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It’s a Friday night and I’m surrounded by dozens of people in tights. The music changes quickly. We’re sitting here, sweating, waiting for the show to start.
A man steps into the sauna, where the temperature reaches an unbearable 90 degrees Celsius. He pours ice and essential oils onto the hot coals in front of us, releasing clouds of aromatic steam. Then he takes a towel and blows hot air over our heated bodies in a graceful dance.
This is aufguss, a German sauna ritual that combines dance, music, warmth, and aromatherapy into a single steamy experience. A 30-minute sauna is a bit of an exaggeration, but this is no ordinary pool. This is Therme București, the largest spa in Europe. There are ten saunas, offering different themed aufguss treatments every hour, such as an unlimited spa feast.
The 44,000-square-meter complex is located just seven minutes from Bucharest International Airport and has been one of the Romanian capital’s most popular attractions since 2016. Everything is big here – the largest urban beach in Europe and the largest indoor botanical garden. The botanical gardens are home to up to 800,000 exotic plants, while the beach has real giant palm trees, a constant temperature of 30 degrees Celsius, and a variety of hydromassage beds, jacuzzis, and mineral pools that paint the entire space a calm turquoise. There’s even a 900-square-meter glass roof that can be removed in the summer.
The Terme has a lot to boast about, but the most impressive is that it is the world’s first fully sustainable thermal spa. Its architecture and structure replicate organic patterns found in the built environment, and much of its design is made using natural materials, from bamboo to wood. It is also home to a towering “Salt Library,” whose walls purify the air with Himalayan salt.
At Elysium, a luxury massage and facial center, I was offered a range of massages, from bee venom and CBD infusions to ancient herbal infusions. I opted for the hour-long Herbal Seal Massage, which involved stretching, pressing, and tapping my body with hot gauzes soaked in ancient herbs and essential oils.
It may not sound relaxing, but it is. I walked out of the treatment room in a trance, listening to the faint beats coming from the main hot springs pool on Palm Island. Aqua aerobics is all the rage – and it’s just one of many wellness activities. From the terrace, I saw a sea of ​​people, all moving in sync. The flashing neon lights created an atmosphere reminiscent of Ibiza.
Here’s what’s weird about this place. Sure, it’s a spa, but it’s also an incredibly huge leisure centre. There’s a full-fledged water park with 17 water slides (including, of course, one of the biggest in Europe). I gather from the staff that families tend to leave their kids here and then go to the spa, so at least everyone is taken care of.
At 10:30 p.m., I planned to end the day with a liquid gold bath at the Provence sauna, where they rub organic honey on your limbs—and, of course, everyone else had the same idea. So I headed to the sweltering outdoor bar and Jacuzzi, had a drink, and doused myself in the bubbling hot spring water. Did you know? I’ve had worse days.
My advice: buy an all-access ticket (from £32), enjoy everything, walk and wander around the three main areas. Although ticket prices vary depending on which areas you want to visit and when you visit the museum at peak times, it is worth every penny.
The thermal baths are open from 9:00 to 24:00 on Friday and Saturday, from 10:00 to 23:00 from Monday to Thursday and from 9:00 to 23:00 on Sunday.
The Therme Manchester is set to open soon. The 29-acre spa (equivalent to 19 football pitches) features a year-round indoor beach, over 30 steam rooms, an on-site farm and even a water park with over 18 water slides. It will be the first nationwide opening of the Therme chain of spas, which will eventually expand to Glasgow, London and Wales. So get your swimsuits and sauna caps ready!
Time Out and Wizz Air We went on a group press trip to Bucharest. We were hosted by Therme Bucuresti and Peakture Hotel. Information about our editorial independence, peer review and guidelines policies can be found in our Editorial Guidelines.
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