Those of you who follow me on Instagram or Facebook may have noticed last week I spent a totally envy-inducing few days in a spa in Slovakia. Spa Aphrodite is a luxury destination spa in Rajecke Teplice in Slovakia.
It attracts visitors from all over the country, as well as Czech Republic, Hungary and other neighbouring countries. The spa town of Rajecke Teplice is in Northern Slovakia, nestled amongst fir tree covered mountains. There has been a record of hot springs in the area since and its waters have been described as having healing properties since the 17th Century. We were collected in a rather fetching pink Spa Aphrodite branded car, and our host entertained us on the trip by showing us the Slovakian countryside, pointing out castles and telling us tales of the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory , who reportedly bathed in the blood of virgins to retain her youth.
The town itself is small, with the Spa Aphrodite complex being at the centre, next to a large open square with some lovely swinging benches that were permanently occupied and we never got chance to sit on! There are a few bars and cafes, a gift shop and small supermarket, as well as a church. There is also a beautiful park with a large central lake with an island containing a restaurant that serves fresh fish, and a train station, should you wish to travel into a larger nearby town. At the train station there is also a small transport museum, the attendant spoke perfect English and for 2 euros each we spent ages in there while she showed us around, particularly the amazing scale model train that covered all the local area.
We spent some time wandering around the town. We had a lovely evening walk out into a residential area with beautiful views, but by far the centrepiece of the town is the Spa Aphrodite. On the right-hand side of the road is the hotel and on the left is the Spa complex, containing all the pools and treatments, as well as the luxury royal apartments. The 2 buildings are connected by a slightly unnerving glass-walled tunnel slightly unnerving if you are a wuss like me, and have watched too many disaster movies which means that as a guest of the Aphrodite hotel you can safely wander across to the spa in your dressing gown and slippers.
When we arrived we were shown to our room, and we spent some time running around, laying on all the furniture and marvelling over how much nicer it was than our house. We were given an upgraded room, so we had a separate sitting area, furnished with gorgeous scrolled armchairs and a sofa and a balcony that overlooked a small river, the mountains, and, if you craned your neck a bit, the pools.
