Rovaniemi welcomes sauna boom with free and luxury options

Rovaniemi is seeing a surge in public saunas, offering free communal bathing for residents and premium experiences for visitors, Yle reports. Valiosauna is already open, Suma Sauna and Lounge will open for the winter season, and the M/S Lempi sauna raft is expected to begin operating soon.

Public saunas have been far less common in northern Finland than in the south, but the trend has recently reached Rovaniemi. The new businesses are expanding the city’s tourism offering and aiming to establish it as a sauna destination.

Free sauna built by the community

Valiosauna, built collectively by residents, has been operating this summer. Its purpose is to provide an open space for everyone, regardless of their background or appearance, as long as visitors follow sauna etiquette, said Riku Alasuutari, chair of Valiosauna Association.

The sauna was once banned before reopening with support from the city. It is open to everyone and free of charge on the banks of the Ounasjoki river until the end of September. Visitors bring their own firewood under the sauna’s self-service principle.

Alongside Valiosauna, which is community-run and free, Rovaniemi is also developing saunas as commercial services. Existing venues such as Roiske, Ollerovaara Sauna World and Kesärafla Sauna are set to face new competition as more saunas open beside and on the river.

Premium services for tourists

A large black wooden building is under construction on the banks of the Kemijoki river, downstream from the Suutarinkorva bridge. Suma Sauna and Lounge is due to open for the winter season.

The venue will include lounges, a heated pool and ice swimming. It is marketing premium services that combine sauna visits with food and drink packages, at a corresponding price.

Suma has been designed primarily for tourists during the winter. Its concept will change in the summer to attract local residents as well, said Janne Säkkinen, the company’s director of restaurant operations.

“We wanted to add variety to Rovaniemi’s tourism offering. This kind of premium product has been missing here,” Säkkinen said.

He said sauna businesses in Rovaniemi should cooperate to make the city a genuine sauna destination. A sauna located in the city centre is still missing, he added.

Sauna raft to offer river cruises

South of Rovaniemi, a construction project has produced what its builders describe as a “detached house on the water”. The 15 metre, two-storey M/S Lempi sauna raft is expected to anchor soon at Pohjanhovi on the riverbank in central Rovaniemi.

Under the initial plan, the raft will make regular evening sauna cruises on the Ounasjoki river. At other times, it will remain moored. Its schedules and service concept will be adjusted according to demand once operations begin.

“This is completely new for Rovaniemi. Time will tell how keen local people are to visit and what services they want,” said Ilona Erkkilä, chief executive of Roiware, which operates the raft.

Erkkilä said the raft had faced construction challenges, including a delay when its electrical systems became stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. The vessel is now nearly complete, with its opening planned in a few weeks.

Erkkilä also said Rovaniemi was experiencing a period of sauna investment. “That is a good thing. Each service is slightly different, so there is something for everyone,” she said.