Sauna Suomi, 3237 St Johns Street, Port Moody, BC (2026)

05/03/2026

After 16 long months of preparation, and more than a few unexpected setbacks, we are finally ready to announce a new date for our opening.
Sauna Suomi is now accepting bookings for June 17 through to the end of August on our website. Availability is open now for Wednesdays through Sundays plus holidays for that time frame.

We want to thank you all for your patience and support, particularly over the last few months when things have been challenging for us. The kind words and enthusiasm you have shown for this sauna have helped us push forward and made us determined to create the best experience we possibly can for you.

Stay tuned for more information around our grand opening, including updates to our website and social media with new photos of the space as the finishing touches are added.
We promise that it was worth the wait!

Nähdään pian

04/21/2026

🌲🌲It’s an exciting day for us! 🌲🌲
The most precious shipment of the Sauna Suomi build has landed; our beautiful ThermoWood from Finland coming via our friends at

The decision about what type of wood we wanted to build our saunas from was not an easy one. The obvious front runner was to use cedar, as the vast majority of saunas in this area of the world choose. And for good reason, it makes for fantastic durable saunas with that aroma that we all love.
We knew we would be happy if we went that route, but we kept circling back to the conversation about authenticity. In Finland they don’t use cedar. It’s spruce, pine, alder or aspen generally, and we did really want to represent that experience here as much as possible.

When we met the guys from BP Wood at the West Coast Sauna Summit and talked about their ThermoWood, we knew right away that was the answer we were looking for.
This product ticked all the boxes for us.
It was grown sustainably in Finland and the thermal modification process doesn’t require the use of chemicals, making it an eco-friendly alternative to pressure-treated timber. It’s an extremely durable product, perfect for a commercial sauna, and frankly, we think it’s just fantastic looking. But the final selling feature was the feel and scent of the wood. There’s something about it that is just so special and different from the cedar saunas.

We can’t wait to show you how it all comes together in our space, and hope you’re just as excited as us to get in and try it for yourself!

03/22/2026

We’re finally in the fun part now of the sauna build.
🌲🌲🌲
Here’s a little peek at some of the beautiful colours and details we’ve chosen for the space. Our hope is that we create an atmosphere that feels both cozy and comfortable, but with a nod to that signature nordic minimal brutalist design.

03/08/2026

Just another day of random sauna prep as we enter the final phase of preparing to open our doors! 🍃

Last week received a box of pretty tightly packed Canadian Oak vihta that i needed to assess for quality. Today i soaked two of them to check them out and the look and smell absolutely wonderful. I can’t wait to try these out in the sauna.

For those folks unfamiliar with vihta as it’s known in Finland, or venik in Russia, it’s also known as just a “sauna whisk”.
Usually made of young birch or oak branches, it can also be made of herbs or other trees as well. They are dried and soaked to revive them and can be used a few times if they are properly cared for.

When you’re in the sauna, they are used to gently pat or brush across the skin. This motion stimulates blood circulation, opens pores and exfoliates the skin. Depending on the type and age of the vihta, it may also deposit sap (known as tar in Finland) and natural oils on to the skin. Different trees will offer different benefits to the user, with some like eucalyptus known for anti inflammatory properties.
As well, the experience produces a wonderful forest-like aroma in the sauna, especially when combined with löyly.

At the recent West Coast Sauna Summit, we were both fortunate enough to have a private 30 minute whisking session with Kaisu who had the knowledge passed down through her family from generations of healers. Pardon the glare on the video, it’s hard to film from through a sauna window, but it gives you a little insight into what the sessions include.
But this is not the only way to use vihta in your sauna practice. You can absolutely utilize it on your own, or with a friend or partner and just follow your intuition and do what feels good.

What do you think? Would you try, or have you tried a sauna whisk?

01/28/2026

While we’ve been delayed a bit with the construction, we have been using the time to delve deeper into sauna and bathing culture.
Part of that was attending the fabulous West Coast Sauna Summit earlier this month, but there has also been a lot of reading and research on sauna.

We have stated to share some of what we’ve learned on our blog, and plan to continue to use that space as a place to spark conversation and curiosity.
We’d love if you’d check it out, and are happy to receive feedback and comments on it. Hopefully you find it to be interesting and informative, but there is a wide world of folks more expert than ourselves and we invite you to seek out their wisdom too.

Link is in our profile, or find it at saunasuomi.ca/blog

01/15/2026

We are taking the weekend off and are heading to the 2nd annual West Coast Sauna Summit tomorrow!

Last year’s event was an amazing weekend of learning, sharing and quality sauna time. We’ve been looking forward to returning to beautiful Loon Lake all year.

When we attended last year, we had just recently secured our space after almost a year of planning and searching, and we were certain we would be up and running within the next 6 months or so. But life throws you some curveballs, and we have learned a LOT over the past year about the logistics and challenges of building and opening a bricks & mortar business.

Honestly, it never occurred to us that we would NOT yet be fully open for business when the 2026 event came around, but here we are.
Close, but still a bit of distance to cover.

