Bathe in wine, beer and chocolate at Czech spas!

The spas around Prague, in the Czech Republic are out to prove that spa treatment is more than drinking from healing springs and mud wraps. The Czech Republic offers bathing in chocolate or beer, or a massage with real pearls.

The spas around Prague, in the Czech Republic are out to prove that spa treatment is more than drinking from healing springs and mud wraps. The Czech Republic offers bathing in chocolate or beer, or a massage with real pearls.

At Buchlovice Spa, chocolate lovers can treat themselves to relaxing chocolate and honey massages and other wellness treatments full of chocolate. At the Moravian spa of Luhačovicethere is a local chocolate treatment that is said to make skin rejuvenated, softer, and the body rid of excess toxins.

The Czech Republic has a reputation for strong pure beers. Czechs are good at production and consumption of beer (they are the number one beer drinkers in the world). In the Karlovy Vary region is Chodová Planá at the Chodovar family brewery offering beer baths to guests. The bath, at a temperature of 35°C and with characteristic caramel-coloured beer froth, is an excellent treatment against psoriasis, acne and cellulite. Every tub has a beer tap, so guests can drink during treatment. Beer baths are popular among spa-goers, and these have been introduced by a number of other small family breweries-such as at the Svatováclavský microbrewery in Olomouc. There are other beer spas in Rožnov pod Radhoštěm, Štramberk, and Harrachov. For those preferring wine to beer the wine spa in Lednice offers wine treatment and even a bath in champagne. The alcohol-free champagne extract has a beneficial effect on skin and hair. It is anti-inflammatory, eliminates free radicals, and replenishes energy.

Pearl massages and silk therapy are on offer at Chateau Mcely, originally a hunting lodge, about an hour’s drive from Prague. Cranberry massage is available at the Jeseník Spa where the high vitamin C and E content of cranberries have regenerative and anti-oxidizing effects. The Libverda Spa uses a full-body wrap of banana leaves, while Lázně Bohdaneč offers the beneficial effects of cinnamon.

Even cold can be healing and relaxing by alleviating pain as well as chronic troubles including stress and fatigue, at the Teplice and Bečvou Spa which has a cryogenic chamber. This therapy is also offered to guests of Spa Darkov. Cold treatments are also available at Čeladná in the Beskids Mountains.

Czech spas are among the oldest in Europe and there are 37 spa towns in the Czech Republic, many with natural healing springs, be these mineral springs, gases or peloids. Wellness programmes are also offered by specialised modern resorts -in the mountains, in the forests or in the Moravian vineyards.