A new geothermal forest spa called Forest Lagoon will launch in April near Akureyri, in Northern Iceland, with design by Basalt Architects – the creative driving force behind Iceland’s iconic Blue Lagoon. The story behind Forest Lagoon began in 2014 when workers digging inside the Vaðlaheiðargöng heath – for an unrelated project – discovered a geothermal hot water spring. This water source will serve as the beating heart of the

Global spa, hotel and wellness consultancy The E77 Company is realising a new thermal spa resort and hotel among a historic pine forest in Lithuania’s coastal region of Klaipėda, Lithuania. E77 is working alongside project owner and developer Releven to create the destination, as well as Lithuanian architecture studio Arches and professor of architecture Dr Edgaras Neniskis to sensitively integrate the resort within the forest habitat. In his work, Neniskis

The long-awaited Buxton Crescent Hotel and Thermal Spa in the historic spa town of Buxton in the UK will open its doors on 1 October 2020 following an extensive multi-million-pound restoration, after plans were first submitted nearly 15 years ago. Archer Humphryes Architects and Nicholas Jacob Architects have both worked on the project, which has revived one of the UK's first genuine spa hotels, the 81-key destination will re-establish Buxton’s

Following approval to build a £250mn wellbeing resort in Manchester, Therme Group has revealed plans to develop and expand its concept in other major UK cities. “Our aim is to ensure that a Therme Group wellbeing resort is within easy reach of 90 per cent of the UK population,” commented Therme UK COO, James Mark. The development plan includes projects – with a similar concept to Therme Manchester – in

Global wellbeing organisation, Therme Group, has confirmed its 28-acre wellbeing project in the UK is on track to begin construction. Set to open in 2023, the £250m (US$308.6m, €274.4m) waterpark and spa project will combine hundreds of water-based activities with wellbeing treatments, art, nature and technology to create a unique destination. Therme Manchester will feature a dedicated adults’ area with warm-water lagoons hidden among botanical gardens, therapeutic mineral pools, swim-up

Spa management group Groupe SKYSPA has opened an expansive thermal spa in Quebec, Canada, that will be designed by Blouin Tardiff and will offer bathing experiences from around the world. Surrounded by forest, the 60,000sq m (646,000sq ft), CA$12m (US$9m, €8.3m, £7m) Förena Cité Thermale includes three thermotherapy circuits individually themed on Russian, Icelandic and German bathing traditions, along with three pavilions, outdoor bathing facilities and a restaurant. "The idea

European health spa operator Ensana has recently opened a new luxury wellness and relaxation centre at its 5-star Thermia Palace Ensana Health Spa Hotel, on the spa island of Piešt’any, Slovakia. The €4m ($4m, £3m) development, which covers almost 13,000sq ft (1,200sq m), features year-round indoor and outdoor swimming pools, experience showers, a tepidarium, a large whirlpool, Finnish infrared sauna and steam room. The new wellness and relaxation centre at

Alberto Apostoli is designing a new four-level spa for the Formentin Hotel that is inspired by the Aurora Borealis and the icebergs of the Northern seas. A historic thermal hotel built in 1911, the Formentin Hotel is located in the centre of Abano Terme, an ancient thermal area located between Verona and Venice. The 840sq m (9,042sq ft) spa will include a swimming pool on the ground floor, a thermal

After five months of construction and an investment of CHF 45m (€40m), the completely renovated Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Switzerland has opened its doors. For 150 years, the Quellenhof has served as the flagship of Europe’s wellbeing & medical health resort in Bad Ragaz. Swiss interior designer Claudio Carbone has been responsible for the redesign and the development of a new concept which is centered around the hotel’s history and

French ecological architect Vincent Callebaut has won a competition to redesign ancient thermal baths in the Savoyard town of Aix-les-Bains, France. Dubbed "Ecume des Ondes" (Foam of Waves), Callebaut's proposal features a many-storied, heavily foliaged structure with waveform green terraces. Other elements of the spa centre include a retail galleria dedicated to wellbeing, a rooftop restaurant with an aquaponic urban farm, and a viewing centre for the site's Roman ruins,

Turkish architects Project Design Group have designed the KentPlus Yalova Wellness Spa Resort in Armutlu, Yalova in Turkey, which is due to open at the end of this year. The project includes three five-star thermal hotels with more than 1,300 bedrooms and more than 1,000 apartments for timeshare and full-time living. A Physiotherapy Medical Centre will provide thermal water healing, together with detox, physiotherapy and rehabilitation services. The complex will

Architect Claudio Carbone will oversee a complete renovation of Switzerland’s Grand Hotel Quellenhof in Bad Ragaz as part of an extensive investment programme of around 40m Swiss Francs (US$42m, €34m, £30m). Part of the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz, the five-star wellbeing and medical health resort first opened in 1869, and includes 106 suites, which have hosted film stars, statesmen and royalty. CEO Patrick Vogler said the forthcoming renovations will “complete

