In Verbier the question comes up every winter evening around 5 pm, when the legs start to feel heavy and the shoulders have kept the Mont-Fort cold: hammam or sauna? Both are in the basement of Le Méridien, a few metres apart, and both feel good. But they do not do the same thing.
The sauna: dry heat, fast effect
In our traditional sauna the air is hot (around 80 °C) and dry, scented with essential oils. Sweating starts quickly, the heart rate rises gently, the muscles let go within minutes. It is the choice for heavy legs and real stiffness: dry heat penetrates deeply and is the perfect preparation for a sports massage.
The right format: two or three rounds of 10 to 15 minutes, with a cool shower and a glass of water in between. No more, especially at altitude, where the body is already slightly dehydrated.
The hammam: moist heat, enveloping effect
The hammam is gentler: 45 to 50 °C, but with humidity close to 100%. You stay longer, you breathe better, the skin softens and cleanses. It is the choice for airways irritated by the dry air on the slopes, for skin tightened by the cold, and for anyone who finds the sauna too intense.
The hammam is also the ideal moment for a body scrub: skin softened by steam sheds dead cells effortlessly, and the oil that follows absorbs twice as well.
Why not both?
That is what most of our guests do. Start with the hammam to warm up gently and open the breathing, then move to the sauna to reach the heat deep down. A cool shower in between, a rest on the bench, and that is when, muscles warm and mind calm, a massage gives its very best. It is exactly the logic of our après-ski offer: an hour of heat, then sixty minutes of massage.
The precautions that matter
- Drink before, during and after: at 1,500 m you dehydrate without noticing.
- Avoid heat right after a heavy meal or alcohol, and entirely in case of fever, recent injury or heart problems.
- Pregnant? Ask your doctor; our therapists will point you towards a prenatal massage rather than heat.
- Step out as soon as you feel light-headed. The aim is to relax, not to endure.
In practice
The sauna and hammam at Izzy Spa are booked like a treatment, on their own or with a massage, so that the space stays quiet. Towels, showers and lockers are provided; just bring swimwear. Everything is booked online, at Izzy Spa, rue de la Poste 10.
