User:Becha/spa

I love *spa* :

I love the contrasts between wet & dry, hot & cold, heat & coolness...

I love water as steam, water as sweat, water in the swimming pool...

I love being naked!

In Amsterdam

Center

• https://saunadeco.nl/?lang=en, 115 Herengracht
  • Beautiful but small.

South

• https://zuiveramsterdam.nl/en/spa, Koenenkade 8 (Amsterdamse Bos)
  • large, modern, further away

East

• http://wellness1926.nl, Halmaheirastraat 28
  • charming, small, modestly equipped

West

• http://www.badhuisdacosta.eu/sauna/, da Costakade 200
  • traditional bath-house , renovated

Around Amsterdam

• Weesp
  • https://spaweesp.nl/faciliteiten/sauna

• Almere
  • https://www.thermenlamer.nl

• Utrecht / Maarssen
  • https://www.spasereen.nl

• Didn't try yet:
  • http://spamanda.nl (Haarlem)
  • https://www.saunavanegmond.com (?)
  • http://www.sauna-amstelland.nl
  • https://www.saunaridderrode.nl/contact/ (Santpoort-Zuid)
  • http://www.awayspa.wamsterdam.com (expensive hotel sauna..)
  • https://www.sento.nl/en/sauna-amsterdam (part of the health-club)
  • https://www.spahamamdusahara.nl/onze-services/ (private arrangements & hamam (for women only))

In Europe

Visited

• Budapest, Hungary
  • Gellert
  • Kiraly
  • Rakoczy
  • Margit Sziget

• Spa, Belgium

• Berlin, Germany
  • Liquidrom

• Leipzig, Germany

• Lausanne, Switzerland

• Čatež, Slovenia

Wish to visit

• Bath, UK
• (spa in Germany, designed by Hundertwasser)
• Chaudefontain, Belgium

Around the World

1. My most favourite hot springs in the world: Djinu Danda, Himalaya, Nepal
2. Second place is shared between two "onsens" in Japan, near Aso Mountain (Kjushu) & near Asahidake Mountain (Hokaido)
3. Third in the top-10 list is: Hot Springs in the ocean near San Francisco

2011

Spas & saunas in Amsterdam

Blast from the past: a blog post from 2011!! 

https://becha.home.xs4all.nl/saunas-blog.html

I love the phenomenon of a "spa"!

I feel at my best when I'm in the water, and the most perfect experience I had was in the "hot springs" near San Francisco: warm water coming out of the depth of Earth, at the edge of the Ocean, and the hot and cold waters mixing in the caves and on the rocks, accessible only during the hours of low tide...

But, in the absence of that, a "spa" is the closest approximation: a combination of heat and water, dry sauna and steam-room; thermal pools; water-massage jets and jakuzzies... then cooling down in the cold air, cold pool or snow, and then starting with the same process all over again...

It has health benefits, for sure, but the more important effects are on my mood and my emotions: I get all relaxed - but alert; melted - but energized; open and friendly, seeing good and positive sides of life, and in general very pleased with the world.

For 12 years I have been exploring spas in Amsterdam, and this is my selection. Luckily, there are still many "new" ones, that I am looking forward to discover!

(I will not list sport schools & hotels that have a sauna or a spa... there are many. Here is the portal about sauna's, also outside of the "city", with photos & reviews (in Dutch): www.jouwsaunagids.nl

Modest places

saunafenomeen.nl, Eerste Schinkelstraat 14-16, 1075 TX, Amsterdam , 020 6716780

In the first, honorable place is the ultimate hippie sauna, part of the whole counter-culture squat: Sauna Fenomeen! Run down but with lot of character, small and creatively decorated, alternative in the best sense: organic teas & food, exotic smells and New-Age atmosphere... with a small courtyard outside. But, they have been threatening / threatened to close for years now -- if they are still open , it is for a few more weeks only, and a last chance to see!

wellness1926.nl/, Halmaheirastraat 28, Amsterdam 020 7749180

This is my last "find", a charming, small place in the Oost (East): Wellness 1926. Very modestly equipped, yet complete with everything you need, and extras: cosy second floor for relaxing, in the living-room atmosphere, comfy & friendly. The outside yard looks out to the church next door ;-)

saunadacosta.nl, da Costakade 200. Amsterdam 020-6125946.

Special kind of "spa" is a local "bath-house": Sauna Da Costa. Very unpretentious, small, very basic, for the quick and almost spartan experience. I like the down-to-earth approach, no frills. I haven't been there for almost 10 years, thou, so maybe my memories are not so accurate any more.

Thermen ROMANA , Dorpsstraat 104 - 1182 JH Amstelveen, 020 - 643 80 88

The "classiest" of modest spas (although the interior is a bit cheesy, like in certain movies form the 80's ;-) ) - slightly bigger and with few things attached: restaurant, hair-dresses & beautician.. but still accessible and not intimidating: Thermen Romana, in Amstelveen. Outstanding features: a swimming pool! - not very large, but other smaller spa's don't have it; and the best infra-red cabin I have tried so far! It is really curing sore muscles & bone aches ;-)

Posh places

www.saunadeco.nl, 115 Herengracht, 020 623 8215

Sauna Deco is very central, and very pretty! It has a unique Art-Deco interior, and is very well maintained. It's a place for a special-occasion sauna visits :-)

zuveramsterdam.nl, Koenenkade 8 (Amsterdam Forest) , 020 301 07 10.

The newest, biggest, greatest of spas in Amsterdam: Zuiver, in Amsterdamsebos. It has 20 different saunas/pools/baths, inside and outside swimming pool & jakuzzi, restaurant, all kinds of extras (scrubbing salt being my favorite ;-) ... The price is appropriate to all of that, too. But, it is worth it! Plan to stay the whole day, bring friends, and enjoy it together!

New places

I haven't ben to the other few places that I just found the links in the Internet -- if anyone has a recommendation (or not) abut them, please let me know: www.saunadekeizer.nl, Keizersgracht 124, Amsterdam 020 622 7504 Ups - gay sauna, only for men: www.thermos.nl Sento (in Marnixbad), www.sento.nl, Marnixplein 1, 020 330 1444

In conclusion: spa experience is one of the most enjoyable things I like in this world. I am lucky to live in the city where they know how to appreciate a good sauna or a spa (which mostly means: naturistic).