City Hotel Spa venues

A city hotel spa is a spa section inside a hotel in a city centre or business district, arranged for short visits that fit into the flow of everyday life. What sets it apart from resort spas is how it is used: hotel guests on business trips and people who live in the same city come for a hammam, sauna or massage after a meeting or a working day.

Services and facilities

Most of the city hotel spas in the guide have a hammam section; about half of the hotels on the list are also classified as hotel hammams. The sauna is the next most common facility after the hammam, and more than half of the venues with a hammam also offer kese (exfoliating scrub) and foam wash. Among the massages, Balinese massage stands out, followed by aromatherapy and Swedish massage. Indoor pools and fitness rooms are common; at a few hotels on the list, however, the main facilities are the swimming pool and the gym, so you need to ask about massage and hammam options in advance.

Who it suits

• Business travellers: A sauna and a short massage can be fitted in after a flight or a meeting without leaving the hotel.
• City residents: Some city hotel spas admit outside guests for timed day use or with a treatment appointment; they can be used for a short break on weekday evenings.
• Those who want to experience a hammam by appointment in a quiet setting: They suit people who prefer a smaller hammam section with set times to historic hammams, which can get crowded.

How it differs from similar types

A city hotel spa is the urban form of the hotel spa parent category and is often confused with several types that have similar names:

Type labels are not mutually exclusive; many venues on the list are classified both as a city hotel spa and as a day spa or hotel hammam.

Where city hotel spas are concentrated

More than half of the city hotel spas in the guide are in Istanbul; Şişli and Beşiktaş lead the way, and there is one example each in Beyoğlu, Kağıthane, Bakırköy, Bahçelievler, Arnavutköy and Tuzla. All the examples in Ankara are in the Çankaya district, in neighbourhoods such as Kavaklıdere and Çukurambar. There is also a hotel of this type in central Çanakkale.

Practical information for outside guests

Whether you can use a city hotel spa without staying there varies by venue. Some of the examples in the guide offer outside visitors timed use of the facilities or hammam and massage appointments, while others restrict the wet area to hotel guests and members; entry conditions in Istanbul and the factors that determine the price are covered in the guide to day spa prices in Istanbul. When booking, ask whether the hammam and sauna are open to women and men together or at separate times, whether a swimsuit and swimming cap are required for the pool, and whether use of the facilities is included in the treatment price. Evenings and weekends are usually busier. People who are pregnant or have cardiovascular disease or blood pressure problems need to consult a doctor before using the hot areas.