The marketing is much better than the actual experience…read more
I booked the outdoor dry sauna because the photos and marketing made it look like a polished, relaxing rooftop experience. Unfortunately, the reality was very different.
First, prospective visitors should be aware of the immediate surroundings. During my visit, I observed people lingering around the property and what appeared to be drug transactions nearby. I understand that a business can't control everything about its neighborhood, but it directly affected my comfort. I felt uneasy leaving my car parked there, even just for the couple of hours I was there.
Once upstairs, the sauna itself was extremely small. I'm not a large person, and I still found it claustrophobic. More concerning were the visible gaps between the wooden boards. I could literally see daylight through the walls. For an outdoor dry sauna in Oregon, that didn't inspire confidence in the construction or upkeep.
The shower setup added to the frustration. The hot-water rinse had a chain within reach, but the cold-water control was placed so high that I couldn't reach it at all. There was no call button or clear way to reach an attendant from the rooftop either. So if I had a question, needed assistance, or wanted someone to fix the cold-water pull, I would have had to leave the rooftop and go all the way back down to the lobby. I also couldn't find something as basic as a trash can.
The changing and bathroom setup was another surprise. Sauna guests use shared bathroom/changing facilities with guests of the property. I understand that The Society Hotel offers hostel-style accommodations, but as someone who specifically booked the outdoor sauna experience, it wasn't what I expected based on the polished way the experience is marketed.
Then there's the rooftop aspect. I expected that being on the rooftop would mean there would be some kind of view or outlook. Instead, privacy fencing blocks the sightline. You can't really look out--you can basically only look up. That was another disappointment compared with the impression I got from the marketing.
Finally, the towel-return process stood out in a bad way. I was given a towel at check-in, which I used in the sauna and after showering. There was no bin or designated place that I could find for used towels, so I ended up handing my damp, used towel directly to the front-desk employee, who took it with their bare hands. That made me uncomfortable and seemed like a poor system for handling used linens. It also left me wondering how many guests' used towels employees are handling directly throughout the day.
Any one of these things on its own might have been something I could overlook. Taken together--the neighborhood experience, extremely cramped sauna, visible gaps in the sauna walls, inaccessible cold-water control, lack of a way to contact staff, no trash can, shared facilities, blocked rooftop view, and handling of used towels--the entire experience felt haphazard and makeshift rather than relaxing.
The concept has potential, and their marketing team does an excellent job presenting it. Unfortunately, the actual experience did not live up to that presentation.
I left extremely disappointed and would not return for the outdoor dry sauna.