Sea Scrub Sauna Folkestone officially opened to the public on Saturday 14 March at Kent’s food, drink and leisure destination Folkestone Harbour Arm.
According to research, the UK is on course to become Europe’s largest market for saunas by 2033, and Sea Scrub Sauna’s custom-built offer at Folkestone Harbour Arm is thought to be the UK’s largest beach spa.
Located directly on the shingle beach, the spa overlooks the English Channel and offers a wellness experience based around heat and cold contrast therapy. The site also includes a Japanese Onsen-inspired café.
Two eco-friendly wood-fired saunas form the centre of the facility: the Scandinavian Sauna and the Shepherd’s Hut Sauna.
The Scandinavian Sauna is a purpose-built Aufguss sauna produced by a Scandinavian manufacturer. The U-shaped interior can accommodate up to 16 people and includes a glass frontage facing the sea. A wood-burning stove provides the heat source.
The Shepherd’s Hut Sauna is a smaller wood-fired sauna constructed locally in Kent and positioned close to the seafront.
The spa also includes two plunge pools designed for cold-water immersion. Both pools are temperature-controlled: one is chilled while the other remains at a milder ambient temperature. Additional facilities include a hot tub with jacuzzi jets overlooking the shoreline.
An event space on site may host activities such as Aufguss sessions, yoga classes, private wellness events and seasonal gatherings. The facility also includes changing rooms and showers.
A Japanese-inspired wellness café operates on site, offering food and drinks throughout the day.
Robin Bartlett, co-founder of Sea Scrub Sauna, said: “We’re seeing an exciting shift in the UK from exclusive, high-end spa to more accessible, communal and “wild” sauna experiences, and it’s brilliant to be part of this.
“We can’t wait to welcome new faces and grow a community of sauna enthusiasts in Folkestone – from regular locals to intrepid day trippers and holidaymakers. The views from the sauna are simply breathtaking.”
Paulo Kingston-Correia, general manager at Folkestone Harbour & Seafront Development Company, added: “Working with Sea Scrub Sauna, we have developed our most potent expression yet of our mission to reinvent the English seaside experience – the UK’s largest beach spa has opened at Folkestone Harbour Arm.
“As well as returning to our roots as a sought-after destination for restorative breaks in the Victorian era, wellness experiences are now available to our visitors for the first time.”
The beach spa will be the newest addition to the popular food, drink and leisure destination at the harbour, which marked 10 years in 2025 since it was transformed from a derelict former ferry port by Sir Roger De Haan. It has been continuously developed to accommodate many independent businesses.
Today, Folkestone Harbour Arm plays host to a large outdoor screen with regular free cinema programme and street food vendors in The Goods Yard, 11 restaurants and bars with indoor seating, a social gaming venue, a 12-hole adventure golf course on the beach and a boardwalk linking the Harbour to the Leas Lift and Shoreline Folkestone, the first phase of the seafront development.
