The Best Wellness Retreats in Slovenia

Set on the shores of Lake Bled, this historic hotel overlooks mirrored waters, the fairytale church of Otok island and the Julian Alps. Built upon two thermal springs, the hotel features traditional thermal baths dating to the 1930s. Today the wellness offerings have been upgraded to include Spa Luisa, which has a Roman-style swimming pool framed by palatial columns and filled daily with mineral-rich thermal spring water. Wellness programmes, ritual packages, saunas and massages are also available.

A stay at this four-star superior hotel gives you access to a wealth of Roman-inspired wellness opportunities. Choose from one of five Vespasianus pools and many saunas (including chromotherapy, aromatherapy, mud, steam and salt). They have a Be Fit programme available, or if you’re after a more hard-hitting health package, the Grand Hotel has post-trauma and post-operative rehabilitation. Book a room with a thermal bathtub for that extra bit of pampering before bed.

This four-star boutique hotel has been around for more than a century. Situated on the pedestrian promenade of Piran, the hotel offers sea views and sunshine; it is just steps from the azure waters of the Gulf of Trieste. The in-house Aromatherapy Boutique spa offers a small but appealing treatment menu – from a refreshing algae cream massage to body peeling and even a “facial pilates” massage for more mature skin.

Podčetrtek, a spa village with natural thermal springs, sits in the Unesco-protected Kozjansko and Obsotelje region of eastern Slovenia. Fittingly, here you’ll find Ortenia – an eco-estate nestled among nature in what’s long been locally called the Garden of Eden. Six sustainably designed apartments share a common wellness area with a Finnish and infrared sauna, an outdoor jacuzzi overlooking the local castle, and an in-house massage service (try the relaxation massage with gold). You’ll also receive discounts to local wellness centres, including the premier Slovenian spa, Wellness Orhidelia.

This grand five-star hotel, the facade a relic to the art deco era, is located in Portorož – a seaside resort at the top of the Istria peninsula. The Rose Spa includes both an outdoor and indoor (saltwater) pool, a whirlpool, sauna area and fitness centre – plus an array of luxury treatments. Choose from the locally inspired Istria detox ritual or one of the many massages on offer. For outdoor sea therapy, enjoy the hotel’s stretch of private beach.

The oldest thermal spa resort in Slovenia, Terme Dobrna combines the latest in modern medicinal sciences with more traditional treatments. Alongside rehabilitation and physical therapies, healing here is focused around thermal baths, fango wraps (using mud made from volcanic rock) and turf – an oestrogen-rich organic mud used in a therapeutic bath.

The Romans got here first – they built a series of hot and cold water thermal pools in Rimske Terme around 39BCE. Now, more than 2,000 years later, there is a wellness retreat on this very site. There are two main pools – connected by a swim-through gateway, filled with healing thermal water. Additionally, there are four saunas, alongside jacuzzis and a cold plunge pool. Relaxing massages and healing full-body treatments ensure you are pampered from head to toe.