Kontrast

Hidden underneath the railway arches between Red Bank and Dantzic Street, Kontrast sauna and ice bath cafe isn’t in the nicest part of town but they certainly know how to make the most of a tricky location.

Step inside and you’ll find a charming, cosy cafe, a small events space and shop, and a hot-and-cold wellness area. There you’ve a choice of three saunas (traditional, silent, and infrared) and three ice baths at various degrees of bloody-hell-that’s-cold.

The communal steel ice bath is the least daunting. It was a balmy 11 degrees when we visited, making it slightly less challenging than many ice plunge options. Likewise, the infrared sauna offers a more mellow heat than a traditional one so if you want to ease yourself into contrast therapy gently, this is is a good place to go.

The changing cubicles and showers are quite basic with just a curtain between you and the public area so you might want to arrive with your swimming gear on beneath your clothes. Kontrast doesn’t have the luxury, spa-like vibe you get elsewhere but then you’re not paying spa-level prices. At just £11 for a 45 minute session, it’s the cheapest sauna and ice bath option in central Manchester, as far as we know.

Kontrast is all about creating a community so they offer events such as run clubs and social nights, classes including yoga and pilates, and workshops centred around crafts and wellbeing. It’s a very sociable space – unless you’re in the silent sauna, in which case, stfu.