What is the Archena Spa like (Murcia): our experience, prices

“What I need is to spend a week in a spa”.

This is probably a phrase you have said more than once after a period of hard work, after which you need to rest and recover.

Relaxation, relaxing baths, massages…that's what you expect when you think of go to a spa.

But now with the fashion of the concept wellness, it is easy to find hotels and establishments that offer you the possibility of enjoying a spa and massage service.

What is the difference between a spa and a resort?

But then, What is the difference between a spa and a spa??

I had the opportunity to spend a weekend in the Balneario de Archena, an ideal place to enjoy both worlds and understand the differences.

On the one hand, the stay in a hotel with the traditional thermal baths where you enjoy a relaxation plan, and on the other hand, facilities with swimming pools and spa, open for the use of all audiences, and designed for leisure.

El Balneario de Archena you find it in Ricote Valley, a true oasis that extends along the course of the river Segura, 25 kilometres north of Murcia.

One of its main characteristics is the long history it has behind it, as the first thermal baths that were installed in these places date back to the time of the Romans, specifically, the 1st century BC, although it is thought that the thermal waters were already used by the Iberians.

And it is precisely the presence of thermal waters that is the big difference between a spa and spa facilities.

Specifically, the hot springs of Balneario de Archena It is estimated that they have been circulating underground for more than 15.000 years., and flow from the spring at a temperature of 52 degrees Celsius,

It is a great experience to enter the so-called Wet Stove, the small enclosed room where the thermal waters emerge, which thus becomes a powerful sauna that you won't last long in.

The temperature of the water is then lowered as it is distributed through a network of canals and pipes.

This is the Archena Spa, our experience

When you get to Balneario de Archena you get the feeling of staying in a small town dedicated to health.

You must leave your car in a large, recently built car park with capacity for 500 vehicles from where you access the hotel complex.

Hotels in the Archena Spa

There are three hotels that make up it, Hot springs y  Levante, both four stars, and Leon, three stars, with a total of 254 rooms.

These hotel establishments were built since 1852, and since then they have had various extensions and renovations.

El Hotel Termas It is, without a doubt, the most charismatic and the central axis of the complex.

With an atmosphere dominated by Mudejar style decoration, inside you can even see an impressive vault more typical of a mosque.

But you will also see exposed columns and tombstones from Roman times, found during the various expansions carried out in the spa complex.

Neo-Gothic Church of the Archena Spa

In front of Hotel Termas You will see a small church built in 1878, with a neo-Gothic feel on the outside, but with a Byzantine aesthetic on the inside.

In this spa church the image is saved Virgin of Health, who is the patron saint of the town of Archena.

But without a doubt, the great jewel of Balneario de Archena lies in its thermal galleries, underground facilities that extend through the basements of the Hotel Termas, and that also connect with the Hotel Levante.

In these galleries, one of whose vaults still remains from Roman times, is where curative treatments are carried out, which due to the characteristics of the waters are very suitable for rheumatology, traumatology and respiratory tracts.

Treatments, between mud and massages

The star treatments of Balneario de Archena are those made with lodos.

In fact, this is one of the only spas in Spain where this type of treatment is performed.

To do this, the mud must be prepared every day, which is done by mixing clayey soils of volcanic origin with the thermal waters of the spa.

During my visit I was able to enjoy a Archena massage carried out for about 25 minutes under a hot shower that is manually mixed with mud.

And, of course, treatment of general mud, which is applied to the entire body at a temperature of between 40 and 45 degrees, and which you remain wrapped in for about 20 minutes…although you do sweat quite a bit.

In this area of ​​the spa, specifically, in the Hotel Levante, you have facilities Aesthetic Center, where you can enjoy aesthetic treatments and relaxing massages.

One of the most demanded is the massage with Aromatherapy made with almond oil and geranium extract, which lasts about 45 minutes.

It can also be combined with massage Mushroom, based on pressure on points on the head, a super relaxing experience.

In addition to the thermal galleries, your stay of a few days in the Balneario de Archena will also feature the following protagonists: Casino Bar Gardens, a true orchard on the banks of the Segura River, a corner that will give you the feeling of relaxation that you are looking for in the establishment.

Termalium area, swimming pools and spa

Another world apart is the area Termalium where the swimming pools and spa are concentrated.

These facilities are open to the general public and designed as a leisure area for day clients, to which you also have access if you are a spa client, and where you can enjoy the Balnea Thermal Circuit.

When you compare it with the rest of the complex is when you really see and you feel the big difference that exists between a spa and a spa.

Furthermore, unlike the client profile traditionally associated with spas, of older people seeking therapeutic treatments, at Archena you will now also see families with children and young couples.

This audience takes advantage of the offers and promotions that make it easy to discover the advantages of a stay in a spa with such historical roots.

Of course, in the leisure and pool area it is also starting to be common to see international clients, especially Germans, British and Russians.

Prices of the Archena Spa

On this page you can consult the Archena Spa prices, both the stays in the hotels, the swimming pools and the different treatments, with the schedules of services.