Sauna Sons

Sauna Sons operates from Ellington in north-central Connecticut, in the agricultural country between Hartford and the Massachusetts line.

This is tobacco country — the Connecticut River valley grew shade tobacco for cigar wrappers for over a century, and the long low curing barns are still scattered across the landscape. It is a rural setting of the sort that suits sauna better than a suburban retail strip, and Ellington sits within reach of Hartford, Manchester, Vernon and Storrs.

Operations with this kind of name usually indicate a family business, often one that builds as well as operates. Small builders tend to produce better rooms than volume manufacturers for the same reason small breweries once made better beer: the person making the decisions uses the product.

The details that separate a good sauna from a merely hot room are not obvious from the outside. Stone mass in the heater determines whether water produces a proper burst of löyly or a thin hiss; ventilation determines whether the air stays breathable through a long session; bench height determines how much of the room’s heat gradient you can actually use.

Contact directly to confirm whether public sessions are offered.