8 Wellness Travel Destinations You Shouldn’t Miss
People from all over the world have, for centuries, sought refuge in hot springs and cool lakes, and soothed their nerves with the signature rock and roll of lake and ocean waves. With the meteoric rise in wellness travel, which is valued at $3.7 trillion, water therapy has gained popularity, and cities and towns that have heal visitors through water are in the spotlight.
Here are eight places where water takes central stage in the architecture and gorgeous places to stay.
Photo: Courtesy of Thermae Bath Spa1/8Bath, England
Set in the rolling countryside, the city of Bath in Somerset county is known for its hot springs and Georgian architecture, and as the former domicile of the novelist Jane Austen. The thermal springs were supposedly first discovered by Prince Bladud in 863 B.C. after they cured his skin disease, but the town officially became a spa in 60 A.D., when the Romans built dedicated baths, attracting wellness seekers. Thermae Bath Spa, a day spa with mineral-rich waters in the heart of the World Heritage Site, boasts an intimate open-air “Cross Bath” at the same site where Celts revered the goddess Sul, in whose honor the Romans named the town, Aquae Sulis. A multisensory wellness suite with stylized Roman and Georgian steam rooms debuted earlier this year. Day spa rates from $23 per person.
Photo: Courtesy of Omni Bedford Bath Resort2/8Bedford Springs, Pennsylvania
The town boasts eight natural springs on former Native American healing grounds, once venerated for their restorative properties. These springs feed the spa at the Omni Bedford Springs, where guests can enjoy the centuries-old healing practice of “taking the waters” during a Bedford Bath Ritual, which uses water from the restorative springs and also features a steam and cold plunge. Rates from $250.
Photo: Azores Getaways3/8Lagoa de Furnas, Portuguese Azores
This volcanic village on the island of São Miguel in the Portuguese Azores has gone through a few historical vicissitudes, and was once was attacked by pirates. But today it is best known for the largest concentration of thermal waters in Europe, affectionately called Quente das Quenturas. These are best enjoyed at the Furnas Boutique Hotel, designed by the architect Miguel Saraiva. The spa has ten treatment rooms with naturally warmed water charged with iron. Rates from $140.
Photo: Delaware North4/8Saratoga Springs, New York
Located in the foothills of the Adirondacks, Saratoga Springs became America’s first resort whose healing waters became indispensable for Franklin Roosevelt, who built the Roosevelt Mineral Baths at the Saratoga Spa State Park in 1935 with 42 treatment rooms. The town boasts the only naturally effervescent hot spring in the United States, and guests who stay at the Gideon Putnam resort have free access to the spa’s steam room and relaxation lounge. Rates from $290 per night.
Photo: Courtesy of Kayumanis Nanjing Private Villas & Spa5/8Tangshan, China
Located approximately an hour outside Nanjing’s city center by car, Tangshan is home to some of China’s oldest and best hot springs. These are situated on a 950-foot-tall hill that serves as a gigantic natural tub for thermal mineral waters. Traveling ten minutes from the resort area by car, visitors can explore an expansive Ming-culture village featuring grand manors, lantern-lined streets, and historical reenactments. The Balinese-based Kayumanis Nanjing Private Villas & Spa with a four-person tub in the courtyard taps directly into the soothing waters. Rates from $700 per night.
Photo: Courtesy of Hotel Royal6/8Évian-les-Bains, France
Since the discovery of its healing waters in 1790, Evian has attracted European aristocrats afflicted with gout, arthritis, and kidney ailments who flocked to the Alpine town to “take to the waters.” The Evian Mineral Waters Ltd. was established in 1829, and was famously billed as “the water that takes 15 years to travel down the mountain to the source” and popular for being mineral-rich. Stylish digs are not far away: The Belle Époque–style Hotel Royal, which underwent a $99 million renovation in 2015, has greeted personalities from Queen Elizabeth II to Greta Garbo, and recently added a three-day balance program with trainer-supervised workouts, three daily spa treatments, and detox meals. Rates from $360 per night.
Photo: Around Tuscany7/8Bagno Vignoni, Tuscany
Situated in Val d’Orcia, a region of Tuscany with cultivated hills, this village with gullies and therapeutic baths was tapped as a healing spot by the Romans on their travels back and forth to Florence. Pilgrims also stopped here for restorative therapy along the Via Francigena. In lieu of the typical village piazza is a pool, from the bottom of which a number of hot springs bubble up. While you cannot bathe here, there is a natural spring at the Parco dei Mulini that can be enjoyed by all. Hotel Adler Thermae is built on a travertine quarry overlooking the valley, and is fed by the same natural hot springs enjoyed by Etruscans. Rates from $360 per night.
Photo: Courtesy of Hotel della Regina Isabella8/8Ischia, Italy
The island of Ischia off the coast of Naples boasts 103 thermal wellness springs and belongs to a special class of bicarbonate-calcium-magnesium “hyper-thermal” waters, gushing at a temperature of 176 degrees Fahrenheit. Renowned since antiquity for their healing and regenerating properties, the springs earned the moniker Multi-Active Waters.” The 128-room Hotel della Regina Isabella on the site of Greco-Roman ruins is full of retro glamour, and an ideal place to call home. Its spa taps into the healing waters and has 50 treatment rooms. Rates from $400 per night.
