2 new health and wellness concepts are opening in Media

Media is getting two new health and wellness studios in the coming months.

HiLo House and SweatHouz are opening a few doors apart at 1127 W. Baltimore Pike in the ground-floor retail space of new luxury apartment building Eleven33. They’re part of the ongoing development at the Promenade at Granite Run, and will be joined by food hall Wonder, which is slated to open there this November.

This marks the second location for Delaware-based HiLo House and its first in Pennsylvania, and it will be the first Delaware County location for franchise SweatHouz. The chain has several locations in the area, including in Bryn Mawr, Dresher, and Wilmington, with another planned for Northern Liberties.

SweatHouz, which is targeting a late November opening for its 2,100-square-foot studio, specializes in contrast therapy, where individuals are exposed to hot temperatures through an infrared sauna before undergoing a cold plunge, all within private suites.

“What happens is the vasoconstriction from the cold and the vasodilation from the heat allows the blood to kind of redistribute throughout the body, which is great for things like inflammation, joint health, [and] heart health,” said Carrie O’Donnell Ratz, who owns the Wilmington and Media locations with her husband, Peter Ratz.

After a career as a full-time certified public accountant, Carrie O’Donnell Ratz has taken on the SweatHouz business full-time, inspired by her and her husband’s own experiences cold plunging at home.

“It’s like the rush of coffee, but without the caffeine,” O’Donnell Ratz said, adding that “you have so much more energy [and] feel so much more awakened.”

They opened their first SweatHouz in North Wilmington in March before looking to expand to Media, which is near O’Donnell Ratz’s hometown of Swarthmore.

The new space will have 10 private suites, most of which can accommodate two people, allowing individuals to come with a friend or partner. It will also have a suite for up to four people.

Each suite has an infrared sauna, a Vitamin C shower, a cold plunge, and entertainment. Sessions last an hour, and users can alternate therapies or spend up to 45 minutes in the sauna followed by a three- to five-minute cold plunge.

Both are intended to aid in muscle recovery, with the sauna also helping detox the body and aid in pain management, while the cold plunge can also help reduce inflammation, improve circulation, and sharpen focus, among other benefits. Recommended weekly time caps are up to three to four 45-minute sessions in the sauna and 11 minutes for the cold plunge.

SweatHouz will also have a beauty bar where users can freshen up, as well as a red light therapy room, something not offered at the Wilmington location. The single-person room will have a bed with 20-minute sessions geared toward each individual’s needs. Red light therapy is believed to help with a number of skin conditions.

SweatHouz offers monthly memberships, session packs, and drop-in rates, which is $40 for the first session and $80 thereafter.

So far, SweatHouz’s Wilmington location has attracted a broad demographic, including “weekend warriors,” athletes, those undergoing physical recovery, people looking to boost overall wellness, as well as those seeking mental health benefits, O’Donnell Ratz said, expecting it to be similar in Media.

Participants must be at least 14, and teens must be accompanied by an adult.

When it opens in Media, O’Donnell Ratz expects SweatHouz to operate from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.

HiLo House will join SweatHouz at Eleven33, and is targeting a January or February opening for its roughly 2,800-square-foot studio.

HiLo, which debuted in 2020 in downtown Wilmington, specializes in Lagree Megaformer and VersaClimber classes. Megaformer is a spring-loaded machine that uses resistance and counter-resistance, while VersaClimber is a vertical cardio climber. Classes include 30- and 60-minute full-body workouts plus ones that incorporate meditation and stretching. Both are high intensity, but low impact.

“For us, [opening in Media is] about continuing and expanding on this amazing community that exists here in Wilmington,” said Ann Phillips, the co-owner of HiLo House. “It’s been really amazing to see friendships form or collaborations come about … and I’m really excited to start building that in Media.”

Phillips and her husband, Bill Phillips, bought HiLo House last July after she began working out at the Wilmington location and then became an instructor. Prior to HiLo, Phillips was a middle school principal at Ursuline Academy in Delaware and before that, a health and physical education teacher. Her husband is the assistant coach for the men’s basketball team at the University of Delaware.

They began seeking locations to expand HiLo and “really fell in love with the Promenade when we found it,” Phillips said, noting its proximity to area colleges and Riddle Hospital, which has a large number of employees, made it an ideal spot.

The Media location will have two studios set up: the Megaformer studio, which will accommodate 12 people and have windows, and the VersaClimber room, which will have space for 15, and will be darker with more of a club vibe. There will also be a boutique and lockers.

Both classes attract a broad range of ages, from teenagers to those in their 70s, Phillips said. HiLo will offer classes, private group, and one-on-one sessions.

Prices are still being finalized, but the Wilmington location offers monthly memberships ranging from $189 to $219, as well as class packs.