Panoramic Hotel Plaza ★★★★

The Panoramic Hotel Plaza is much more than just a hotel; it’s an all-encompassing resort comprising a total of three swimming pools, extensive spa facilities and treatment rooms, a restaurant, café and bar.

It’s glitzy and sleek with ultra-modern design, clean lines and brightly coloured lighting. Fronted by a flashy fountain, the lobby is wide and spacious, filled with glass bauble-style chandeliers, sleek red and yellow leather sofas and colourful paintings. A white grand piano sits at one end and secluded seating areas are spread throughout, ensuring that the lobby is more than just a space for entering and leaving.

The hotel’s panoramic rooms are both classic and elegant, with furnishings in shades of royal blue and gold. These are best for those who revel in the beauty of nature and surrounding landscape, and provide stunning views over the rolling hills and beyond. Modern comforts include digital and satellite TVs, free Wi-Fi, air-conditioning and a minibar.

But the real reason we know you’ve come here is not actually for the lobby or the rooms, but the hotel’s wonderful swimming and spa facilities, where you can take the chance to indulge in the thermal waters. Set in a beautiful parkland area filled with exotic palms, fragrant pines and sweeping lawns, the pools lie at the heart of the hotel. These include one indoor thermal pool, one outdoor thermal pool and one cool rooftop pool. Thermal pools are heated to a comfortable 35 degrees, so that they can be enjoyed even in winter. Imagine lying in a deliciously balmy pool while snowflakes fall from the sky above. As well as the pools there are also indoor and outdoor hot tubs and whirlpools for even greater indulgence.

This is only the beginning though, head inside to the Spa Cristalia and you’ll find a Turkish bath, Mediterranean bath, Finnish sauna, rain showers, a wall of rock salt and even a geyser platform. There is also a range of treatments available, from massages and thermal mud wraps to beauty treatments.

And if you’re feeling peckish during these hours of serene relaxation, then you can always grab a bite from the Cristalia Bar, which offers a range of healthy salads, fresh sandwiches and smoothies to help detoxify and improve your wellbeing. Cleansing teas and organic beverages are also served poolside. In the summer you can even enjoy a healthy snack outside in the garden, under the protection of a shady gazebo.

While thermal pursuits are of course the main focus of a visit to Abano, make sure you take time out of your wellness retreat to visit the Abano Cathedral of San Lorenzo and the Montirone Gallery, showcasing works from the likes of artists such as II Moretto, Guido Reni, Palma the Younger and Giandomenico Tieplo.

Return to the hotel for a selection of savoury snacks, Italian coffees and pastries at the Panoramic Café, which also doubles up as a late night venue with music, cocktails and dancing. For a more substantial lunch and dinner you can sample the delights at the Atmosphere restaurant – a cool space surrounded by floor-to-ceiling windows and lit by lavender lights and giant snowflake-like lamps. Here Chef Nicola Girone cooks up Italian favourites with an innovative flair. You’ll also find a buffet serving a wide variety of appetizers, seasonal vegetables and desserts.

This big and flashy Panoramic Hotel Plaza is perhaps not a place you would have pictured in quaint Abano Terme, but it’s certainly a place you’ll want to stay longer once you’ve had a taste of its tranquil spa and thermal pools.