Journal

Roman emperors commissioned monumental bathhouses. Finnish families gathered in wooden saunas. Japanese neighborhoods met at the sento. Ottoman cities built hammams beneath domed ceilings. Different landscapes produced different traditions, yet each reflec...

From Roman thermae to Japanese onsen, explore how cultures around the world developed communal bathing traditions rooted in gathering, restoration, and everyday life.

Before Grotto was a business, it was a cold plunge in Nathan Kaplan's backyard. He'd started plunging at the gym after a lifestyle change and liked it enough that he bought one for home. Then he started inviting friends over. The cold had an effect on the ...

Miami has no shortage of places to work on yourself. After all, we ranked as the second most wellness-obsessed city in the U.S. However, after undergoing a lifestyle change of his own, Grotto founder Nathan Kaplan sensed that there was a social aspect miss...

Aufguss might translate simply as “infusion,” but the experience is anything but. Picture a cedar sauna, snowballs laced with essential oils hissing as they hit the hot stones, and an attendant whipping a towel to push waves of heat through the room.