This autumn, the famed Blue Lagoon in Iceland will open a subterranean spa, a 62-bedroom luxury hotel and a restaurant celebrating the country’s culinary heritage, all designed by Reykjavik-based Basalt Architects. Blue Lagoon managing director Dagný Pétursdóttir called this is an “important milestone.” “We are evolving and expanding our horizons,” said Pétursdóttir. “Our foundation is the unique geothermal seawater, our stunning environment, and the commitment of our employees to provide

Four Seasons is planning a new luxury resort in Napa Valley, California, that will include a spa using the natural geothermal waters unique to the Calistoga region. Owned by Boston-based real estate private equity firm Alcion Ventures and developed in partnership with Colorado-based boutique firm Bald Mountain Development, the Napa Valley resort will include 85 guest rooms and 20 private residence villas. Designed by O’Bryan Partnership Architects, with interior design

Greece’s Miraggio Thermal Spa Resort is set to open in May of this year in Halkidiki, with a 3,000sq m (32,291sq ft) Myrthia Thermal Spa, and plans for a medical wellness section to be added in 2017. Owned by Med Sea Health, the resort is designed by Greek architecture firm DLP, owned by Michel De Landtsheer and Eleni Pletsa, and will feature 300 bedrooms and suites, 48 with private pools.

The Italian design team behind the world’s deepest thermal pool have told CLAD that the concept could go global in the near future. Emanuele Boaretto made history last year when he opened a 40m pool, named Y-40, at his Hotel Millepini resort in Padova, north Italy. Equivalent in height to nine double decker buses, the pool incorporates four caves for technical underwater diving and a transparent viewing tunnel. Nicknamed The

The Galgorm Resort & Spa in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, has opened a new Thermal Spa Village, which means the resort now boasts 75,000sq ft (6,968sq m) of picturesque riverside spa facilities. The Thermal Spa Village was launched at the same time as the resort added another 48 guestrooms, designed by architect Douglas Wallace, bringing the total offering to 122. Spa consultant Jennifer Gorman helped create the Thermal Spa Village, which

New Zealand’s Hanmer Springs Thermal Pools and Spa has released a plan to build a European-style day spa in the historic Chisholm Ward of the Queen Mary Hospital, located in the Hurunui District of the country, just north of Christchurch. General manager Graeme Abbot said the NZ$15m (US$9.4, €8.4m, £6.1m) investment is required to create the spa and the pools, and he is looking for a joint venture investor to

EPR Architects are working to design the hotel and spa at the upcoming Poultry Hotel in London. The five-star offering will occupy the Grade I-listed former Midland Bank headquarters – the vault of which was portrayed as Fort Knox for the climax of the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. Scheduled to open in 2016, the hotel is set to feature 252 bedrooms, a restaurant, health and leisure facilities, rooftop terraces

The Heritage Lottery Fund has pledged a further £11.3m (US$18m, €14m) towards the scheme to redevelop Buxton Crescent and Thermal Spa, in addition to the £12.5m (US$20.5m, €14.9m) it awarded the project in 2006. The project to repair and restore the Grade I-listed building into a five-star thermal spa and 79-bedroom hotel is jointly owned by Derbyshire County Council and High Peak Borough Council and is expected to open at

The Global Spa & Wellness Summit (GSWS) has published a standards guide for spa and wellness industry projects, the Guide to Hydrothermal Spa Development Standards. The book is designed to help spa owners, operators, architects and builders when considering the building of either public or private hydrothermal areas. It contains global terminology, definitions of hydrothermal areas and provides information on project planning, right through to key building and construction considerations,

A collaboration led by architectural firm Francisco Mangado has been commissioned to convert an old hospital into a thermal bath facility in France following a design competition. Francisco Mangado, along with V2S architectes, Terrell, SACET, Alayrac, and GAMBA Acoustique Architecturale & Urbaine, will convert the old Thermal Hospital of the municipality of Amélie-les-Bains in southern France into a spa. Scheduled to open at the end of 2016, the €6.5m (US$9m,

Portuguese company Unicer, best-known for its beer brewing operations, has announced the addition of two northern Portugal spas to its property portfolio. The company is best-known for its flagship beer Super Bock, but also has assets through its Pedras Salgadas mineral water brand, as well as recently expanding into tourism ventures. The tie-up continues the trend of convergence between the spa and mineral water markets. Linked by the natural thermal

YTL Hotels, part of Malaysian conglomerate YTL Corporation Berhad, has announced a new hotel and spa project in the UNESCO World Heritage City of Bath, UK. The Gainsborough Bath Spa, the company's first Classic Hotel in the UK, will open early in 2014. The hotel will have direct access to Bath's natural thermal waters. The 99-room property is located on Beau Street and made up of three historical buildings, each