Our Story

Welcome to Good Heat Retreats,

I’m Alisa, founder of Howl at the Moon Sauna Co. and Good Heat Retreats, and your host on these thermal adventures.

Good Heat Retreats was born from my personal obsession with sauna culture, and my deep dive into the broader world of thermal bathing: sauna, steam, hot springs, cold plunges, wild swims and the traditions and rituals that come with them.

I’ve always been that friend who’s ready for anything. An adventurer, an experience seeker, chasing what makes me feel most alive.

When it comes to thermal bathing, I want to soak it all in. I crave the full mind-body experience, where every sense is lit up and fully alive.

I want to take in the essential oils from the snowballs melting on the sauna heater. Feel the strange sensation of goosebumps in the heat of an Aufguss. Plunge into cold, tingle back to life, and let the cycle renew me again and again. I want to learn how to tie the oak and birch branches to make veniks and vihtas. To schmeiss like they did a hundred years ago. To get worked over, opened up, and restored by the magic of heat and cold.

To quench this thermal bathing thirst I embarked on a journey to discover good heat. Good Heat represents those moments of transformation that occurs during contrast, when you discover a new-to-you tradition, when you have incredible, REAL conversations with people, and when you have a full sensory experience that connects you to a place forever.

Good Heat Retreats are an evolution of that journey.

So what is Good Heat?

Whether you’re just peeking your head into the Thermal Bathing rabbit hole or it’s your 100th bathhouse visit, you’re welcome here.

We create immersive, soul-restoring experiences that center on the rituals of heat and cold, presence and contrast. Each retreat is thoughtfully rooted in place. Sometimes it’s wild and natural, sometimes city-based and culture-soaked, but always designed to invite deep restoration, adventure, and connection.

Here’s what to expect:

  • A pace that honors your nervous system. Never, ever over-scheduled

  • A flexible, choose-your-own-adventure flow

  • Access to a variety of thermal bathing experiences. Think saunas, steam rooms, warm pools, cold plunges, wild swims, the list goes on

  • Cultural rituals and community experiences that deepen your sense of Place

  • Delicious meals, with a side of good conversation

  • Time to just be

This isn’t your luxury wellness retreat, with a Lulu Lemon-wearing, green juice drinking Host (though I’m not a green-juice hater). These experiences are real. Sometimes raw. Often beautiful. Always nourishing.

We collaborate with other gifted humans like chefs, facilitators, artists, healers, who help shape each retreat into something unforgettable.

What I hope you walk away with? Not just memories, but a feeling. That you didn’t just visit a place, you truly experienced it.

That you felt it in your bones.

That’s Good Heat.