Secret Sauna: The name is intriguing right off the bat. So what is it? It’s literally a sauna parked on the patio behind Montavilla’s Replicant Wine Bar (shared by Mudd Works Cafe in the mornings). It offers a place to relax, enjoy some drinks and food, sit around the fire pit, and have a sauna. And as of today, it is officially open.

I met with Sarah Mayo, the owner of the Secret Sauna, to learn more about the sauna and its connection to the businesses that are hosting it.

Secret Sauna Overview

I’ll also add that this interview was a first for Bridgetown Bites: The majority of it took place in the sauna itself, wood fire happily burning in its stove. And yes, it was very relaxing.

It’s a barrel-style sauna structure—but not perfectly round like most barrel saunas are. Think of it as a square with rounded corners. That means straighter sides, giving more space inside the sauna, adding to the comfort level. It is made of cedar wood, and produced by AC Forest Saunas in BC, Canada.

The sauna itself is warmed by a wood fire rather than by infrared technology. There is a bucket with water that you can use to ladle over the hot igneous rocks (the best kind of rocks for a sauna) to create steam.

There is room for about a dozen people inside the sauna (more, if people want to be closer to each other). There will be an area for cold showers (an easier setup than a cold plunge, while still providing contrast therapy), and there is also an outbuilding that holds four dressing rooms, a stack of rental towels and sandals, and a check-in desk.

Connection to Replicant and Mudd Works

I was curious to know what Sarah’s connection was to the Replicant/Mudd Works space. She’s a neighbor and a fan.

“So I live in Montavilla and this is my favorite spot to just come and have a glass of wine,” she explained. “And I love the patio—I was here all summer last year. And there’s these big trees behind that I think are so unique for this space. We’re behind the building, have a little bit of privacy, and then these trees are just so great.”

Sara’s Previous Work

Before she got into the sauna business, she worked in investor relations for commercial real estate investment companies. “I was doing that full-time in-house for a few different companies up until 2023,” she explained. “At that time, it was venture capital instead of commercial real estate, but still in the investor relations field.”

She also worked with startups and did consulting for smaller companies in this same field for a couple years. But at one point, something changed.

“My values had been shifting a lot,” she explained. “And once I was not working on [investor] projects anymore and thinking more about what I was actually doing, I realized that it was making rich people richer.” It’s safe to say that she craved doing something that supported community rather than participating in something she considered to be destructive.

The Start of the Secret Sauna

So how did the Secret Sauna come to be? It began with COVID. “So this whole thing started in October,” Sarah said. “I had COVID twice back to back, and I was sitting at home for eight weeks, basically losing my mind. I knitted a hat, and then I’m like, ‘What do I do now?’”

The Sauna Business, and a Partnership

“I was looking for something new to do anyway, and I kind of always had this idea to do a sauna business—but I hadn’t seriously explored it,” said Sarah. While she was stuck at home with COVID she started building a financial model for the potential business, along with creating a business plan. “And then I thought, ‘This could actually work!’” she exclaimed.

As soon as she got a negative COVID test, she messaged the Instagram account for Replicant Wine Bar, which was her number one choice of location for the sauna.

“And so I messaged the Instagram account,” explained Sarah. “Mila [short for Gianpiero Milani, the owner of Replicant—and yes, it’s a “Blade Runner” reference] answered within five minutes. We didn’t know each other—he had probably seen me here, but we hadn’t met each other. I showed the idea to him and he said ‘That sounds really cool. And can you come in to talk?’” She came in the next day, and the rest is history.

She appreciates how collaborative he is and how he caught on to her vision so easily. “I didn’t even have to explain a whole lot about the idea,” she said. “He could just like see it, and was getting excited about it, too. He thought this was a great way to use the space.”

When Marco at Mudd Works heard about, he, too, was excited about it and wanted to support the project.

What Type of Sauna Is the Secret Sauna?

I wondered if she was going to encourage any specific type of sauna culture—the two that came to mind immediately were Finnish and Russian. She replied, “It’s a PNW-type of sauna, but I think that I’m kind of trying to emulate the Finnish style. I don’t have Finnish roots, so I’m not trying to like culturally appropriate it or anything. But I think that’s the style that a lot of people are familiar with.”

The Secret Sauna Is Social

Sarah says she wants to create a sauna atmosphere that is social, a way for guests to connect. “The vibe that I really want to go for is making this more of a social experience,” she explained. “Not like at other saunas that I’ve been to, where you’re kind of sitting silently, everyone’s quiet, and you’re almost afraid to make noise.”

She continued, “The sauna experiences that I’ve liked the most are where strangers are talking to each other and maybe even making friends and plans for later. And that was part of the vision—if I could be in an environment that is already somewhat social (like a bar and bonus coffee shop), then that was what I was going for when I was envisioning this.”

However, she may consider creating some designated quiet hours, “so people can self-direct into the type of experience they want,” she said.

Managing Your Secret Sauna Session: Inside and Outside

During a sauna session, it usually involves breaks, which could be a cold plunge or simply sitting outside to cool down. Sarah has a number of chairs nearby to sit in, and there is a fire pit to sit around where you can also be social.

At this point in your sauna experience, you can enjoy a beverage—whether that’s a drink from Replicant or coffee from Mudd Works, or drinks (herbal tea, lemon water, electrolyte drink) that Sarah will provide.

They will also install some showers just to the south of the sauna structure. They want them to be heated as well as having cold water for contrast therapy.

