The neighborhood Miami knows for murals and late nights is about to become the place to sweat it out. Two bathhouses are opening a few blocks apart in Wynwood this fall: Grotto at 325 NW 28th Street, which says it is on schedule to open at the end of October, and Sensa at 2830 NW 5th Avenue, which says it is opening this fall. Both are selling founding memberships now.

A different kind of night out

Social bathing, a circuit of hot rooms, cold water and rest that friends do together instead of meeting at a bar, has caught on in big cities around the world. Wynwood is getting two takes on the idea at once, and they are close enough to walk between. Grotto calls itself a social bathhouse, built for groups of friends and regulars as much as for solo recovery. Sensa leans bigger and more theatrical, pairing a full thermal circuit with a medspa and a style bar under one roof.

Inside Grotto

Grotto is built around the classic hot and cold loop. The ceremonial sauna runs up to 185 degrees and hosts Aufguss sessions, the European sauna ritual where a sauna master circulates scented steam with a towel. There is also an infrared sauna, a steam room held at 104 to 113 degrees, a cold plunge kept between 40 and 50 degrees, a thermal pool and a saltwater mineral pool.

Phones and photography are not allowed in the thermal areas or locker rooms, which is a big part of the appeal. They are welcome in the Sensory Bar and Café, which pours zero-proof drinks alongside small plates and fresh juices, and on the outdoor deck. Grotto also plans breathwork, sound baths and run club meetups, and visits are by reservation.

Memberships are monthly. The Circuit plan is $225 a month for three visits, and the Ritual plan is $315 a month for five visits. Members who sign up before the doors open skip the enrollment fee and get 20 percent off extra day passes. Plans carry a two-month minimum and then run month to month. Grotto's earliest founding tiers have already sold out.

Inside Sensa

Sensa is aiming for scale. Its thermal circuit counts eight pools and six saunas, a rain room with a starlit ceiling, an ice room, an ice cave and a cold plunge. The waters include a float pool with Dead Sea salinity and a suspended tree, a thermal pool, and a plunge that leads out to an outdoor pool. A session runs 120 minutes, and reservations are required.

Founding bathhouse memberships start at $495 a month, with higher tiers at $795 and $995, and Sensa says founding rates are locked for the first 24 months. Day passes will also be sold. Once open, Sensa plans to run daily from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m., late enough for an after-work circuit.

Which one is for you

The two are shaping up as different nights out. Grotto is the smaller, more intimate option, priced for regulars who want a few visits a month and a quiet, phone-free room to share with friends. Sensa is the big production, with more water, more heat and the storm-and-ice drama of a destination spa, and it adds medical aesthetics and a style bar for people who want to make a day of it. Sensa's 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. schedule also suits early risers and late finishers alike. Both sit in the northern part of Wynwood, close enough that curious bathers will likely end up trying both.

How to get in

Neither bathhouse has announced a firm opening day, so the founding memberships are the way to be first through the door. Grotto says it will email members before the official date and will not charge until about a week before it opens. If you would rather try before you commit, watch both sites for day passes, which both plan to offer. Bring a swimsuit, plan for at least two hours, and leave the phone in the locker. That is the point.