Thermal Hotel venues

A thermal hotel is a hotel that uses hot spring water rising from underground in its pools and baths and offers these facilities together with accommodation. As the overnight version of the thermal spa type, a thermal hotel differs in terms of time: it lets you bathe in the thermal water not for a single day but over several days, several times a day.

Pools, hammam and other facilities at thermal hotels

All the thermal hotels in the listing have a thermal pool; some have both outdoor and indoor pools in use. More than half of the hotels have a Turkish bath and some have a sauna and steam room; kese (exfoliating scrub) and foam wash, a jacuzzi, a gym, Pilates and yoga are offered at fewer places. A facility often found at thermal hotels is the family bath: a private cubicle filled with thermal water, rented for a set time, which a family or a couple can use together. Many hotels in the listing have a family bath or family hammam; services such as a salt room and medical massage with a physiotherapist are limited to a few places.

Who a thermal hotel is for

A thermal hotel is the choice of those who want to use thermal water regularly over several days, those who want to combine relaxing in hot water with a weekend or a winter holiday, and those who live far from the springs and do not want to make a day trip there and back. Thanks to separate pools for women and men or to family baths, families who do not want to use a mixed pool can also find an arrangement that suits them. Swimming in a thermal pool is not on its own a substitute for treatment; if you are going because of a health complaint, first ask your doctor whether thermal water is suitable for you.

Thermal hotel, hot spring and day-use thermal facility

The thermal types often overlap; most of the hot springs in the listing also offer accommodation and so also appear as thermal hotels. The differences are roughly as follows:

Practical notes on staying and using the thermal pool

• When booking, ask whether use of the thermal pool is included in your stay and whether the family bath and massage are charged separately; prices vary with the season, weekends, board type and room type.
• Arrangements for women and men differ from hotel to hotel: the listing includes thermal hotels with separate hours, with separate pools and with mixed use.
• The temperature of the pool water varies by place; rather than staying in the water for long stretches without a break, go in and out at intervals and drink fluids.
• If you have a cardiovascular condition, high or low blood pressure, a history of varicose veins or thrombosis, are pregnant, or have a feverish illness or an open wound, consult your doctor before getting into thermal water.
• Find out the rules on swimwear and swimming caps and the pool opening hours in advance.

Where thermal hotels are found

The listing has the most thermal hotels in Ankara: two in Kızılcahamam, the others in Haymana and Beypazarı. The two examples in Bursa, known for its hot spring tradition, are in Osmangazi, while those in Balıkesir are on the shore of the Gulf of Edremit, in Güre and Altınoluk. Afyonkarahisar, Kütahya, Pamukkale in Denizli, Kuşadası in Aydın, Kırşehir, Bingöl and Diyadin in Ağrı also have one thermal hotel each in the listing.