I think these criteria might help explain my feelings about a given sauna.

Also, I recognise that these criteria will either have to be reassessed, or assessments given above 100 degrees, when I get to Finland/Korea/Japan/Turkey.  I mean, I love The Terry, but can it really compete with a floating sauna in Sweden?

THE BOARD:

The Heat  /15   Is it hot or is it not?
(0: well, shit i guess it would the stove have to be broken. 8: warm stove, sauna space too big for its boots 15: tiny space, woodfired, water boiling, at least 3 level and busts my balls)

Spatial aesthetic  /5  Size
(No body like a massive room with a small oven. If only ’cause it will be cold.   0: sauna too big to socialise and get warm  5: any cosier and it’s a lap dance)

Quality and quantity of chit chat/10
(0: being a bunch of dudes meditating/leering, 10 being me and some guy talking bout shit we really shouldn’t be talking about. You wanna be with your thoughts? Go catch public transport. This.Is.A.Communal.Thing)

Ability and efficacy of water on the rocks/10 
(0: windows making it very visible  to pour water on the rocks, frequent checks, discouragement from other sauna users 10: see Carlton Baths. water pouring encouraged by all.)

Quality of access to fresh air/10   
(0: no access to outside air 10: lots of grass, sunset visible, ambient noise)

Cool down/1 0  Access to cold showers
(0: showers are timed, temperature controlled; 10: see Peninsula Hot Springs)

 Lightning /10  Lighting inside the sauna
(0: overlit or windowed, lights are not frosted; 10: sauna may or may not be a cave with a campfire in it)

Cost to value/5   Cost/value relation
(0: overpriced 5: cheap and/or value for money)

Accessibility and opening hours /5

(0: hard to get to and closes too early at night 5: easy to get to/worth the journey, open late)

Lil extras/10 
 (i.e something special like a whirl pool, decent cafe, incidental hotties or interesting chaps)

Overall feeling /10 (just cuz subjectivity points)

Hope this helps

sssssssss

Bastu Bennett