five years ago this category barely existed. now new york has a dozen versions of it, all using similar words to mean fairly different things. we run one of them, so read us with that in mind — but we've tried to write the guide we'd want if we were choosing. including the parts where we're not the answer.
the phrase covers two quite different ideas. some places are about doing wellness near other people — a sauna, a plunge, a recovery room, shared rather than solo. others are about the relationships themselves — the club is the people, and the activity is just the excuse to gather.
both are legitimate. they're just answers to different questions. if you want the best banya in the city, the first kind wins. if you want to leave with someone's number, the second kind is what you're after. (more on what social wellness means.)
best for: guided heat and cold, done as a group. a social bathhouse running sauna and ice bath classes with breathwork and music — structured, communal, alcohol-free. new york and toronto; an intro session is listed at $135. of the bathhouse-style venues, it leans hardest into the group experience rather than the solo soak. how +wellvyl compares to othership →
best for: the facility itself. thermal pools, a banya, hammam, steam and infrared across three new york locations, plus treatments and a restaurant. memberships are credit-based at $145 and $225 a month; day passes start around $39. if what you want is genuinely excellent heat and water in the city, this is a strong answer, and there's no application to get in.
best for: premium recovery, alcohol-free. ice baths, cryotherapy, breathwork and other recovery services designed to be done together rather than alone. it uses the term "social wellness club" for itself and is openly welcoming to the sober curious. credit-based tiers listed at $255, $400 and $750 a month; new york (flatiron and soho), west hollywood and boston. how +wellvyl compares to remedy place →
best for: integrative health under one roof. a new york club combining integrative medicine, spa and recovery, and co-working — closer to a health practice with a beautiful lounge than a place to make real connections. membership is premium monthly with an initiation fee; check their site for current rates, as published figures vary. how +wellvyl compares to the well →
best for: an alcohol-free members club, properly. a small, deliberately intimate club built for people who want a night out without drinking — reported at roughly $3,300 a year plus an initiation fee, with a membership in the low hundreds. if the sober part is the whole point for you, this is the most committed version of it in the city.
best for: a curated social scene, app-first. the one here that isn't a wellness venue — parlor is a social club. it began in soho in 2011 and is now app-centric: an onboarding questionnaire sorts you into "curated crowds," then it runs social, cultural, and professional events at partner venues, with admission by application and vetting. pricing isn't public. of everything on this list it's the closest to what we do — a membership built around meeting people, not a place you visit — the difference is that parlor is built for the scene, and we're built for the well-being. how +wellvyl compares to parlor →
best for: a workout squad that doubles as your social circle. club athletic is a squad-based training club (founded 2020 as the athletic clubs, rebranded in 2026). you join a small, fixed squad for coached strength-and-conditioning twice a week, plus a run club and a group chat; in its own words it's "not a gym — it's a shared social structure." it's in new york, new jersey, and chicago, with more cities announced; you can drop in on a class to try it, but joining a squad is by application and a booked call, and pricing isn't public. on one axis it's close to what we do — belonging through people who show up — but club athletic earns that belonging through the workout, and we make the connection the point, with no training streak required. how +wellvyl compares to club athletic →
best for: actually meeting people. we're the second kind of club — the relationships are the product, not a by-product. curated live experiences designed so people talk, a member app that introduces you around what you're actually looking for (friendship, dating, growth, community), and concierge support when you need it. no application and no committee: you join, and your first 90 days are a guided welcome. memberships are $15, $75 and $300 a month, and we're a public benefit corporation that puts 1% of revenue into nonprofit work.
what we're not: we don't have a sauna. if you want a plunge and a steam room, one of the places above will serve you better than we will — and several of our members use both.
| club | best for | price | how you get in |
|---|---|---|---|
| Othership | guided sauna + ice bath, as a group | intro listed at $135 | book a session |
| Bathhouse | the facility — pools, banya, hammam | $145–$225/mo; day pass from ~$39 | open to anyone |
| Remedy Place | premium recovery, alcohol-free | $255 / $400 / $750 per month | open to anyone |
| The Well | integrative health + spa + co-working | premium monthly + initiation | membership enquiry |
| The Maze | a night out without alcohol | reported ~$3,300/yr + initiation | small, curated |
| Parlor | a curated social scene, app-first | not publicly listed | application + vetting |
| Club Athletic | a workout squad that doubles as your social circle | not publicly listed | application + a booked call |
| +wellvyl | meeting people, on purpose | $15 / $75 / $300 per month | join today, no committee |
prices are as published by each club and change often — check before you commit.
if you're searching for peoplehood, it closed in 2025 and its assets were acquired by weightwatchers. it was one of the most ambitious attempts at this — structured "relationship workouts" from the people who built soulcycle — and it's worth knowing it isn't taking members. the category is young, and not everything in it has held.
a club where wellness is done with other people rather than alone. in practice the term splits in two: venues where you do wellness near others (bathhouses, recovery clubs), and clubs where the relationships themselves are the point. worth knowing which one you're buying.
of the ones here, +wellvyl starts lowest at $15 a month — though it's not a like-for-like comparison, because we don't run a facility. bathhouse day passes start around $39 if you'd rather pay per visit than join anything.
yes — othership and remedy place are alcohol-free by design, and the maze is built specifically as an alcohol-free members club. +wellvyl is sober-ish rather than strictly sober: the drink was never the point either way.
honestly, any of them can — you'll meet people anywhere you show up regularly. the difference is whether the club is designed for it. most of these optimize for the experience and let connection happen by chance. that's the part we decided to design on purpose.
see how +wellvyl membership works · what is social wellness?
JOIN US
Subscribe for updates and 10% off all shop items
