Portland Road's sauna and café is due to open on 16 November, with £8 sessions

The former print shop at 186–188 Portland Road, Hove, is due to open as Ember House^1,2,3 on Monday 16 November. It will have a sauna, cold plunge baths, two studios and a café. The date is provisional while the last of the building work is finished, the owners say.

This is the café and sauna scheme we reported last month as it went to the council’s Planning Committee. Richard Harmer, who applied, is Ember House’s co-founder.

The Sauna Garden has a Finnish-style sauna, two cold plunge baths and outdoor showers. Sessions last 30 minutes, with up to 12 people sharing the sauna. A drop-in costs £8 on weekdays before 4pm and £10 on weekday evenings and at weekends. Bring swimwear and two towels, or hire towels for £2 each.

Inside there is a training studio for coached small-group strength sessions, which take up to eight people, and a movement studio for yoga and Pilates. Classes cost £15 as a drop-in. Recovery memberships start at £49 a month and Movement memberships at £79. Full Membership costs £229 a month and will be capped at 100 people.

The café is open to anyone, with no booking. It sells coffee, smoothies, shakes and food.

“We’ve lived locally for 20 years and love the strong neighbourhood feel around Portland Road and the brilliant mix of independent businesses,” Harmer told the Argus⁴.

The café opens daily from 7am to 7:30pm and the Sauna Garden from 8am to 8pm. Sessions can be booked through the timetable on the Ember House website.