Europe's Undiscovered Spas: Part One: The Czech Republic

by Catherine Beattie
Posted in: Europe Hotel & Resort Spas Spa Reviews by Location on April 30, 2007 at 4:05 pm |

Visiting a traditional Czech spa is an unforgettable experience for anyone who likes mixing culture and history with their spa treatments.

ust as the Sleeping Beauty is awakened by the prince in the well-known fairytale, so the Czech Republic s spas await discovery by a new generation of spa aficionados. Located in the heart of Europe, this fascinating and beautiful country is a true spa destination if ever there was one, boasting hundreds of curative springs and dozens of delightful spa towns offering medically prescribed water cures and balneotherapy (therapeutic bathing).

Most renowned are the spas that form western Bohemia s spa triangle, namely Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad), Marianske Lazne (Marienbad) and Frantiskovy Lazne (Franzenbad), visited for centuries by royalty and the upper classes. This golden spa era is reflected in the towns stately architecture and elegant spa hotels, which survived the Czech Republic s communist years and are now refurbished with 21st century comforts. Today, the traditional cure is an inseparable part of Czech cultural heritage and a major tourist draw, with the spa season s open air concerts, sporting events and international festivals attracting new visitors each year.

Although aesthetic standards are improving all the time, it has to be said that most Czech spas are not the pampering palaces we are used to in the West. The majority are clinical and functional rather than luxurious, and few of the therapists speak English. But even traditional European spas are having to change with the times. Until recently, Czech patients at the country s spas had little incentive to complain or demand good service, nor were the spas motivated to update their facilities because the state set the rates and paid the bills. Since 2005, state funding for spa treatments has changed. Many medical conditions that used to qualify for free treatment no longer do so, or require a surchange. Traditional spas are waking up to the fact that to survive, they must be more commercial and attract clientele who are willing to pay the whole cost of their stay.

Nevertheless, when compared with the inflated treatment prices in cities like London and New York, Czech spas are tremendous value for money. You may not find candles, dim lighting or whale music here and choice of beauty or wellness treatments (as non-medical pampering is called) is limited, but the spa waters are warm and therapeutic and the massage is excellent, even if it rarely last longer than 30 minutes! Visiting a traditional Czech spa is an unforgettable experience for anyone who likes mixing culture and history with their spa treatments.

Karlovy Vary (Carlsbad)
www.karlovyvary.cz/lazne

Karlovy Vary is the Czech Republic s largest spa town and is picturesquely situated in a wooded valley surrounded by mountains approximately 100 miles north west of Prague. Elegant belle Epoque mansions, restaurants and coffee shops line both sides of the cascading Tepla River, which flows through the town and is criss-crossed by a series of footbridges.

Karlovy Vary s 12 hot curative springs gush up from a depth of over 7,000 feet and are piped into a sequence of five ornate spa colonnades. The springs are used to treat digestive, circulation and rheumatic disorders and all share the same basic chemical composition, varying only in temperature, trace elements and carbon dioxide content. Strangely, it is the temperature of the individual spring that determines the impact on the digestive system cooler springs act like a laxative while the hottest ones have the opposite effect!

First time visitors are often disappointed to find that the water tastes awful when they sample the springs in the colonnades. Drinking the correct spring water is an important part of the cure, and is prescribed after a detailed medical examination by a doctor, familiar with the different effects. Apparently you soon get used to the water s taste, so imbibing the mandatory five to seven cups a day is not difficult.

Karlovy Vary s many spa hotels and guesthouses have on-site spa facilities staffed by highly qualified doctors and therapists. Traditional cures include prescribed therapeutic treatments such as special diets, balneotherapy, massage, mud wraps, exercise, electrotherapy, inhalation and mineral water lavages, to name but a few. Spa goers are fortunate to have the services of so many eminent doctors (who often speak several languages) to diagnose their problems and advise on health issues.

In Karlovy Vary you can wallow in the curative warm waters and enjoy unusual therapeutic treatments like the pearl air-bath, which boosts the circulation and repairs the body. You soak for 15 minutes in a bath of warm spa water with tiny ticklish bubbles of natural carbon dioxide pumped into it. Afterwards, swathed in a warm sheet, you are left to relax and enjoy the effects of the bath before having a therapeutic massage.

Specialist medical, dental and esthetic operations at competitive rates are also available at the Imperial, Karlovy Vary s most modern hotel spa complex with excellent facilities and a beautiful indoor pool.

Marianske Lazne (Marienbad)
www.marienbad.cz

Sheltered by darkly forested hills, Bohemia s youngest spa town offers a host of natural healing springs, invigorating air and beautiful surroundings. You can discover impressive architecture, manicured parks and forest walks as well as splendid Edwardian spa hotels that in the late 19th century, attracted many illustrious guests, including King Edward VII, who took the cure on at least 10 occasions and established a golf course.

The town has approximately 100 cold-water springs, which are used in the treatment of kidney and urinary diseases, cancer, respiratory problems, metabolism and locomotive disorders. All Marienbad s leading hotels offer a vast range of hydrotherapy treatments that harness the curative properties of the springs and local medicinal resources such as peat and Maria s Gas (a volcanic natural gas). Reasonably priced wellness programs and stress-reduction packages incorporating medical consultations and meals are readily available.

And when in Marienbad, don t missing the singing fountain where music programs are coupled with light shows and do take a peek at one of the town s historic gems: Edward VII s personal spa bath and treatment cabin in the historic five star Spa Hotel Nove Lazne.

Frantiskovy Lazne (Franzensbad)
www.franzensbad.cz

This pretty little spa town is just a few miles from the German border and enjoys a mild climate. It is attractively laid out for easy walking with wide traffic free boulevards and well-maintained parks and gardens. Most of the classically designed spa
buildings ar
e painted in uplifting shades of yellow and white and in summer are the perfect foil to the many window boxes overflowing with bright red geraniums.

Franzenbad s 21 mineral springs are used in the treatment of cardio-vascular illnesses, joint problems, infertility and gynecological disorders. Doctors treat blood vessel, heart and gynecological complaints with traditional methods like mudpacks, balneotherapy and inhalation treatments, as well as the latest specialist medical equipment available anywhere in the world.

Other traditional spas in the Czech Republic include:

Luhacovice -  a picturesque spa town specializing in treatment of respiratory, digestive and muscular-skeletal problems.

Jesenik – the world s first hydropathical institution. Offers treatments for neuropsychiatric illnesses as well as bronchial and circulatory disorders.

Jachymov – the world s first radon spa that offers treatments for muscular-skeletal disorders

Trebon – a spa with curative mud for treatment of arthritis and rheumatism

Darkov – for burns and post-operative complaints

Podebrady – a specialist heart spa

Lipova – the Czech Republic s only skin spa

In addition, the following spas specialize in pediatric treatments: Teplice, Bludov, Sadska, Kynzvart, Kyselka and Teplice nad Becvou.

For current prices and further information on Czech spas visit:
www.spas.cz or www.czechtourism.com

Catherine Beattie is a UK-based health and travel writer/publisher with a lifelong interest in spas. Her credentials include writing and publishing several consumer guides including Healthy Breaks in Britain & Ireland (the UK’s first spa guide) and The Really Useful Guides. Catherine was founding editor of Spa Health & Beauty magazine and contributes to many UK national newspapers and magazines including The Sunday Times, The Express, Here’s Health and Harpers & Queen. She is a member of the British Guild of Travel Writers, Guild of Health Writers and Spa Business Association.

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