My Best-Loved Saunas & Spas in Tirol

© Tirol Werbung / Ramon Haindl

Winter time is sauna time! I'm not one of those fanatics who goes three times a week, but when the temperatures begin to drop and the snow falls there really is nothing quite like a steamy sauna to relax mind, body and soul. Here are a few of my favourite saunas and spas in Tirol.

Stubay in Telfes, Stubaital Valley

Stubay is readily accessible from Innsbruck, located just 20 minutes from the city centre in the Stubai Valley. The sauna baths at Stubay are extra-large (dry-heat sauna and panorama sauna), and you can make yourself comfortable on the tiered benches. There is also plenty of space to relax, with lots of deckchairs and loungers. The unique panorama sauna is for people who like to sweat with a view. Accessed via the Stubay’s ample outdoor grounds, you can chill (quite literally) in the snow in winter. In the summer, the large sunbathing lawn makes for that perfect spot for a quick power nap. Out there is where you will find the outdoor heated pool as well. With a herbal sauna, a steam room, Kneipp ablution facilities and a salt grotto, this is a bathing oasis made for whiling away the day. What I like best is the combination of swimming pools and sauna baths. And talking of pools, I mean doing laps at the 25-metre competitive pool with four lanes. A great workout for all the body and the perfect way to tire out those muscles ready for the sauna!

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Spacious Finnish sauna at the Stubay in Telfes in the Stubai Valley. And there are two of them!  © Stubay

Sauna World at the Olympia Sports Centre in Seefeld

With saunas varying in temperature from 50 to 100 degrees Celsius, this sauna centre in Seefeld near Innsbruck offers something for everything from beginners to hardcore addicts. It features a rich variety of hothouse, steam room, Kneipp ablution facilities, a Caldarium, a Roman-style hot plunge bath, and ample space for relaxation. My favourite spot is on the upper floor, the panorama sauna, where you sweat in front of floor-to-ceiling windows that provide unobstructed views of the iconic church next to the lake in Seefeld. I usually finish off with a few gentle lengths in the heated outdoor pool. Swimming here at night as the snow falls is a special experience you will remember for years to come.

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 Panorama sauna in the Olympia Sports Centre. © Region Seefeld

Sauna World at the Alpine Bath in Leutasch

As a passionate cross-country skier, I love to sweat it out here after an hour of two of cross-country skiing on the trails in and around Leutasch. Sauna baths are decorated in rustic Tirolean log-cabin style with temperatures of between 55 and 95 degrees Celsius. There is an outdoor heated pool here as well. The relaxation lounge downstairs can get crowded, especially on the weekends. However, there are more deckchairs available on the first floor. If the "sauna master" adds too much heat to the kelo sauna, you can always head for the door and cool off in the snowy garden. 

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 From the hot sauna into the snow-covered garden. This is how I imagine a sauna in winter. © Alpenbad Leutasch/Hintraeger

Spa & Sauna at Aqua Dome in Längenfeld

This vast thermal water park in the village of Längenfeld in the Ötztal Valley has a sauna for every occasion. The Aqua Dome features an adults-only health and sauna suite, which has four sauna baths, steam rooms, a salt grotto, two outdoor pools (one pool filled with mineral-rich waters and a smaller one with super-powered jets). There are also plunge pools, Kneipp ablution facilities and a variety of relaxation lounges. Despite all these facilities, things can sometimes get a little crowded, especially in the chillout rooms, when the tourism season is in full swing.

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The double-level loft sauna in the Aqua Dome has a clever automated machine to pour water onto the hot stones and fan the hot air across the sauna. © Aqua Dome

Where to let off steam in and around Tirol’s capital Innsbruck

In the centre of Innsbruck, just a stone's throw from the railway station, is the Salurnerstraße sauna (€16.50). Admission costs just €13 before 14:00. This is one of the most stylish saunas you will find anywhere. Built way back in 1928, it has an eye-catching art-deco style and features several saunas as well as steam baths and plunge pools. Lots of locals here, so expect a few curious looks if you are new in town!