A New Luxury Bath House Arrives in Miami

Wynwood built its reputation on murals and nightlife. This September, it adds a third identity to that list: a bathhouse. Grotto Baths, developed by Nathan Kaplan and co-founder Nick Anselmo, is opening with a concept that has more in common with ancient Rome than with the neighborhood’s usual rooftop bars. The offering centers on thermal bathing rituals and alcohol-free hospitality, all built around a design specifically meant to get people off their phones.

Photo Credit: Grotto Baths

At its core, Grotto is a sequence, not a menu. Guests move through a rhythmic circuit of heat and cooling that runs from a ceremonial sauna and infrared sauna through a steam room, thermal bath, mineral pool, and a cold plunge at the end. The structure is built around cycles of contrast and recovery rather than a single treatment booked in isolation. That circuit sits inside a 7,500-square-foot space, with roughly 5,000 square feet dedicated to the indoor bathing experience itself.

The wellness programming extends beyond the water. Grotto plans to host somatic movement sessions, breathwork classes, and workshops, positioning the space as a recurring destination for regulars rather than a one-time visit.

Grotto’s 2,500-square-foot outdoor lounge is where the “social” in social bathhouse actually plays out. The space houses an alcohol-free bar and café serving adaptogenic beverages, fresh juices, and seasonal bites, alongside a curated retail shop, all designed to encourage guests to linger well past their time in the baths.

Chef Erik Oberholtzer, founder of Tender Greens, leads the culinary direction, building a menu around seasonal ingredients and locally sourced provisions from partners including French Farms and Paradise Farms in Homestead. It’s a deliberate choice to root a wellness concept in actual Florida agriculture rather than importing a generic spa-café menu.

Photo Credit: Grotto Baths

Grotto’s founding team draws from Miami’s existing hospitality and wellness scene rather than starting from scratch. Partner Darryl Gibson leads hospitality operations and cultural programming, bringing experience as the former Director of Culture at The Standard Spa, Miami Beach, and a contributor to the opening of Faena Miami Beach, two properties with their own well-established wellness identities. Gibson has described the concept in blunt terms: “Grotto isn’t meant to be another day spa, but something closer to the thermal baths of ancient Rome. It’s a space where community historically gathered on social, physical, intellectual, and spiritual levels at once.”

The design side pairs creative agency Cohere, founded by Antoinette Marie Johnson, with award-winning Stokes Architecture + Design. Together they built an aesthetic around Brazilian modernism, arches, zigzags, and rhythmic geometric forms, grounded in tactile materials like stone, brick, and travertine. Miami-based artist Emmett Moore contributed site-specific sculptural work throughout the space, including an exterior wall installation, an entry sculpture, and custom benches built from reclaimed construction materials. The team describes these pieces as “future relics” connecting the bathhouse to Miami’s evolving landscape.

Photo Credit: Grotto Baths

Photo Credit: Grotto Baths

Perhaps Grotto’s most pointed design decision is the one that has nothing to do with water temperature. The space is explicitly phone-free, a choice meant to encourage guests to slow down and engage with the space and each other rather than narrate the experience for social media. In a city where most wellness concepts are built at least partly for how they photograph, betting on the opposite is itself a statement.

As founder Nathan Kaplan put it: “Ancient bathhouses were civic spaces where people came together to restore, exchange ideas, and strengthen social bonds. Grotto is our interpretation of that tradition for modern Miami, a place to return to the body, share experiences, and connect in ways that feel natural.”

Photo Credit: Grotto Baths

Grotto’s arrival tracks with a broader shift already underway in the neighborhood. Wynwood built its identity on street art and nightlife, but the district has been steadily adding wellness-oriented concepts as it matures beyond a single-purpose entertainment destination. Grotto’s own framing leans into that tension directly, describing itself as a response to a growing appetite for restorative social experiences in a city long defined by nightlife and high-energy culture. Reporting on the project has also noted that Grotto arrives shortly after the opening of Hürrem, the largest authentic Turkish hammam in the U.S., located in North Miami. That timing suggests Miami’s appetite for communal bathing culture is broader than any single project.