On a very cold winter trip to Berlin I discovered two of the cities healthiest hotels, the Aspria and Almódovar. Having a healthy break, eating healthy food and staying fit in any city can be challenging, unless you’re staying in wellness savvy hotels that make it easy for you, and cater to every aspect of your wellbeing needs.
Located on a residential street in the affluent area of Charlottenburg, the Aspria has its own on site designer Health and Sports Club with 25m length indoor swimming pool, upscale gym and state of the art luxury spa with steam rooms, Turkish baths, hamam, salt inhalation room, wave dream installation, whirlpool, kneippbaths, plenty of chill out areas and rooftop terrace.
There’s also a range of daily fitness, dance, pilates and yoga classes to choose from. After it snowed on my arrival at the airport and being the coldest destination I’d travelled to all year, I was eager to head straight to the sauna after check-in to heat myself up!
This was my first experience of a ”no clothes zone” spa which not everyone may feel comfortable with. I decided to brave it for those short moments of moving from the jacuzzi to the sauna, steam room and back again. It’s huge and there’s plenty of wellness spaces to chill out in, I easily spent half a day here relaxing and enjoying the abundance of spa facilities!
Spa therapies and massages are available in the treatment rooms located on another floor to the spa. I was given a microdermabrasion facial treatment using the finest products just before bed time that made my skin feel silky smooth and looking radiant.
Rooms are on the clinical rather than cosy side but are impeccably clean and super modern with an open style bathroom, and have a good work/writing space to set up office when you need to check those emails.
I really enjoyed my time at the Aspira with its wonderful facilities fully dedicated to health and wellbeing, it’s perfect for both keeping active and relaxing in. The staff were absolutely lovely too! I can’t wait to go back in the warmer summer months and enjoy the roof terrace!
Located in the heart of the city, the Almodovar is Berlin’s first organic vegetarian and certified bio hotel that is not just big on sustainability and eco friendliness but also serves up delicious organic vegetarian and vegan food. I loved the location of the hotel on Boxhagener Straße, which has an hip East London vibe to it with lots of trendy cafes, restaurants and boutique shops close by.
The whole hotel has a natural and earthy feel to it with beautifully designed wooden furniture made from sustainable forests, lots of light, forest green colours and potted bamboo plants.
Each of the 60 rooms are individually decorated in a modern minimalist style using natural, organically-farmed materials for bed and bath textiles and naturally-certified cosmetics in the bathrooms. There’s a touch of Asian theme with an Indonesian statue as part of the furniture.
Having a yoga mat in each room is a very nice wellbeing touch, so I can begin my day with a little namaste and morning practice!
There’s a wellness spa and glass walled sauna on the rooftop of the hotel overlooking the city with a big relaxation area. I received a blissful massage solely focused on my back, to get rid of all the tension caused from many hours typing away on the laptop! They also offer yoga and qi gong classes on the roof top.
I don’t normally dine in hotel restaurants however the mediterranean menu sounded divine and I had to try some of the vegan tapas and organic wine. The buffet breakfast served in the Bistro Bardot is a vegan or vegetarian persons dream with plenty of exciting options for either, I wish this was my breakfast every day – it beats any hotel breakfast buffet I have had hands down.
As I only had a few days in Berlin, I did not get much time to explore what’s I plan on going back there this summer to try out some of the amazing restaurants I have read about, and of course seek out some more wellness hotels! If you have any tips or recommendations I would love to hear from you!
