Over the weekend we were invited to come and check out the new features in one of the best spa hotels in the Bansko area – Thermal Spa Hotel “Roman Bath”. As you can guess, we were pretty excited to go relax and chill out.
The Spa complex is located in the village of Banya, which is less than 10km from Bansko and about 160km from Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria. If you are coming from Bansko, it is right at the entrance of the village, so the view of the mountains isn’t blocked by buildings and it’s really easy to find. The children’s pool has an exceptionally good view of the Pirin Mountains.
Thermal Spa Hotel “Roman Bath”
The Hotel itself is relatively big and offers single and double rooms, studios and various apartments. But that’s probably not where you are going to be spending your time while there. The SPA itself is located on the bottom floor and has its own reception. One of the things that I liked was how well everything was laid out. You get to the spa, the next room is a big changing room with showers and lockers and then you enter the actual SPA section. This may sound obvious, but you’d be surprised at how many thermal bath complexes have you walking around in a swimsuit looking for the showers. If you’re staying in the hotel, this probably won’t affect you as you can just go downstairs in a bathrobe. But for outside guests, especially those with children, this is a nice touch. (P.S. The women’s room has hair dryers)
Once you’ve gone through the changing room and taken a bath you enter a long relaxation corridor with saunas and different style baths on all sides. The relax room/corridor is warm and has plenty of benches for you to take some time between different SPA procedures. We didn’t get a chance to try out every feature, but these are some of the more interesting extras in the spa that we got to see:
Herbal Sauna
This sauna runs at a lower temperature than a normal sauna, so you can stay in it longer. There are different herbs placed in it over the hot rocks and in each corner. The steam from the herbs is great for your airways and skin pores.
Salt Sauna
Just like a normal sauna, but with salt. The benefits here come from the ions that the Himalayan salt releases due to the heat. With every breath in the salt sauna your body inhales the minerals from the salt, that is scattered throughout the sauna.
The Salt Sauna in Spa Hotel “Roman Bath”
Ice Room
As you can guess from the name, this room is really cool (heh, get it?) Going from cold to hot temperatures helps stimulate the blood flow and toughens up your immune system. The ancient Romans would first go through a room like this before entering the warm mineral baths.
Roman Bath
This bath was really hot and I could only bear it for a little while. But that’s kinda the point, I guess. The architecture in this room was very nice, as if I was thrown back in time to ancient Rome. An ancient Rome with modern water faucets, that is.
The steam filled Roman Bath (without the steam)
Japanese Baths
Now these were definitely my favorite. At the end of the long spa corridor you will find 3 big wooden tubs, two filled with hot water and one with cold. Each tub is big enough to fit four people comfortably. Also, this is where you will find the hottest mineral water in the complex. Just imagine a wooden jaccuzzi without the bubbles. Also the wood feel was much nicer than that of a normal plastic or tile jaccuzzi.
Hammam (Turkish Bath)
A small room with water fossetts in all four corners. Again, nice architecture and a good places to start your spa sessions with some cold water. You can also get some extra procedures in the bath.
Turkish Bath is a great place to wash off between procedures.
Fitness Room
A modest room in terms of fitness machines. Its a great place to put in a small work out during your spa session. It also has a ping pong table.
MINERAL POOL
Coming into the hotel complex this will be the first thing you see on the outside. The mineral pool at “Roman Bath” is covered and pretty big compared to other pools in the area. The water itself is cooler than in smaller outdoor pools, but this makes it perfect for doing a few laps (although still above 30C). The roof and interior in the pool area has been redone and it keeps the atmosphere constant. When we were there the weather was very windy, so this was definitely an advantage over the other outdoor pools in the area. Probably the only thing that caught my attention, for not being thought out, were the always wet deck chairs.
Our Take:
“The Roman Bath” SPA Hotel is probably the best place to take a day off from skiing to thoroughly check out. The complex itself is luxurious with nice architecture. The staff is professional and numerous. Each feature is distinct and everything is very well thought out. The complex offers a huge variety of SPA procedures and massages. The pricing is also very fair for what you get. The only thing I would have liked to see was an outdoor pool, for those snowy days. If you’re the kind of person who loves to relax at least a couple of hours, then this is the place for you. Its also very good for families with smaller children.”
Check our Thermal pool escape tours from Bansko HERE
Check out our picks for the best thermal baths around Bansko
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