what actually happens on a couples session

Most couples treatments in Bangkok are a room with two beds in it and a therapist at each. Pleasant, and not really private. You are quiet for an hour because there are other people present, and then you leave.

This is a different shape of thing. You get a suite to yourselves, the door shuts, and there is nobody else in it. No therapist, no attendant, nobody putting their head round the door. You run the hour, at whatever pace suits you.

Most first-timers here arrive as a pair, so this is far and away the most common way people try it.

what is in the room

One door, and behind it: a full-spectrum infrared sauna running at 75 to 80°C, a cold plunge held at 7°C and filtered continuously, a hot rain shower, and a private changing area. Robes and towels are laid out, and the skin and hair care is organic and already there, so there is nothing to bring.

The sauna has bluetooth speakers, so whatever you want playing is up to the two of you. There is coloured lighting you set yourselves: blue if either of you has had a week of it, green for level, red if you want energy. There is hand-rolled Balinese incense and infused water.

It comfortably fits two, with room to lie down rather than perch.

how the hour tends to go

Arriving. Come 10 to 15 minutes early. Our staff meet you in reception and walk you both through how everything works, which takes a few minutes and means nobody is guessing at anything. Then you are shown through and left alone.

The first stretch of heat. Fifteen or twenty minutes in the sauna is where most of the talking happens. There is something about the heat, no phones and no possibility of being interrupted that gets people talking properly rather than in headlines. Several regulars have told us this is the actual reason they come, and the recovery is a bonus.

The plunge. This is the part couples enjoy most and it is rarely dignified. Shower first, then get in slowly and breathe out longer than you breathe in. One of you will almost certainly be braver than the other, and the braver one is not always who either of you expected. Thirty seconds is a real go.

Back and forth. Two rounds on a 60-minute session, three on a 90. There is no requirement to do them together. It is common for one person to sit out the cold entirely while the other does three rounds, and that is a perfectly good session for both.

Finishing. Rinse off in the hot shower, change, and leave at your own pace. You will both keep perspiring gently for a while, so loose clothes are kinder. If you came in the evening, expect to sleep unusually well.

if one of you is not sold on the cold

Very common, and worth saying plainly: nobody has to get in the water.

The sauna on its own is a genuinely good hour. If one of you wants three rounds of 7°C and the other wants to lie in the warm and read, the room accommodates both without anyone having to negotiate or feel got at. There is no instructor and no programme to keep up with.

In our experience the reluctant one usually tries thirty seconds by the second or third visit, entirely on their own schedule. Pressure is the one thing that reliably prevents it.

what it costs for two

This is where it surprises people, because the pricing is per suite rather than per person.

A 60-minute session is THB 1,200, plus THB 400 for your guest, so THB 1,600 for the two of you. Ninety minutes is THB 1,800 plus THB 400, so THB 2,200 for two.

For a pair we would suggest the 90. Couples move more slowly than solo visitors, because you talk, and the extra half hour is the difference between a full three rounds and a slightly rushed two. It works out at THB 1,100 each.

If you end up coming regularly, the packs bring it down a long way: seven sessions for THB 6,800, fifteen for THB 12,000, thirty for THB 20,000, and the credits work the same way for guests. There is also a monthly membership at THB 18,000 for 30 credits in 30 days. Everything is on pricing and packages.

The suite takes more than two if you want it to: up to two extra guests on a 60-minute session and three on a 90, at THB 400 each.

a note on booking

Weekends and evenings are our busiest windows, and the suites are private, which means when they are taken they are genuinely taken. We would recommend booking ahead, particularly for a Saturday or Sunday or for anything you are planning around, an anniversary or a birthday or a visitor in town.

Booking is through the sundaymood app or online. If it is easier to ask a person, we are on WhatsApp at +66 92 499 5888, LINE at @sundaymoodth, or hello@sundaymoodthailand.com.

One thing to know before you book: we hold a strict 6-hour reschedule and cancellation window. It is not us being difficult. The suites are private, so an empty one stays empty.

finding us

We are inside the Sterling Sports & Wellness Centre on Sukhumvit Soi 24, behind Galeri 24, a few minutes from Phrom Phong BTS. If it is your first time, our first visit guide covers the practical details, and your experience walks through the ritual in full.

questions we get asked

ready when you are. book a session, or come and see the space first. we got you.