Melbourne’s communal bathing scene continues to be on the up and up. Sense of Self set the bar when it opened back in 2020, and in the past year alone, we’ve said hello to a floating sauna, an outpost of the award-winning Soak Bathhouse, and some seriously gorgeous sauna/spa situations just outside of the city (including Pond Bathhouse and The Sanctuary at Alba Thermal Springs). Now, we’ve got more good news to share: a new sky-high sanctuary is bubbling up in the heart of South Melbourne, and while it won’t open until April 2026, we’re already feeling a little more zen just thinking about it.
Housed in a heritage-listed Bank Street site (once home to wool trading and later Croft’s Grocery Empire), Else Bathhouse’s historic shell will become part of the ritual: a tactile reminder of Melbourne’s past. An expert team of architects and designers have reimagined the space across three light-drenched levels, preserving exposed brickwork, timber beams, an early 1900s mural and even the old wool bale pulleys.
Visitors will be able to join Aufguss rituals (where sauna masters pour essential oils and water onto the stones) or take things at their own pace with thermal baths, cold plunges, saunas, a mud and steam room, an alpine cabin, still lounges, and – the showstopper – open-air rooftop pools with sweeping skyline views. The rooftop pools suspended above the city have been designed to offer a rare pocket of serenity high above Melbourne’s urban churn, and it’s not hard to imagine them becoming a new ritual for locals seeking a moment of stillness – or a soft landing after a long day in the office.
For founder Paul Absalom, the vision was clear: “Else is about presence – it’s about slowing down and stepping away from the noise of everyday life.”
According to the founders, South Melbourne will be the first of several Else destinations, with a sister site planned for Bright in Victoria’s High Country and more Melbourne locations already in the works. You can stay in the loop over here.