February is that month that is in the middle of everything and nothing, winter weighs on you, summer is a distant mirage and you are there, stranded between cold and tiredness. Real holidays are still far away, the ones you imagine under the umbrella with a cocktail in hand, but who said you have to wait until August to really get away?
A weekend at the spa could be exactly what you need. You don’t need to fly somewhere, you don’t even need to spend a fortune. Veneto is full of places where the hot water pampers you, the steam loosens your muscles and you can disconnect from everything else for a few days. Spas are good for you, even the stones know this, but what you perhaps don’t know is that you can afford them without emptying your bank account.
The Venetian spas
When you think of Veneto you probably think of Venice, the canals, maybe a trip to Verona. Instead this region hides another soul, the thermal one, which has very ancient roots. The ancient Romans had already understood it: between Abano and Montegrotto there are hot springs that heal, relax and regenerate. It’s not just for those who suffer from joint pain, it works on anyone who needs to stop, to breathe, to reset.
The Euganean Hills are the beating heart of this area, green hills that emerge from the plain, quiet villages where time passes differently, and underground water that reaches temperatures of almost 80 degrees. This water is not just any water: it is rich in minerals and has recognized therapeutic properties.
Hotel Terme Marconi in Montegrotto
In Montegrotto Terme there is the Hotel Terme Marconi, which is located four hundred meters from the centre, near the station, convenient if you arrive by train and want to avoid traffic. The structure does not make impossible promises, it offers you what you need: full board from breakfast to lunch to dinner, with a three-course menu where you choose what to eat. If you have intolerances, they prepare gluten-free menus, if you have small children there is a menu dedicated to them.
On Tuesday there is a gala dinner, on Friday the typical one, and if you happen to be there at Easter or on August 15th there is a special lunch. Then there is the wellness center, which opens at seven in the morning and closes at seven in the evening: Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, relaxation area, indoor swimming pool with thermal water. Outside there are three other swimming pools, two outdoor with hydromassage and sunbeds, one Olympic size for those who want to swim seriously.
They give you a rental spa kit with bathrobe and towel, you get a ten percent discount on beauty treatments if you want to treat yourself to something extra, there’s a fitness room if you really can’t sit still. The Wi-Fi works everywhere, the parking is private even if the spaces are not infinite, they will give you a cot if you ask for it when you book.
Here is all the info on the offers.
Hotel Terme Verdi in Abano
Abano Terme is the other side of the Venetian spa coin, perhaps even more famous than Montegrotto. The Hotel Terme Verdi is one kilometer from the pedestrian area, in a position that allows you to feel comfortable but not isolated from the world. Here full board starts with dinner on the day you arrive and ends with lunch on the day you leave. Abundant breakfast, three-course lunch and dinner with a choice of menu, and if you arrive at Christmas, New Year or Easter, meals are included in the price.
A twenty-five minute partial massage per room is included, which is no small feat considering that elsewhere they make you pay for it separately. There are four thermal pools: two indoors and two outdoor, open from eight in the morning until nine in the evening, and on Fridays even until eleven. The wellness center has a relaxation area, Turkish bath, emotional shower, frigidarium, hydromassage, Finnish sauna, and is open from half past nine in the morning until half past seven in the evening.
There is a fitness room, there are group aquagym lessons in the pool according to the program decided by the structure, and in the evening they organize aperitifs with live music. Here too, Wi-Fi everywhere, parking subject to availability, cot on request for the little ones.
The rooms have everything: private bathroom, hairdryer, balcony, air conditioning, telephone, satellite TV, minibar, etc, etc. From Abano you can reach Padua in just ten kilometres, Venice in forty minutes by train, Verona and Vicenza are just a short ride away if you feel like culture. In the surrounding area there are the Praglia Abbey, the Valsanzibio Garden, the Butterfly House, the Le Fiorine Adventure Park: if you want to leave the hotel you are spoiled for choice.
Here is all the info on the offers
Spas are a concrete response to the need to recover energy which manifests itself with particular intensity in the winter period. Thermal water acts on the body through physical and chemical mechanisms: the heat promotes vasodilation and muscle relaxation, the dissolved minerals are absorbed through the skin, the floating reduces the load on the joints. These effects produce benefits that last beyond the moment of immersion, positively influencing the quality of sleep, the ability to concentrate, and resistance to stress.
There is no need to wait for extended holidays or plan complex trips. A weekend at the spas in Veneto requires a few hours of travel for those coming from Northern Italy, low costs compared to other forms of tourism, and minimal preparation. The return to everyday life occurs with a wealth of renewed energy, with less contracted muscles, with a mind that has benefited from the break necessary to recalibrate one’s resources.
