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

“What I need is to spend a week in a spa”. Possibly this is a phrase that 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.

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, staying in a hotel with 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 kilometers north of Murcia. One of its main characteristics is the long history it has behind it, since the first hot springs that were installed in these places date back to Roman times, specifically, from the XNUMXst century BC, although it is thought that the hot springs 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 closed room where the hot springs emerge, which in this way becomes a powerful sauna where you won't last long. Then the temperature of the water is lowered as it is distributed through a network of canals and pipes.

When you get to Balneario de Archena You have the feeling of staying in a small town dedicated to health. You must leave your car in a large, recently built parking lot with capacity for 500 vehicles (day stay prices, 5 euros), from where you access the hotel complex.

There are three hotels that make up it, Hot springs y  Get the Funds!, both four stars, and León, 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 environment in which Mudejar style decoration predominates, 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.

In front of Hotel Termas You will see a small church built in 1878, with a neo-Gothic air on the outside, but with a Byzantine aesthetic on the inside. In this spa church the image of the Virgin of Health, who is the patron saint of the town of Archena.

But without a doubt, the great jewel of Balneario de Archena They are your 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.

The star treatments of Balneario de Archena are those made with lodos. In fact, this is one of the only four 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 clay soils of volcanic origin with the thermal waters of the spa.

During my visit I was able to enjoy a Archena massage (38 euros), carried out for about 25 minutes under a hot water shower that is manually mixed with mud.

And, of course, treatment of general mud (33 euros), which is applied over the entire body at a temperature of between 40 and 45 degrees, and with which you remain wrapped for about 20 minutes... yes, sweating a lot.

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 (51 euros), and can also be combined with massage Mushroom, based on pressure on points of the head (36 euros). A super relaxing experience.

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

Another world apart is the area Termalium where the pools and spa are concentrated. They are facilities open to all audiences and designed as a leisure area for day clients, to which you also have access if you are a client of the spa, 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, compared to the customer profile that is traditionally associated with spas, of older people looking for therapeutic treatments, currently in Archena you will also see families with children and young couples, who take 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.

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.

Here you have more photos of the Archena Spa in Murcia.