Ice Bath & Sauna in Ubud
A full recovery facility in Ubud, Bali, designed for total physical and mental reset: Finnish sauna, steam room, two ice baths and a saltwater jacuzzi. Free for anyone who's booked a court, open to visitors at 125,000 IDR, towel included.
Hot, cold, repeat
Open to guests aged 15 and up, whether you've played or you're just visiting Ubud, Bali. Expect the benefits real ice bath therapy is known for: better circulation, reduced inflammation, and genuine stress relief.
How to run a session
No booking, no instructor, no set order. This is simply what most players end up doing, and it's a sound place to start if you've never done hot and cold before.
Sauna, 10–15 min
Start in the 90°C Finnish sauna, or the 45°C steam room if dry heat isn't for you. Leave when you're properly warm, not when you're suffering.
Shower, 30 sec
Rinse off between the heat and the cold. This one is required rather than encouraged, and it is the reason the water stays worth getting into.
Cold, 1–2 min
The 8°C plunge on your first go, the 4°C barrel when you want the real thing. Breathe out slowly on the way in rather than gasping.
Rest, 2–3 min
Sit, breathe normally, let your body warm itself back up. This part is doing more than it looks like it is.
Repeat, 2–3 rounds
Finish on the cold side. Then the 39°C jacuzzi, if you'd rather sit and talk about it than go again.
First time? Ten seconds in the cold counts. Nobody is watching the clock, and the 8°C plunge is a far kinder introduction than the barrel. Minimum age 15, swimwear required.
What the ice bath and sauna actually do
Alternating heat and cold has a name, contrast therapy, and a reasonable amount of evidence behind it. Here is the honest version, including the part that is still unsettled.
Play first, then go cold. A Cochrane review of cold-water immersion found it reduces muscle soreness in the days after hard exercise, which is exactly the kind of exercise a close third set turns into. Our ice bath sits at 4°C, and most players last about two minutes.
Heat does the opposite job. The sauna raises circulation and loosens the muscles you've just spent 90 minutes tightening, and a Mayo Clinic Proceedings review links regular sauna use to a long list of cardiovascular benefits on top.
Together they work better than either alone. Alternating hot and cold makes your blood vessels open and close in turn, which helps flush out the by-products of a hard session. A meta-analysis of 13 studies found this contrast therapy reduced soreness after exercise better than passive rest.
The routine most players settle on: 10 to 15 minutes in the sauna, 1 to 2 minutes in the cold, two or three rounds, finish cold. No, it won't fix your backhand.
Ways to use the spa
No package is required, walk in any time and pay the visitor rate. For regulars, two ways to make the spa part of every visit.
Court + spa
The simplest package there is: book any court, and the full recovery facility, sauna, steam room, both ice baths and the jacuzzi, is included at no extra cost. No separate booking or sign-up.
Membership
A Bam Bam Padel membership includes unlimited recovery spa access alongside unlimited play, so regulars never pay the visitor rate. See membership rates.
You can also pair a spa visit with an on-site physiotherapy session, by appointment, for the complete recovery loop in one visit.
Minimum age 15, proper swimwear required, and a rinse in the shower before you get into the cold water. Towel rental 15,000 IDR. A second small towel is free on request, and bringing your own is always welcome.The spa is open 9:00 AM to 21:30 daily. No booking required, whether you've just come off court or you're visiting Bali purely for the spa. Walk in, cool down, recover. Worth the trip from Canggu too, about 60 minutes away and the only full recovery facility in Ubud.
Fair warning from the research: the ideal temperature and duration for cold-water immersion are still an open question. We keep ours at 4°C and let you decide how long you can argue with it.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, for anyone who has booked a court that day. Visitors who have not played are welcome too at 125,000 IDR, which includes a towel. If you're a player and didn't bring your own, towel rental is 15,000 IDR, and a second small towel is free on request.
Swimwear, or a clean dry change of clothes, not the kit you played in. It's a hygiene rule that applies to every guest. Bring swimwear if you plan to use the sauna, steam room, ice bath or jacuzzi, and rinse off in the shower before you get into the cold water. Towels rent for 15,000 IDR. Minimum age 15.
One to two minutes is plenty at our temperatures. Most players last about two minutes in the 4°C ice barrel, and the 8°C cold plunge is easier to hold for longer. Get out when you want to rather than when a timer says so. The research is clear that some cold beats none, and much less clear about the perfect number of seconds.
Before. Heat first, then cold, then a few minutes of rest, and repeat. Rinse off in the shower between the two, which is a house rule here rather than a preference. Two or three rounds is what most players settle on, finishing on the cold side. Going the other way round is not dangerous, it just wastes the part that does the work, which is the swing between the two.
Yes, if you go in gradually. Start with the 8°C cold plunge rather than the 4°C barrel, keep the first one short, and breathe out slowly instead of gasping. Ten seconds counts on your first visit. Get out whenever you want to. Minimum age is 15, and if you are pregnant or have a heart condition, check with a doctor first.
Traditional. It's a Finnish sauna heated by a stove and held at 90°C, so it's dry heat you feel across the whole room rather than the directed warmth of infrared lamps. The steam room next to it runs cooler at 45°C but at full humidity, which is the option to take if dry heat isn't for you.
A 90°C Finnish sauna, a 45°C steam room at full humidity, an 8°C cold plunge, a 4°C ice bath and a 39°C saltwater jacuzzi. You can move between them in any order, which is what most players do after a hard match.
No. Walk in after your session, there is no separate reservation. The spa is open 9:00 AM to 21:30 every day, which is two hours after the courts open and half an hour before they close, so leave yourself time if you are playing an early or a late slot.
Yes, 15. Proper swimwear is required, and the ice bath and cold plunge are best approached gradually if you have never used one.
The evidence points that way for soreness specifically. A Cochrane review of cold-water immersion found it reduced muscle soreness in the days after hard exercise compared with doing nothing, while noting that the best temperature and duration are still unsettled. In practice, most of our players use it because they feel better the next morning.