Villa Padierna Thermas ★★★★★

The thermal waters of Carratraca have bestowed a glamorous history on the village. The distinguished people who visited here include the Empress Eugenia de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III, Alexandre Dumas, and the great English poet Lord Byron, among others. These visitors who came to take the waters were the major attraction in developing what we would now describe as major tourist traffic. These are the waters that are present in the same spa today. It is accessed from the hotel’s main building through a ‘chromotherapeutic’ underground passage that leads directly into the spa, which has three different levels and a total of 21 treatment rooms. But all this was still to be discovered; first we had to get to our rooms.

There are 43 rooms in the Hotel Villa Padierna Thermas, divided into Classic Rooms, Deluxe Rooms, Junior Suites, and Suites. This being a special occasion, I had booked one of the three suites. This came with two en-suite bedrooms and a separate living room. Ours had mansard windows in both the rooms and bathroom, making it very bright and welcoming. The furnishings were just breathtakingly beautiful. I’m not sure if chromotherapy really works, but I can say that the intense jewel-like colours, sumptuous fabrics, and overall ambience made me feel very happy.  Five-star facilities went without saying – everything you could imagine needing – and the quietness and peace was remarkable. I could have stayed all evening, but dinner beckoned.

The hotel’s rooms are named after some of the illustrious visitors to the spa: the Countess Restaurant was named for the Empress Eugenia de Montijo, the Prince Lounge is inspired by Ferdinand VII of Spain, where his two original paintings dated 1828 are displayed, and the lounge The Wished One is also a reference to one of the nicknames of Ferdinand VII. We chose the La Contessa restaurant overlooking the Andalusian patio. Here the colours are subdued and the idea is that the neutral tones have been chosen to highlight the colours and flavours of the dishes. Everything on the menu is carefully chosen for its health benefits and the food is supposed to be full of natural antioxidants to increase your sense of well-being and provide energy and vitality. There was even the offer of a consultation with a dietician to design a personalised healthy menu. The food was certainly delicious, and we retired looking forward to the main attraction of our stay: the spa.

The chromotherapeutic passage leading to the spa was certainly colourful and lifted the spirits even before we arrived. As with the rest of the hotel, the whole spa is a visual treat, with neo-classical columns circling the therapeutic pool in a candle-lit, stone-surrounded hollow. The waters of the Carratraca spring contain sulphur, calcium, and magnesium, seeping out of the ground and into the pool at an average temperature of 18 degrees. They are classified as a mineral water for drinking as well as external use. We thought the whole spa experience was amazing and signed up for facial and body treatments, as well as yoga sessions, plus relaxing in the tea and juice bar. For the full experience, we also went to the gym, swimming pool, and outdoor whirlpool.

We felt almost guilty that we had explored so little of the surrounding area, though we did manage a day to explore the pretty village of Carratraca, with its white-walled houses and wrought-iron balconies, as well as a trip to nearby Malaga. But the main experiences, the ones we will remember always, were the spa and the beauties of the Villa Padierna Thermas.