Sauna & hot tub
Two saunas. Two hot tubs. No one to share them with.
Most places have one and make you book it.
There are two cedar barrel saunas here and two hot tubs — one of each at Aubade, one of each at Nocturne. They are not shared between guests, because there are no other guests. Nothing runs on a timetable and nothing needs reserving.
Aubade's pair sit on the east deck, which is the sunrise side. Nocturne's face west across twelve miles of open valley, which is where the sun goes down. If you take both cabins you have all four, and the walk between them is ninety feet of mown grass.
Both saunas are wood-lined barrels, comfortable at six. Both tubs seat eight. The fire pits are a few steps from each, and they seat eight too.
- Saunas
- Two cedar barrel saunas, one at each cabin, six at a time
- Hot tubs
- Two, one at each cabin, eight at a time
- Sharing
- None. There is nobody else on the property
- Booking slots
- None. They're yours for the whole stay
- Aubade's
- East deck — sunrise over the Blue Ridge
- Nocturne's
- West deck — sunset over Massanutten
How an evening goes.
The sauna takes about forty minutes to come up to heat, so somebody lights it before dinner. After the meal the group drifts out in twos and threes. Ten or fifteen minutes in the cedar, then out onto the deck in the cold, then the tub, then the fire pit a few steps beyond it, where the people who skipped the sauna are already sitting. It repeats until someone notices it is one in the morning.
In winter this is the whole point of the place. The valley goes quiet, the tubs steam against a black sky, and Skyline Drive, fifteen minutes up the hill, is empty of everyone but the deer. Most cabins near Shenandoah go dark from November to March. This one was built for those months.
In summer the order reverses. The hot tub is a morning thing, before it gets warm, with the sun coming over the Blue Ridge on Aubade's side. The sauna is a late-night thing, after the river and the fire.
Two cabins, two sets
If you take the whole property there are two saunas and two hot tubs between twenty people, which means nobody queues and nobody is asked to hurry. Retreat leaders use the split deliberately: one side for the people who want to talk, the other for the people who don't. The saunas are wood-lined barrels rather than a tiled room, which holds the heat better and smells the way a sauna should.
Towels for the tubs and saunas are provided. Bring a swimsuit, or don't — there is nobody on the hill to mind.
Questions people ask
Is the sauna private to our cabin?
Yes. Each cabin has its own cedar barrel sauna and its own hot tub on its own deck. Nothing is shared, because there are no other guests on the property.
Are the hot tubs and saunas open in winter?
Yes, year-round. Winter is when they are at their best — the tubs steam, the sauna is the warmest room on the hill, and Skyline Drive is fifteen minutes away for the snow.
How many people fit?
Each sauna is comfortable at six. Each hot tub seats eight. If you take both cabins you have two of each, so a group of twenty is never waiting.
Do we need to book a time slot?
No. There is no timetable and nothing to reserve. They are yours for the whole stay, at whatever hour you like.
Which cabin has the better sauna?
They are the same sauna facing opposite ways. Aubade's deck faces the sunrise over the Blue Ridge; Nocturne's faces the sunset across the valley to Massanutten. Pick by which end of the day you prefer.
Is there a cold plunge?
Not a built one. There is a Virginia winter, the deck, and a shower in every bathroom, which is how most people do it.