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Image: Jack Fenby
Wellness is having a moment across the globe. It feels like almost overnight that protein powders, PBs and high-intensity training are being replaced with “holistic” and “community” catchwords in the fitness industry. 2025 is all about slowing down, switching off, and sweating it out in a sauna before plunging into an ice bath – with strangers who might just become friends.
In Adelaide, that shift has arrived in the form of Aalto Community, a new bathhouse tucked behind a roller door in Goodwood that opened its doors last week. The project is the work of friends with professional sporting backgrounds, who wanted to bring a more holistic and community-driven way of looking after body and mind.
For co-founder and former Fremantle Dockers player Tom Emmett, inspiration struck while playing footy in WA.
“I’d go to sauna and ice bath places along the coast, and at first it was purely for recovery,” he says.
“But then I realised I was actually going there to socialise – to talk to people outside of footy. When I came back to Adelaide, I realised it didn’t exist here. I thought, ‘This would do so well.’”
Aalto’s set-up is designed with that in mind. Inside is open plan and modern, dressed in about 150 plants, with Finnish-inspired saunas, and communal spaces to “share the ritual.”
“When you walk in, you get access to the whole space,” Emmett says. “There’s a large traditional sauna, three individual ice baths, open showers, and a tea and lounge area in the foyer, so you can arrive early or stay afterwards.”
And unlike some club-style wellness spaces, it’s deliberately drop-in friendly.
“Accessibility is probably the key word,” says Emmett. “We’re about being open to anyone – people here for the weekend, or someone with a friend visiting from interstate who wants recovery after a night out.”
“It’s come-and-go, not membership-gated. We’re here, we’re open, and it’s a safe, clean environment.”
Aalto reflects a wider shift away from the “thrash yourself” mentality of traditional training and into a new, holistic era.
“Playing AFL and training at that professional level, I know the intensity of that world, and for a long time, the mindset was about training as hard as you can,” Emmett says.
“But people are starting to value longevity and balance. You’re not always going to be young – it’s about looking after yourself long-term.”
And around the city, a handful of other destinations are also riding the wellness wave. Even my pilates studio sets aside a fifteen-minute post-sweat meditation (shout out Love Athletica).
Here’s Glam Adelaide’s picks.
CHANGE
The first of its kind in Adelaide, CHANGE is a complete “House of Health” opening in the 88 O’Connell precinct this spring. The luxe facility combines reformer Pilates, functional training, yoga, breathwork, and a run club with high-end recovery spaces like saunas, steam rooms, twin ice baths, and a magnesium pool. CHANGE aims to be elevated, but very much community-driven, “the heartbeat of North Adelaide.”
Foundation memberships on sale Sunday September 14
More info here.
DEVAAR HOUSE
Davaar House is a historic North Adelaide property reimagined as a sanctuary for mind, body, and soul. Founded by Fiona and her husband Oscar, the space was from a mission to create a safe, restorative environment where people can prioritise their mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing.
The offering spans everything from massage, facials, and naturopathic consultations to infrared saunas, float pods, reformer Pilates, red light therapy, and more.
More info here.
BREATHE STRETCH FLOAT
Breathe Stretch Float is a five-star boutique wellness sanctuary in the heart of the Adelaide CBD. Best known as home to South Australia’s first and only Himalayan Salt Cave, and host to award-winning sound immersion journeys, it offers a mix of float therapy, massage, salt therapy, Tibetan Singing Bowl treatments, meditation, and more.
More info here.
TEMPLE DAY SPA
Temple Day Spa has long set the benchmark and the one of the first for indulgence in Adelaide. Founded in 2013 by Sharon Templeton, the five-star retreat was created as a sanctuary of luxury and serenity, offering everything from full-day spa packages and couples rituals to facials, massage, hydrotherapy and body sculpting treatments.
More info here.
If there’s one thing that’s for sure, it’s that Adelaide is leaning into new ways to look after body and mind. Conversations with strangers – whether it be in a plunge pool, run club, or sauna – are fast becoming unavoidable (and that’s a good thing). Wellbeing and slow living are on trend, and we predict Adelaide will see plenty more of it.
“I think this is only the beginning,” adds Emmett. “Loneliness has been declared a global health concern by the World Health Organisation, and people are searching for more meaningful ways to connect.”
“Spaces like Aalto encourage conversation – especially since you’re already breaking down barriers getting disrobed – and it’s been nice seeing those connections form already.”
What: Aalto Community
Where: Unit 1/72 King William Rd, Goodwood
@aalto.community