Still, we are ready to attend with our minds, ears and hearts open to our sauna community and hope that maybe we can share some of our challenges with others to help them on their journey.

We are firm believers that a rising tide lifts all boats, and sharing wisdom builds community.
We will see you in the sauna!
🩵saunasummit

12/17/2025

Important update for our Sauna Suomi fam!

Unfortunately, we’ve been informed last minute of some unexpected circumstances in completing our construction on schedule.

Because of this, we’ve made the difficult decision to temporarily suspend our advance reservations until we have more clarity on the progress of finishing our build from our contractors.

We promise that we are close to the finish line, but still have a few remaining hurdles to clear. We genuinely appreciate your support and encouragement as we work through these final steps.

Sauna Suomi Gift Cards are still available online if you are looking for a wonderful Christmas present for someone (or yourself. You deserve it!).

As soon as we have updates, we’ll share them with you via email and on our Instagram. Please reach out if you have any questions.

Until then, we wish you all a wonderful holiday season and can’t wait to reconnect with you in the new year!

Nähdään pian
- Tyler & Natalie, Sauna Suomi 🩵

12/13/2025

NORTHERN LIGHTS OVER THE COTTAGE
Artist: TIINA JATKOLA
Originally published: 2025

About the artwork:
Winner, My Finland Poster 2025

“In my poster I wanted to capture the northern lights above a small cottage in the middle of the woods. Northern lights are hard to see in the city, but in the quiet countryside you can enjoy their mesmerising dance. Even the rabbits wonder at them while they eat the frozen plants.”

This print is another piece of Finnish art that we selected to feature in Sauna Suomi. We loved that the Northern Lights are a phenomenon that can be seen in both Finland and here in British Columbia.
It’s truly nature showing off, and we are here for it. 🩵

11/25/2025

Finnish Word of the day: Sisu 🇫🇮

We thought this was a great word to share because it’s just so Finnish, and really captures a certain spirit of the people. Below are some exerts from Wikipedia, and we think it does a fairly effective job of conveying what sisu means as a word and an identity of a nation… but at the end of the day, sisu remains largely undefinable as a singular thing.

Sisu is a Finnish word variously translated as stoic determination, tenacity of purpose, grit, bravery, resilience, and hardiness. It is held by Finns to express their national character.

Sisu is a term which dates back hundreds of years. It is described as being integral to understanding Finnish culture. It is a term for going beyond one’s mental or physical capacity, and is a central part of the country’s culture and collective discourse.

Sisu is a psychological potential that enables the individual to tap into strength beyond their pre-conceived resources. Wielding sisu in the face of adversity helps individuals push through what first seemed like the boundaries of their mental or physical capacities. Sisu provides the final empowering push when we would otherwise hesitate to act. Sisu can be conceptualized as taking action against the odds.

Sisu has been described as “the word that explains Finland”, and the Finns’ “favorite word”—“the most wonderful of all their words.”

11/21/2025

Advance reservations for January 14 through to February 28 are now open! 🎉🍾

We’re excited to let you all know that we are now accepting reservations for the new year on our website at saunasuomi.ca

Members of our email list received the heads up to book yesterday, and now we’re ready to share the news with the world.

Our pricing is a flat rate, and your booking is good for you (and 1 guest, if you’d like) and is all inclusive. Simply show up ready to relax.
Feel free to reach out if you have any questions, or check out our FAQ on our site.
We look forward to seeing you! 🩵

11/10/2025

We realize that many people may not be familiar with the origins of the name we chose; Sauna Suomi.
If you’re a hockey fan though, you’ve likely seen the word emblazoned across the Team Finland Hockey Jerseys.

When we sat down to work on our initial business idea, one of the key things we knew we wanted to offer was an authentic feeling Finnish sauna experience.
To us, this meant we wanted to focus on the fine details of the sauna to ensure the heat, the airflow, the aesthetics and the löyly were the best they could be.

It was important to us to pay homage to the centuries old traditions of sauna in Finland, in a modern way with a west coast touch. And it seemed fitting to give a nod to that with our name.

While only one of us has Finnish heritage, we both grew up with sauna in our homes and understand the role it can play in everyday wellness. Our dream is that Sauna Suomi feels like a little vacation to Finland when you visit us. 🇫🇮 ✈️

10/21/2025

Sauna Suomi Construction update:
We are still under construction.🦺

There was a lot of work to be done to take an empty cement room and transform it into our space. We haven’t had any major setbacks, which we are grateful for, but as anyone who has undertaken a major renovation project knows, the timeline reality doesn’t always match the optimistic starting point.

Every piece of this project is being custom built, and we want to make sure it’s perfect for when we open our doors to you all.

We are on track to be open in late 2025, and in full swing for the start of 2026.
In the meantime, please sign up for our email list on our website (link in bio) to be the first to hear the details of our official opening date, and for early booking access for reservations. 📧

Sauna Suomi

05/03/2026

04/21/2026

03/22/2026

03/08/2026

01/28/2026

01/15/2026

12/17/2025

12/13/2025

11/25/2025

11/21/2025

11/10/2025

10/21/2025

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