Why this one made the list
A banya in a historic Belgravia bank building, steps from Buckingham Palace. Oak-lined steam room, icy plunge pool, parenie leaf rituals and home-cooked Eastern European food — you book a table in the lounge and weave hot, cold and rest at your own pace.
Practical
- Address
- 1 Grosvenor Gardens, London SW1W 0BD
- Postcode
- SW1W 0BD
- Setting
- Indoor
- First visit
- Reserve a session online (weekend slots by phone or WhatsApp); swimsuits are required on mixed days, with a gentlemen's day Tuesday and ladies' day Thursday. Add the signature parenie — an intense steam massage with soaked oak, birch and eucalyptus leaves — then cool in the plunge pool and refuel in the lounge.
- Getting started
- Intro / taster session · Walk-in welcome
- Booking
- Book ahead
- Website
- https://banyalondon.co.uk/
What you'd want to know
A grand former bank building on Grosvenor Gardens, with high ceilings and a reserved-table lounge and drawing room where guests rest between rounds. The thermal area holds oak-lined dry saunas heated by traditional ceramic stoves, with tipping buckets and tiled cold plunge pools nearby.
Both a shared public banya and a private banya for groups sit within, the private suite with its own changing and treatment space. Birch, oak and eucalyptus venik bundles hang ready for the parenie ritual.
An on-site restaurant serves seasonal Eastern European dishes, so the lounge doubles as a dining room.
Overheard
- book a parenie when you book the session — it's the thing people come back for, and slots go.
- check which day you're booking: tuesday is men only, thursday is women only, the rest are mixed.
- bring or hire a swimsuit for mixed days; you'll want it.
- don't skip the food — the eastern european spread after is half the ritual.
- the private banya takes a group if you're coming together.