Just an hour from the heart of the Costa del Sol and twenty-five minutes from Malaga there is a magical place, one of those places where it is worth getting lost, even if only for a few days, because it is unique in Spain.
It is the Villa Padierna Thermas Hotel in the village of Carratraca, bordering the Ronda mountain range, one of the gates of the Guadalhorce Valley, and located at the foot of the Sierra Blanquilla from which emanates the most famous sulfurous water spring, with great healing properties, of Andalusia.
It seems that “health tourism” began in Carratraca in Roman times. Also the Arabs, centuries later, used these “miraculous” waters. They were the ones who gave the village its name: “Karr-al-krak”, which can be translated as “cleansing of scourge”. And it was here that they cleaned their impurities. It seems that the warlord Omar Ben Hafsum used this spring for his retreat and relaxation on multiple occasions.
In the mid-nineteenth century the waters were declared of public utility and Ferdinand VII ordered the construction of a neoclassical spa made of sandstone and marble.
Since then, illustrious people have come to Carratraca to “take the waters”: The Empress Eugenia de Montijo (wife of Napoleon III), the most famous Spanish politician of the 19th century, Cánovas del Castillo, writers and poets such as Rainer María Rilke, Lord Byron, Alejando Dumas, Campoamor, Vicente Aleixandre or Antonio Gala, and more recently, actors such as Antonio Banderas.
About eight years ago, the Therma Romana in Carratraca was reborn stronger than ever through the personal efforts of Ricardo Arranz, who also owns the Villa Padierna resort on the Costa del Sol, which has a luxury five-star hotel and three golf courses.
Arranz decided to recover this historical jewel, adapting it to the new technologies and to the current needs of health tourism; and has managed that this classic spa is once again considered by the “society” around the world and that Carratraca, almost in the center of the province of Malaga, is once again called the “little Montecarlo”.
It took two years of intense remodeling to recover all the splendor of the original Hostal del Principe, built almost exclusively for the king.
The current hotel, with 43 rooms, has the charm of serene luxury, classic, without fuss, relaxing, modern, full of quality details, paintings of the nineteenth century, Roman statues …. Everything is planned to “let spend a few days” full in which the thermal treatments will be the daily axis.
The waters of the Carratraca Spring, which emanate at 18º C, are classified as sulfur, calcium and magnesium. The fundamental action of this water and the muds adjacent to the spring is due to the bivalent sulfur content and the presence of other mineralizing factors such as bicarbonates, sulfates, chlorides, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and trace elements such as iron, copper, manganese, zinc, nickel, selenium and cobalt, which can act in multiple biological oxidation-reduction reactions. All these data are supported by periodic analyses corroborated and updated by the Royal Academy of Pharmacy of the Institute of Spain.
Historically, the waters of this spring have their most important indications in skin conditions, respiratory system, gynecology, nervous system, rheumatism and traumatology.
The antioxidant effect of sulphurous mineral-medicinal water and its impact on the immune system has expanded its use, especially in the field of preventive health. Drinking sulfur water lowers the level of bad LDL cholesterol and is especially good for detoxifying the liver.
These antioxidant effects make these waters ideal for body aesthetics and rejuvenation treatments.
Villa Padierna, Thermas de Carratraca, has 5 Roman thermal pools, 21 rooms for hydrothermal treatments, facial and body aesthetics, and different types of massages. It also has a hamman, large terraces for relaxation, sauna, swimming pool, gym …. and spectacular views over the Guadalhorce valley.
But all this would not be complete if the personal and professional treatment of all employees of the hotel and thermas was not exquisite, friendly, friendly. They make you feel like family, always with a smile on their faces and willing to help you with everything. Not to be forgotten either is the “energy cuisine” served at the hotel, designed to play an important role in the detoxification process, but at the same time is very good.
Well… if you do not know Villa Padierna Thermas de Carratraca do not wait any longer. You will not regret it and you will repeat for sure.
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