Six spa oases to relax in

Relax like the Finns

Get ready for a wonderful winter! As soon as the days get shorter, the desire for an extended visit to the sauna increases exponentially. Alongside a visit to the Christmas market and a hike in the snow, doing something good for body and soul on a healthy and cozy spa day is the epitome of winter joy for many. We have tested the six most beautiful wellness oases for you. What are you waiting for? Into the hot and cold fun!

Sky Spa at the Hotel Nikko

Swimming and taking a sauna above the (snow-covered) rooftops of Düsseldorf is what the Sky Spa at Hotel Nikko offers. Here, in the middle of the Japanese quarter, you can look out over the city's architectural landmarks from the fully glazed penthouse pool on the 11th floor. In the Finnish sauna, guests sweat at a classic 90 degrees, while the sanarium heats up at a more moderate 60 degrees. A steam bath and an air-conditioned mini-gym round off the spa program in the urban oasis. The crowning glory of the time-out: a sushi dinner in the hotel's elegant Benkay restaurant.

Vabali Spa

For fans of Southeast Asia, Vabali not only opens the pores, but also the heart. The spacious complex, whose interior is inspired by Indonesian and Balinese resorts, is located around 15 minutes by car from the city center on the beautiful Elbe Lake. In the two-storey main building, 10 saunas, two steam baths, a laconium, a fireplace room and a whole landscape of waterbeds await those seeking peace and quiet. The bio sauna is a mild 55 degrees, while the lake and panorama saunas with their large windows offer great views of the surrounding landscape at a slightly higher temperature. There is also an infinity pool as well as cold and hot plunge pools - a single day is hardly enough to enjoy everything the wellness temple has to offer. A beauty tip: the coffee ceremony in the Rasul bath. During the steam bath visit, you rub yourself with coarsely ground coffee beans, after which your skin is pampered with cocoa butter.

Momentum Spa

If only, then only. A puristically elegant 800-square-metre oasis in the middle of Düsseldorf and a spa experience that can otherwise only be found in a five-star resort. The Momentum Spa in Golzheim is the right place for anyone looking for aesthetic indulgence as well as a boost to the immune system and respiratory tract. First you can splash around in the large saltwater pool in natural brine from Rheinberg, heated to a pleasant 31 degrees, followed by one, two or three sauna sessions and a break in the beautiful relaxation lounge, before one of the body and facial treatments gives your skin that final freshness. The one-hour full-body algae treatment moisturizes the winter skin, while an anti-aging peeling with mineralizing salt mousse removes dead skin cells and a rich fruit-based body cream leaves the skin feeling velvety smooth. Pure luxury! 

Münster-Therme

That alone is a luxury - an Art Nouveau spa in the middle of the city! And a visit to the Münster-Therme spa really is a historic experience. The 'Kaiserbad' opened on April 9, 1902 and thanks to its reconstruction after the Second World War, the Münster-Therme is one of the few swimming and bathing establishments to have survived the new building mentality of the last century. Today, the former public baths are a temple of bathing and wellness. Those seeking relaxation can float in the basilica vaults of the swimming pool at a relaxing 30 degrees or splash around outside in the 32 degree brine pool. The sauna, salt grotto and steam bath are small but nice and make you completely forget that you are in a municipal bathing establishment. Just like the pretty wooden cabins in the changing rooms, which have been restored with great attention to detail.

Rive Spa Hyatt Regency

Water is considered an elixir of health and beauty. And where better to pay homage to the wet element than the Rive Spa at the Hyatt Regency in Düsseldorf's MedienHafen? From a headland, the luxury hotel looks out over the city and the Rhine. The wellness experience in the Rive Spa, which is also open to day guests, allows you to explore four sensory worlds: Inspiration, Reflection, Discover and Flow are the names of the programs, which entice with ritual, holistic treatments and for which a feel-good package of coordinated fragrances, teas, massages and music has been put together. Ultimate relaxation including a panoramic view of the Rhine.

Suomi sauna

You can't fool the Finns when it comes to saunas. Much more like it! In the Suomi sauna - or Finnish sauna - you can look forward to Scandinavian sauna culture in its purest form. The sauna landscape, designed with Nordic log cabins, is the heart of the Niederheid family spa in Düsseldorf's Holthausen district. And it is absolutely authentic. In the 90-degree infusion sauna called 'Löyly', in the 'Höyry' steam bath and the 'Takka' fireplace sauna. In the 80-degree banya, the traditional Wenik infusions are celebrated, an infusion with birch broth in which the master of ceremonies swirls the air with soaked birch branches. Finnish sauna culture that could hardly be more soothing.

Cover picture: Momentum Spa Photographer: Julia Schiffers - Fotoverliebt