We set off on 19 November from Rome by car, arriving after a few hours in Abano Terme. We stayed at the Grand Hotel Trieste & Victoria in Abano Terme, part of the GB Hotels group. We booked everything online through their booking service and we phoned to get further information about their wellness treatments. Our budget was about 800 euros each and we spent almost all of it on travel, accommodation and spa treatments. We had a wonderful time and above all we had crazy fun!! We recommend taking a stroll around Abano Terme and going to Padua, especially to Caffè Pedrocchi.
Here's our story... written by six hands!!
It was a Monday evening when this idea came to us. Francesca, Mara and I were so in need of relaxation that we said to each other: "Why not? Why not choose to spend a short holiday in a place where everything is surrounded by tranquillity and well-being?" We wanted to switch off from the stress of work and the usual routine!
And then Mara insisted so much because of her back problems and she'd heard that the spa could be a cure-all for her ailment.
And yes! Spas are good not only for the body... but also for the mind. The next day we gathered information, did some research and straight away we understood that Abano Terme would satisfy our desires, so we booked at the Hotel Metropole in Abano Terme for a 5-day stay. After less than a week we set off from Rome by car. We left on Friday morning and within a few hours we were there, in a Veneto town that we would never have imagined could be so beautiful and interesting.
Just after leaving the motorway, Abano Terme opened up before us surrounded by the wonderful hills of the Euganean Hills, the sumptuous Venetian villas, abbeys, castles...and even our Grand Hotel Trieste & Victoria appears to us like a treasure chest, one of those that hold a great treasure inside. And its modern treasure is the thermal water, a treasure that during our stay delighted us enormously!! We began our holiday wanting to discover it and the whole time we let ourselves be pampered by the sulphurous water. We never wanted to get out of the warm thermal pools! The thermal water has a constant temperature and helps muscle relaxation and pain reduction, favouring rehabilitation exercises and the movement of the whole body.
Thanks to this, our friend managed to spend a few days without any pain from her backache... finally! She then also felt the beneficial effects after our return home. But the water isn't the only precious asset of this place. It's the mud that is produced with the thermal water that made us understand the uniqueness of this Hotel and of the town. The therapist explained to us that the mud is processed directly inside the Hotel's thermal facility using the thermal water. Through some wells, the mud is drawn out and subsequently matures in special tanks for a short period to absorb all the benefits
The first two days passed quickly and we dedicated them to our Mud & Shape treatment, which was personalised by the doctor who examined us and followed us throughout the stay. We spent the time between slimming muds and aerobic exercises, gossiping a bit freely. It had been a long time since I'd had so much fun with my friends. Our goal was to detox a little and get rid of the excesses of the Christmas period. But in the end we wanted to spend some time together and it had been years since I'd had so much fun and relaxed with my friends.
We saw and felt the effects of the treatments straight away. After each treatment each of us felt good and looked more beautiful...it seemed as if our therapists' hands were magic! At lunch and dinner we had a menu all our own. For our little group and for all the people following the Mud & Shape treatment, every day the chefs studied and prepared the tastiest and best diet menu I had ever eaten. I didn't envy the others' dishes at all... and I must admit, we did taste a few desserts. Absolutely divine guilty pleasures! After spending two days in complete relaxation, we decided to organise our days differently and get to know the area. In fact, we scheduled the treatments in the morning and kept the afternoon free. The Hotel staff were very kind in organising our excursions, while the spa staff helped us to schedule and group the treatments in the morning hours.
Every wish of ours came to life and was fulfilled with friendliness and professionalism. A rare quality for a hotel of that size and with such a large staff. On the third day we went out for a walk in the town of Abano Terme. Between an aperitif in the recommended venue and a bit of shopping we walked along Viale delle Terme, visited Piazza del Sole e della Pace and the Cathedral of San Lorenzo, the main religious building in the town centre. The town of Abano Terme is anything but a "dead" town. The bars and venues were full of people and we also met a group of French girls who were staying in our same hotel. With a bit of French mixed with a few words of Italian we made friends and together we continued walking around the town.
All together we went to the Church of the Sacred Heart and the Urban Thermal Park, a jewel of contemporary architecture, designed as a single large continuous lawn, crossed by paved paths and rich in trees and plants.
The following day, after the mud, we visited Villa Ravioli. Then we returned to the hotel and had yet another thermal bath and tried the grotto. The latter struck us a lot because it's similar to a sauna but its interior resembles a real grotto. After dinner we were with our new French friends at the bar and then we went out.
On the last day we took advantage of Abano Terme's proximity to the city of Padua to visit it and take a last stroll. In Padua we visited the centre of Padua, the diocesan museum and the Baptistery. We also visited the Basilica of Saint Anthony, which houses the Tomb of Saint Anthony of Padua. We relaxed at Caffè Pedrocchi, a historic café in the city that was called the "café without doors" because at the beginning and for a long time it was open both day and night. We had the waiter explain its history to us and we were struck by the number of artists who frequented it, such as Stendhal, Fusinato, D'Annunzio, the futurist Marinetti and Eleonora Duse.
From this experience I understood that the people of Abano Terme are fun, pleasant and likeable. Their friendliness combines with the tranquillity and care that these settings emanate. But Abano Terme is not boring as many think. We had fun, we met new people, we partied in the venues until late... we didn't just do massages and thermal baths. So I can say that Abano Terme is certainly ideal for any type of holiday, even for young girls like us, who want to be together, have fun while taking care of themselves. We even became more beautiful... try it to believe it!
Francesca, Mara and Maria
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