| By Bernard Burt - www.SpaGoer.com, August 2006
Jane Austen would be amazed. Smack in the middle of her beloved
Bath stands a glass cube straight out of Star Trek. Enter a watery world
of well-being at the new Thermae Bath Spa in the city that was Aquae Sulis.
Surrounded by Georgian colonnades, Britain's first thermal spring day
spa offers four levels of hydro-healthy fun and relaxation. For £20.00
(about $30 US) you get a locker, access to steam saunas, showers, and rooftop
swimming pool, for two hours. Scheduled sessions of yoga, Pilates, and
aerobics can be added to your admission fee; Massage, dry flotation, wraps
and facials by Pevonia pre-booked. In a restored 18th century sanctuary,
Watsu debuted. The spa cafe links Roman Bath Museum and new pools.
Tap into Roman roots at a temple to the goddess of wisdom, war, and
healing; ancient offerings to Minerva litter the museum pools. Dating from
the First Century BC, baths built for Caesar's legions at Aquae Sulis are
off-limits due to water contamination. Fashionable during Georgian times,
when Jane Austen visited, Bath retains leafy parks, narrow lanes of shops,
and a lively theater scene. So the National Lottery funded a new
day spa building, tapped natural hot water. But the building leaked.
Opened this month, years behind schedule and over budget, Thermae Bath
Spa is the only place in Britain where hot springs bubble to the surface.
Dutch thermal spa operator Henk Verschuur invested millions of pounds to
train 60 staff members, hire a European spa chef, and complete facilities.
Easily reached by train from London's Paddington Station, Bath is ready
for a new wave of tourism.
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Rooftop pool at the new Thermae Bath Spa
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Complementing the Thermae Bath Spa, MacDonald Hotels' upscale Bath
Spa Hotel added a full-service spa with indoor and outdoor swimming pools.
At the posh Priory, Bath's only member of Relais & Chateaux, an indoor
pool faces exquisite gardens and their Decleor spa. The Bath House at Royal
Crescent Hotel, crown jewel of von Essen hotels, is in an authentic Georgian
crescent where Jane Austen had tea with Mr. Darcey.
Contact:www.thermaebathspa.com
Reservations: + 44 (0)1225 33 1234;
email [email protected]
Hotels:
www.royalcrescent.co.uk
www.thebathpriory.co.uk
www.bathspahotel.com
About the Author: Columnist for Healing Lifestyles
& Spas magazine, Bernard Burt authored "100 Best Spas of the World"
recently published by The Globe Pequot Press; online at www.SpaGoer.com.
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