In the ever-expanding world of wellness, one of the newest trends is actually one of the oldest: soaking in, and sometimes drinking, therapeutic waters. In ancient Greece, physicians like Hippocrates prescribed mineral-rich baths to treat everything from skin ailments to insomnia. (One theory is that the word “spa” is an acronym for the Latin phrase “sanus per aqua,” meaning “health through water.”) The practice has been around in Asia since at least the 6th century A.D., when nomadic Buddhists are said to have brought the concept of onsen (inns and bathhouses built around natural geothermal pools) from the Korean peninsula to Japan. Now, various forms of hydrotherapy, including cold baths and steam saunas, are making a comeback, and wellness entrepreneurs are debuting facilities centered around bathing. Here are five places you can soak.
When husband-and-wife hospitality entrepreneurs Sharan Pasricha and Esha Bharti Pasricha were researching their latest project, they came across a recently opened members-only While running Estelle Manor, a club and country retreat in Oxfordshire, England, he discovered Northleigh Roman Villa, including the remains of a bathhouse dating back to the first or second century, just a stone's throw from the 85-acre estate. “We realized we should do a bathhouse, not just a spa, and we wanted to go back to the history of the estate and bring it into the present,” Sharan says. To that end, he opened Eynsham Baths in March in a 3,000-square-foot neoclassical building with stone columns and hand-printed bricks. The centerpiece is a vast tepidarium with five thermal pools, a lounge and 10 treatment rooms. “I'm a big believer that water is the body's natural medicine,” Sharan says. “The benefits of bathing are incredible.”
In the 16th century, Michelangelo, who suffered from kidney stones, traveled from Rome to the Italian village of Fiuggi (now about an hour by train), where the natural mineral waters were thought to relieve the pain of urinary tract disorders. For centuries, popes and aristocrats had visited the town in search of a “cure,” and Michelangelo is said to have described it as “water that breaks stones.” Many visitors still drink that water at Palazzo Fiuggi, a luxury health resort with 102 rooms and suites that opened in 2021 in an Art Deco villa. Guests can walk beneath a local chestnut grove to enjoy chestnut water poured into glasses from the spa's marble fountain. Set within 20 acres of private parkland, the palazzo offers traditional hotel stays and five-night wellness programs, including magnesium-salt pools for daily 30-minute soaks to calm the nerves and boost the immune system.
Jacumba Hot Springs, a remote town in the Sonoran Desert about an hour's drive east of San Diego, California, has been a healing and meeting place for Native Americans for thousands of years. (The word “jacumba” means both “magic spring” and “hot water” in the Kumeyaay Indian language.) In the 1920s and '30s, it also became a popular spot for Hollywood stars, including Marlene Dietrich and Clark Gable. But when San Diego-based interior designer Melissa Stuelkel found the original Jacumba Hot Springs Spa in June 2020, it was already abandoned and up for sale. She and two friends bought the place and renovated it into an eclectic, 20-room establishment with Spanish-style terracotta tiles, Moroccan lanterns, textile art by local artists, a lively restaurant, and three pools fed by mineral-rich springs. The trio, joined by real estate businessman Jeff Osborne and interior designer Corbin Winters, are also working to revitalize the nearby town of 857, restoring the local thermal lake as a public facility and hosting free weekly concerts in the historic former bathhouse. “Jacumba is a surreal, magical little place,” Osborne says. “It's like you've traveled to another world.”
Once a glittering 19th-century spa town so popular that even Empress Sissi of Austria was a frequent visitor, the village of Bad Gastein fell into disuse in the 1980s, leaving many of its luxury Belle Époque hotels empty. But now it's being revived by a new wave of stylish small hotels and a renovation of its historic casino by Grecodeco, the design studio behind London's hotel and private club The Ned. The latest addition is the Badeschloss (aka Bathing Castle), a public spa built in the late 18th century that was renovated by Vienna-based designers. Hard The 102-room hotel was designed by BWM Designers & Architects. The allure of Bad Gastein's thermal springs is that they contain low concentrations of radon, a radioactive element that is dangerous if inhaled but is also used to treat rheumatic diseases when taken in small, supervised amounts. For those interested, the hotel can arrange a session at the nearby wellness centre, Gasteiner Heilstollen, which offers supervised radon baths. Guests seeking low-radon (radon-free) water can make use of the freestanding bathtubs in some suites, as well as the triangular rooftop pool with mountain views.
With tens of thousands of geothermal hot springs scattered across the Japanese archipelago, it's no wonder that the hot springs created using these waters are deeply rooted in the culture. Traditionally, hot spring structures were rustic yet elegant, made from cypress, bamboo, and other materials. Japanese paper The paperback was published in the late 1980s. But for the past decade, Tokyo-based architect Kengo Kuma has been designing luxury modern hotels, with his latest, KAI Yufuin, opening in autumn 2022 on the subtropical southern island of Kyushu. Owned by hospitality group Hoshino Resorts, the property offers 45 rooms, including five standalone villas, a multi-course menu focused on seasonal ingredients, post-bath massages, and a striking hot spring pool made from black-dyed Japanese cypress with views of Mount Yufu in the distance. For onsen novices, a hot spring concierge is on hand to explain the various benefits of the onsen and show you how to make the most of it.