Vienna and Jonas on the floating sauna in the marina. Photo: Supplied.
Shell Cove is about to heat up — literally — with a floating Nordic-style sauna set to open at the marina this month.
Inspired by Norway’s centuries-old sauna culture, the new venture Those Floating Saunas will combine hot steam, cold plunges and marina views in what its founders Jonas and Vienna Noreng describe as a social wellness experience unlike anything else in NSW.
Vienna, originally from New Zealand, and Jonas, from Norway, first met in Sydney before moving to Norway in 2018.
It was there Vienna was introduced to the deeply embedded sauna culture, where she said saunas weren’t just about wellness, but connection.
“Jonas grew up with the sauna culture, but for me it was new,” she said.
“It was something that was really common where we lived, and it was a part of the culture – they had a lot of fun sauna experiences.
“You’d get 14 of us into a sauna – friends, parents, everyone – and it was just such a fun activity to do with your friends or your family.”
Jonas said that about a year before Vienna moved to Norway, the concept of floating saunas grew rapidly in popularity across his country, with more operators popping up.
He said that when they moved back to Sydney in 2022, they realised there was nothing quite like it in NSW.
“We were looking for something like it here and saw there was one in Tasmania, but it was a bit too far to go,” he said, laughing.
The Tasmanian operator has since opened one in Canberra.
Vienna said floating saunas was a concept she had fallen in love with and was now missing.
“We really missed that experience with our friends or the two of us or family,” she said.
“We were just like, well, it doesn’t exist here, maybe we should start one.”
Jonas said that idea first surfaced three years ago, and they’d been actively working on it for the past two years.
“We wanted to start in Sydney, because we were living in Sydney at the time,” he said.
“There were just a lot of challenges … because it’s new, it was hard to get it going.”
That changed when they turned their attention to Shell Cove.
Vienna said she had been visiting friends and family in the Illawarra for 10 years, and while in Sydney the pair would visit on weekends, always wanting to one day move to the area.
She said they met with Shellharbour Marina management, who were enthusiastic about the idea.
Encouraged by that support and the appeal of the harbour, the couple decided to relocate and commit fully to bringing the concept to Shell Cove, with plans to launch sometime this month, depending on approvals.
Jonas is a plumber, while Vienna works in interior design, and together they’ve handled much of the design and build process themselves.
Unlike a traditional land-based sauna, the Shell Cove installation will sit on a pontoon in the marina, combining hot and cold therapy with the novelty of being out on the water.
The pontoon is designed as a small, self-contained retreat, with views of the hotel and escarpment.
In the middle sits the sauna itself; at the front, a lounge area and a netted swimming zone allow guests to cool down in the water. There’s also a shower and a changing room for comfort and privacy.
Inside, the sauna is lined with western red cedar, chosen for its durability and its natural aroma properties, which Vienna said “will smell amazing when you’re in there”.
It will also feature a traditional Finnish-style heater unit with stones and steam, and is expected to reach about 80 °C.
Jonas said saunas were renowned for their health benefits, including stress relief, muscle relaxation, improved recovery after injury or sport, and “you sleep like a baby afterwards”.
However, Vienna said the experience was just as much about connection, describing it as “a fun experience with health benefits”.
“We’re really excited about the social aspect of it,” she said.
“It’s a fun activity for people to do, and something to do in winter time.”
Vienna said to cater for different types of customers, it would offer two 50-minute formats – private sessions for groups of up to eight friends or family at $299, and social sessions where individuals or smaller groups share the space with others, capped at six people, at $45 per person.
Guests will be encouraged to alternate between the heat of the sauna and a cooldown — either in the netted swimming area, under the shower, or using a traditional sauna bucket.
“We’re just excited to bring something new and exciting to the area and to the community,” Vienna said.
Once operational, bookings for Those Floating Saunas can be made online.
