A day at the Caracalla Spa in 2015

We have been in October 2015, to the Caracalla Spa in Baden-Baden, in Germany. It is a spa on two levels : on the ground floor you have the bathing area where you must wear a swimsuit and on the first floor you have the sauna area obligatory without swimsuit.

Arrival

Where is the Caracalla Spa ?

The Caracalla spa is located in the centre of the town Baden-Baden, in the state of Baden-Württemberg, which is in southwestern Germany. Baden-Baden is a small town of about 53 000 inhabitants, renowded for its spas and festivals. The town is at only some kilometres of the French-German border. It is 46 minutes (40 km) from Karlsruhe and 1 hour (65 km) from Strasbourg.

Where to park ?

When you arrive in Baden-Baden, follow the signs "Thermen", then "Bädergarage" (car park of the spa). The car park is located under the Caracalla spa. From the car park, you take the stairs and you arrive directly in the hall of the spa. From there, you can go outside and stroll in the town or go to the reception desk of the spa.

Child care service

The minimum age to access to the Caracalla spa is 7 years old. In the "Kinderparadies" (Children' paradise) qualified employees take care of your children from 18 months. The "Kinderparadies" is on the 3rd floor of the spa. The price is 5 euros per child. We have visited the spa with our son of 9 years old, who loves to go to spas. There were many children in the bathing area and only a few in the sauna area.

The entrance

The reception

From the entry hall, you walk up some stairs to the reception of the spa. The first thing they will ask you is how long you think to stay. Think twice because, if you pass the time, you will be invoiced 0,70 euros per 10 minutes.

In 2015, these were the rates :
1 and ½ hour : 15 euros
2 hours : 16 euros
3 hours : 19 euros
Entire day : 23 euros
Extra per 10 minutes of overrun : 0,70 euros

The price includes the access to the bathing and the sauna areas.

Attention : If you are parked in the car park under the spa, think of validating your car park ticket at the reception. In fact, the price of the car park is lower for the clients of the spa.

Remark: In the Belgian and Dutch spas, you can rent a bathrobe, towels and buy flip-flops. At the Caracalla spa, this is not the case. You must arrive with all your stuff because nothing is rented or saled at the reception.

Once you have paid your entrance and validated your parking ticket, they will ask you if you have been there already. If not, the person in charge will show you how the chip armband functions. It is needed to open and to close your locker. It also records your consumptions in the bar and the restaurant. You need to keep it with you and not to loose.

The changing rooms

The changing rooms of the Caracalla Spa are like the changing rooms of a swimming pool. Many lines of individual cubicles are succeeding each other. You enter in the cubicle by the door on the side of the reception and you leave by the opposite door, on the side of the lockers. If you want to go to the bathing area, put your swimsuit. If you want to go directly to the sauna area, you just need to put your bathrobe or to wrap yourself in a towel.

Put your stuff in any locker. To close the locker, press on the button with the chip of your armband. At the end of the alley, a camera films the lockers for a maximum of security. If you have worthful objects, there are after the changing rooms, at the entry of the bathing area, on the right, little lockers at this purpose, functioning in the same way.

Attention : Like indicated everywhere, remember the number of your locker. It will be the only way to find it back !

The showers

When you leave the changing rooms, you arrive at the entrance of the bathing area. On the left, there are the toilets and the showers for men : on the right, you will find the toilets and showers for women. It is obligatory to take a shower before going to the pools. As mentioned on the board "swimsuit crossed over in red", the shower must be taken naked for evident hygienic reasons. For the more modest, there are individual showers.

The bathing area (swimsuit obligatory)

The bathing area occupies the entire ground floor of the spa. In this part you must wear a swimsuit.

What marks directly is the circular pool underneath the nice dome. You can relax in the bigger calm part and in the smaller parts with more or less bubbles. The different bassins in the centre and on the sides offer water at a temperature going from 18 to 38 degrees. The indoor pool has massage jets and neck showers to knead your body.

Around the pool, different attractions are offered. There are the hot and cold water grotto, the aroma steam room at 43° C and the brine inhalation room.

On the backside, the "WellnessLounge" offers, on appointment, wellness and beauty treatments (massages, body wraps, skin peels, facial beauty treatments, foot care...). These are extra options that will be added to the entrance fee of the spa.

The outdoor pools

There are two outdoor marble pools. In the first you can float with or swim against the water current. The second is more dedicated to chill with the whirlpools and its massage jets. Around, a solarium with sun beds to get a tan in the summer with the marks of your swimsuit !

The restaurant

On the right of the bathing part, you will find the restaurant of the spa "ThermenRestaurant". There is a large choice : starters, soups, pasta, vegetarian plates, salads, meat, fish, desserts and all kind of beverages.
The entire menu is translated in 4 languages : German, English, French and Russian. It is also available on the website of the Caracalla Spa.

The sauna area (nudity obligatory)

To access to the sauna area, you have to take the spiral staircase just in front of the restaurant. On the top of the staircase, there is a little room with on the left a map of the sauna area and in front the doors on which is written in big : "Nudists" only.

Once you have passed these doors, you arrive in the hall. On each side, there are rows of pigeonholes. So this is the moment to take of your swimsuit and to put it in a pigeonhole. If you are afraid of theft, there are at the end of the room little lockers that you can close with your chip armband.

The sauna area inside

The sauna area inside is composed of 4 saunas : a meditation sauna at 65° C, an aroma sauna at 85 ° C, a vitality sauna at 90° C and a big sauna called the Spectaculum at 90 ° C. There is also a steam room at 47 ° C, a sanarium at 57° C and a whirlpool. To rest there is the sensorial room Blue Space, a watery relaxation room.

The bar

A small bar is installed in the centre of the sauna area. Cold and hot beverages are suggested, like fresh juices of oranges, carrots or grapefruit... You can have a snack, but if you are really hungry, you must go back downstairs to the restaurant in the bathing area.

The sauna area outside

The sauna area outside is accessible by a little bridge behind the whirlpool. There are two saunas of wood in the middle of the trees : the forest sauna at 85° C and the the fire (of wood) sauna at 95 ° C. At the end of the path, some sun beds are available.

The sauna infusions (Aufguss)

We arrived in the Caracalla Spa between 4 p.m and 5 p.m. In the biggest sauna, there was a sauna infusion offered every hour. The theme of the sauna infusion at 6 p.m. was "Café de Paris". The Spectaculum was full, despite its capacity of 60 places.
The programme of the sauna infusions of every dag of the week is available on the website of the Caracalla Spa.

Our opinion

Baden-baden is a nice and very charming town. You really should visit it.

Unfortunately, we don't share this opinion for the Caracalla Spa.

We have been disappointed for the following reasons :

We prefer the spas where all the activities are done naked like in Belgium and in the Netherlands. The separation in two parts, one with and another without swimsuit is not practical and unpleasant. Not practical, because depending on what you want to do, you must take of or put on your swimsuit. Unpleasant, because swimming without suit is hundred times cooler.

We found the sauna area too concentrated and too closed. It is like a space filled with the maximum of equipments in a minimum of space. It lacks of air, lacks of windows and space under the ceiling.

The clients in the bathing area were mainly composed of families while the sauna area was in majority occupied by men. There was, on our day of visit, not a fifty-fifty ratio women-men like often in Belgium and in the Netherlands.

When we visit a spa, it is to unwind, to relax. We have not found in the Caracalla Spa the wellness we were looking for. But of course, this is just our opinion about only one visit. The other clients who were very numerous seemed very satisfied.

Address

Caracalla Spa
Römerplatz 1
76530 Baden-Baden
Germany
www.carasana.de/en/caracallaspa/