning move. It reminded me of a hula hoop show in a Ukrainian night club years ago. Performance seems to be a big thing further east. *I didn't understand the waves of entry so I sat on the front row the first time. The top deck is generally hotter, but on the front row you get the full blast when the SM fans you with the towel! *Lots of pussies overestimate their heat tolerance and push their way out between songs. Another ritual (twice a night) is in the hammam. A SM dispenses handfuls of gritty salt, which you rub all over yourself. I guess it has mineral properties but it's also an exfoliant. After 10 minutes, I got an eyeful of salty sweat and had to shower off. I think clothing is optional in the afternoon but naked-only in the evening. But the majority kept towels around themselves. Male:female was probably 2:1. A dozen or so people wore felt pixie-style hats in the sauna. Bring your own water bottle. I expected the bar to rip me off but a bottle of mineral water was very cheap. I also had a beer in the lounge area while I was cooling off. I paid for two hours on arrival and stayed for 3.5. The surcharge was hardly any more than paying upfront for longer. I think it worked out just over £20, including drinks. Overall, an amazing experience. Modern, spotlessly clean; plenty of room; good range of facilities; friendly, helpful staff who explained things in English. Highly recommended!

Porównywalny poziom z Termami Maltańskimi w Poznaniu, sauny są zdecydowanie cieplejsze na plus, jest też bardzo czysto i panuje dobra atmosfera. Na minus ogólną wielkość, na seanse ludzie się ledwo mieścili, przydałaby się ekspansja o 1-2 sauny na podobnym poziomie oraz większy basen. Saunamistrzowie pracowali na solidnym poziomie, specjalny shoutout dla Roksany, która prowadziła show ze świetną choreografią i idealnie do rytmu muzyki, tak trzymaj 💪