So why a cold shower and not a cold plunge? It’s a practical choice. “Cold plunges in Portland are kind of hard to do ,” Sarah explained. “They’re classified as pools, so then you’re required to have all of the same level of filtration and circulation that a pool has.” This was more involved than her resources could handle. So instead of a cold plunge, you can do a cold shower if you want to. I’ve had this experience at other saunas, and it has been satisfying.

How To Dress in the Secret Sauna

A visit to the sauna during public hours will require you to be clothed (like in a swimsuit or athletic clothes—but not street clothes) but any private events can be clothing-optional. You’ll just need to wrap yourself in a towel when you step outside from the sauna. Next door to Replicant/Mudd Works/Secret Sauna is an auto shop, and there are private homes nearby.

Additionally, this is a shared space among folks who are eating and drinking things from Replicant and Mudd Works who are not planning to sauna. There is no hard separation between the patio seating area for the two businesses and the sauna side, apart from the big sauna structure itself. That means anyone can stop by over near the sauna and use that seating. “We’re not keeping anything strictly segregated at all,” said Sarah.

Drinking and Eating Inside the Sauna

At this point here will be no food or drinks inside the sauna for a variety of reasons—of course there’s the potential mess from liquids and comestibles, as well as the risky warming of some food; any kind of glass itself could get quite hot, too.

As a solution to help guests keep track of their drinks from the wine bar or cafe, is that there will be set of racks with cubbies for storage.

Collabs With Replicant and Mudd Works

I was curious to see if there were any future collaborations with Replicant and/or Mudd Works on drinks or food. “I would love to like collab on that with them,” said Sarah. “My focus has just been on getting open.” This is fair.

She’d like to talk with them more about ideas they have regarding collaborations. One idea she had was to create promotions—discounts on drinks. or a combo of a sauna sesson and a drink. She has not nailed down any specifics on that quite yet.

Winter vs. Summer

I was curious to learn if the Secret Sauna will be available all year, or just during the winter/colder seasons. Summers can be hot so perhaps a sauna is less appealing then. “My plan initially was that I’d be closed during the summer,” said Sarah. “And Mila wants the backyard space fully back during the summer, so I am committed to moving this on out during the summer.”

In case it wasn’t obvious, the sauna is on wheels.

“And this is a trial year, so we’re going to see how this goes and then see what people want. If I’m still super busy in May, then maybe I would look for another place to be during the summer. I’m just not sure exactly yet.”

Pricing

A social session is $40 for a 75 minute session and $270 for a private session. She is also considering a multi punch pass where it’s like cheaper per visit if you buy multiple sessions ahead of time. She is also considering memberships, but that idea needs to be hashed out a bit first.  

Sauna Hours

Right now, she’s planning on having the sauna available to reserve starting at noon with the final slot at 7:40pm. She may adjust that in the future—for instance, she’d like to be open in the mornings, but it requires having enough staff.

They had a little bit of a soft opening last week, and now the places is open for booking!

Also note that the sauna is for those age 18 and older only.

What Sets the Secret Sauna Apart

First, it’s heated via wood-fire rather than infrared. Sarah has strong feelings about infrared saunas. She points out that the two heating elements work in different ways, and she prefers the traditional heat source—wood fire warms your body in a way that is easy and familiar.

Infrared heat has been around a fraction of the time (decades) compared to traditional wood fire (thousands of years). “I don’t think that they have the amount of longitudinal research [for infrared saunas] that exists for traditional saunas,” she said.

That said, she acknowledges that people will gravitate towards the type of experience that they want to have—whether it’s the way a sauna is heated, or the level of social interaction in a particular sauna. “I think the biggest differentiator here is this social vibe that we’re trying to cultivate, and how you can have like a beer or a glass of wine.” Also note there are some food options (pastries, pizza) to enjoy along with beverages in the back by the sauna.

She wants the accoutrements to a Secret Sauna experience to be solid, as well. That’s the hot herbal tea, lemon water, and electrolyte drink; secure changing rooms; a dry floor, secure hooks on the wall, and a shelf or cubby for your things. “We’ve thought through all of those little details,” she added.

This also includes the availability of towels and shoes for rent, swimsuits for sale, in case you find yourself at Replicant/Mudd Works and realize there is a sauna in the back, but you didn’t prepare yourself ahead of time.

Additional Details

Right now she is open five days a week, Wednesday through Sunday. The sauna’s day off will include doing any cleaning that  needs to be done aside from what is done throughout the week, and a chance for Sarah to catch up on admin work and other projects for the sauna, too. And, to take a break.

You can book your sauna session on the Secret Sauna website.

This is a very interesting mix of sauna relaxation, access to food and drink, and an unconventional social opportunity, all in one place in the north section of the Montavilla neighborhood. Replicant/Mudd Works is cozy, the sauna is cozy, and it’s a nice place to hang out in.

Wishing Sarah all the best with the Secret Sauna!

Secret Sauna [opened January 29, 2026]
Behind Replicant Wine Bar and Mudd Works Cafe
7033 NE Glisan Street, Portland
Secret Sauna website | Instagram

This article originally published in Bridgetown Bites on January 29th, 2026. Montavilla News republished it with permission of the editor and author. All copyrights remain with the original publisher.

Meg Cotner lives in NE Portland and is the editor and publisher of the independent Portland food news website Bridgetown Bites. She is also an active editor and writer, and the author of “Food Lovers’ Guide to Queens” (2023, Globe Pequot Press)