Take the (hot or cold) plunge at Soak Sage

One thing is for sure: you will leave smelling of sage and feeling relaxed.

Described as “Seattle’s only social wellness experience,” Soak & Sage is Renton’s new soaking spa, inspired by owner Leslie Goeres’ Iron Man training.

“I train a lot and do personal training, road bike, swimming, everything, and I was always looking for recovery [techniques],” said Goeres. “For me, the contrast therapy from the hot and the cold [water] really helps my joints and helps my body.”

Along with contrast temperature water therapy, Goeres would go to a steam room and spa in Seattle once or twice a week and was struck by the idea, saying to her fiancé, “Gosh, it can’t be too hard to build this out.”

The spa officially opened in September and immediately set itself apart from the other spas found in the Puget Sound region. While other spas and fitness clubs may have heated tubs or cold plunges, dry saunas or steam rooms, Soak & Sage has all of these and more.

For all access entry to the bath house, the price is $60 per person for two hours, unless a guest arrives during their birthday week. At Soak & Sage, guests are encouraged to bring their own guests and to make it a time for relaxation and socialization.

“If you’re booking a spa day, you may think like, ‘Oh I’m gonna take my book and read silently.’ A lot of spas prohibit you from talking, it’s like hush-hush,” said Goeres. “We’re like a social bath house. We want people to talk and have a conversation, sit in the sauna and meet the people next to you.”

The bathhouse feature of the spa offers a 104 degree Fahrenheit Japanese-inspired hot soak, the 40 degree Fahrenheit Scandanavian-inspired cold plunge bath, a dry sauna, a steam room and an adobe clay sauna called the Temazcal. Goeres found inspiration for the Temazcal during her trips to Mexico and South America, as they originate in Mesoamerica.

In the Soak & Sage Temazcal, guests are accomodated with seats, sage (the entire spa is filled with different sage bundles and incense sticks that are always lit) and in-house aromatherapy “inhalers,” which are jars filled with herbs and natural oils like peppermint.

“There’s a lot of ceremonies that go around them such as a meditative one that involves singing,” she said. “They bring rocks in and you say little prayers and meditations. And it’s just a really spiritual experience.”

One interesting amenity at Soak & Sage are the snowballs — actual balls of snow that are filled with essential oils that guests are encouraged to take with them into the saunas.

Other bath house amenities include towels, slippers, robes, shampoo, conditioner, soap and hydration on tap, including sparkling water. Guests must wear bathing suits and rinse off in the locker rooms before entering the water. There are bathing suits available for purchase and the spa even offers a bathing suit drying machine.

Along with the bath house experience, Soak & Sage offers spa services like massages, ritual baths, facials, dermaplaning, body scrubs, body wraps, even cosmetic services like botox, fillers and weight loss medication. “We have massage therapists, we have estheticians, we have nurses and we have a nurse practitioner,” said Goeres.

Goeres and her family live in Renton and after a wine outing with her fiance at the Hyatt, she came across an empty space overlooking Gene Coulon Park, and thought it would be the perfect spot for combining socialization and wellness.

“A lot of what you do during the week with your friends and colleagues is you go out to dinner and you have a glass of wine and it’s not the best for your health, to be honest. I wanted something that didn’t revolve around food or alcohol that you could do with friends,” said Goeres, who mentioned that this is facilitated by the spa staying open until 12:30 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. “Everyone who’s been through the space, they’re just like, ‘Wow, this is crazy. There’s nothing like this in Washington state.’”

Soak & Sage is located at 1135 Lake Washington Boulevard North, Suite 60, in Renton. For more information on booking appointments or signing up for a membership, call 425-657-3659 or visit soakandsagespa.com.