The Royal George has worn a lot of hats since the early 1900s. Horse stables, a hotel, a pub, and most recently a local restaurant. The heritage-listed building on the corner of Duke Street has been an East Fremantle fixture for more than a century. This weekend, it becomes something new, a contrast therapy venue built around a 50,000-litre ice pool.
Alchemy Saunas, the Perth-born wellness brand, has spent more than two years on the multi-million-dollar redevelopment, which it describes as its most ambitious project to date. Beneath the heritage structure sits the ice pool alongside a hot magnesium pool, with sauna facilities, a steam room, retail, premium amenities, and communal spaces filling out the two-storey site.
Back to where it started
For co-founder and managing director James Browne, the location is important. Alchemy began in East Fremantle, born from conversations after early morning ocean swims.
“East Fremantle is where the Alchemy story began,” said Browne. “After our morning ocean swims, we used to talk about how incredible it would be to have a sauna by the beach where people could connect and start their day together. What started as a simple idea between friends has become our flagship venue in the community where it all began.”
Browne’s background in high-end construction shaped the build, and the brief was on point: “We wanted to honour the building’s history while giving it a new purpose for the next generation,” he said. “The vision was simple: Roman bathhouse meets Alchemy Saunas.”
From a DIY sauna to nine venues
The company has grown quickly since its origins as a sauna that Browne built from leftover materials. Alchemy now runs nine founder-owned locations with five more in development, and facilitates tens of thousands of bookings each month.
General manager James Jordan puts the growth down to a shift in how Australians treat their downtime, and to what keeps people coming back once the novelty of the cold wears off.
“People come and try Alchemy for the health benefits of the sauna and ice, but they stay for the social community,” said Jordan. “We see someone get into a good routine, and before long, they’ve connected with people, some have gone into business together, others have found people to lean on. There’s something special about sitting in a sauna together, no phones, no distractions. You just end up talking, and it grows from there.”
“It’s part hospitality, part wellness. You feel great after, but you also had a great time,” Jordan said.
Memberships are already sold out
Demand has outpaced supply before the doors have even opened, with memberships for the East Fremantle venue already sold out. For everyone else, Alchemy will continue to offer casual drop-in sessions on a pay-as-you-go basis.
Alchemy Saunas East Fremantle opens at 34 Duke Street, East Fremantle on Saturday, June 27th.
