Amazing Spas In Bulgaria That Will Revitalise Your Life

Bulgaria is famous for its mineral springs, an assortment of beauty products made with locally-sourced rose oil from Rose Valley and the healing properties of its mud. Whether you’re looking for a spa in Sofia or on the Black Sea coastline, book one of these top wellness hotels with Culture Trip.

Bulgaria is home to more than 800 mineral springs, many of which the Romans famously tapped into more than 2,000 years ago. Today, the legacy remains – the country offers an exciting array of spa centres, complete with outdoor pools, multiple saunas and state-of-the-art beauty therapies. Here’s our pick of Bulgaria’s best spa hotels for an indulgent weekend away.

1. Katarino Spa Hotel, Razlog

Independent Hotel, Resort

Katarino Hotel & Spa exterior in the snow with porch and wooden frame

At the foot of Rila, Bulgaria’s highest mountain range, you’ll find 31,000sqm (333,681sqft) of sprawling alpine luxury at Katarino Spa Hotel. The hotel’s modern spa centre houses an indoor mineral pool and a thermal zone with infrared as well as Finnish and kiwi saunas, an ice fountain, tepidarium, laconium Roman baths and salt rooms. In the wellness area, book individual and couples massages, facials or special spa rituals – we recommend hydrotherapy or an anti-stress floatation bath.

2. Zornitza Family Estate, Melnik

Resort, Boutique Hotel, Independent Hotel

Zornitza Family Estate Relais & Chateaux room with bare stone walls, patio and wood beam ceiling

Located within the rolling hills and vineyards of southern Bulgaria, this family-owned estate is now home to a working eco-farm, a boutique hotel and six luxury villas. The estate’s spa, Zoma, is a testament to the local area and its spoils – grapes and wine, lavender, olive oil and honey from the estate’s beehives all feature in the therapies. The healing mud massage uses sage-infused thermal mud from a nearby extinct volcano.

4. Strimon Garden Medical Spa Hotel, Kyustendil

Spa Hotel

Home to ancient Roman baths, Kyustendil has been recognised as a spa resort town for centuries. At the five-star Strimon Garden, it’s no surprise that the spa is a real focus, with all of its healing water coming from the town. Indoor and outdoor pools, two saunas, a hydromassage bath and a spa capsule make up the offerings, and there is also a beauty salon and a fitness centre. For dinner, make sure you order the local speciality, freshwater trout.

5. Saint George Hotel and Spa, Pomorie

Spa Hotel, Hotel

Saint George Hotel and Spa, Pomorie interior pool with Roman-style decor and loungers

The salt lake in Pomorie, found along the Bulgarian Black Sea coast, is one of the best places for a healing mud bath. Stay at the Saint George Hotel and Spa, where you can indulge in a mud facial or mud bath, traditionally said to boost the immune system and slow down the ageing process. There is also a saltwater swimming pool, two saunas and a steam bath. Wellness programmes here range from half-day treatments to 10-day retreats. Have a drink at the Sky Bar on the hotel rooftop for stunning views of Pomorie and the coast.

6. Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, Bansko

Resort, Chain Hotel, Spa Hotel, Hotel

Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, Bansko outdoor pool area with loungers and hotel behind

If you’re looking for some pampering after a day on the slopes, the Kempinski Hotel Grand Arena, in the ski resort of Bansko, is the best place to rest your weary muscles after schussing across the mountain. Inside, expect a traditional ski lodge with wooden beams, stone walls and crackling fires. It’s undoubtedly one of the most luxurious spas in Bulgaria. There are three pools (two of which are outdoors), two jacuzzis, a steam room, a Finnish sauna and a herbal sauna. One of its most unique features is an ice-cold snow room, perfect after a steam-room session. Spa treatments are themed around the four seasons, and there are also Thai massages on offer and treatments using locally-sourced Bulgarian rose extract.

7. Landmark Creek Hotel, Plovdiv

Spa Hotel, Hotel

Landmark Creek Hotel room with twin beds, carpet and wall art

Just outside Plovdiv, Bulgaria’s cultural capital, the Landmark Creek Hotel sits next to the Rowing Canal. The town is home to ancient Roman amphitheatres and Ottoman-era baths, both of which inspired the hotel’s huge wellness centre. During the summer, the outdoor pool is busy with children playing and adults sunbathing. Retreat to the spa for a sauna, steam or jacuzzi session and a treatment or two – from chocolate body wraps to a Moroccan-style full-body massage, there’s plenty to choose from. There’s even a VIP area you can rent to have a mini-spa zone all to yourself (with champagne provided).

8. Uva Nestum Wine and Spa, Gotse Delchev

Spa Hotel

Take your spa experience to the next level with Bulgarian wine. Head south from Sofia, close to the Greek border, for a few days of pure bliss at Uva Nestum Wine and Spa. Set among the vineyards in Gotse Delchev, this hotel provides a spa centre, a winery and a great restaurant with Bulgarian and international cuisine. The spa houses a hot tub, saunas and steam rooms, including a halotherapy salt room. Try a salt flotation bath or massage using TheraVine products, derived from wine by-products. During the summer season, there’s also an outdoor pool with a water slide (in case the kids come, too).

9. Spa Hotel Hissar, Hisarya

Spa Hotel

Hisarya is a small town in central Bulgaria that has been famous for its mineral water treatments since the Romans built baths here. Spa Hotel Hissar is a huge hotel complex with an enormous spa split into the Relax Center and the Deluxe Spa Center. The former has an indoor pool, a Finnish sauna, a steam bath and a plunge pool, while the latter includes a Roman bath, an ice room, a kneipp path and a hot mineral bath. Unique treatments here include hyperbaric oxygen therapy, where you lie in a chamber and inhale high-pressure oxygen – it’s said to boost your metabolism and speed up the recovery time of sport related injuries.

Maria Angelova contributed additional reporting to this article.

Since you are here, we would like to share our vision for the future of travel - and the direction Culture Trip is moving in.

Culture Trip launched in 2011 with a simple yet passionate mission: to inspire people to go beyond their boundaries and experience what makes a place, its people and its culture special and meaningful — and this is still in our DNA today. We are proud that, for more than a decade, millions like you have trusted our award-winning recommendations by people who deeply understand what makes certain places and communities so special.

Increasingly we believe the world needs more meaningful, real-life connections between curious travellers keen to explore the world in a more responsible way. That is why we have intensively curated a collection of premium small-group trips as an invitation to meet and connect with new, like-minded people for once-in-a-lifetime experiences in three categories: Culture Trips, Rail Trips and Private Trips. Our Trips are suitable for both solo travelers, couples and friends who want to explore the world together.

Culture Trips are deeply immersive 5 to 16 days itineraries, that combine authentic local experiences, exciting activities and 4-5* accommodation to look forward to at the end of each day. Our Rail Trips are our most planet-friendly itineraries that invite you to take the scenic route, relax whilst getting under the skin of a destination. Our Private Trips are fully tailored itineraries, curated by our Travel Experts specifically for you, your friends or your family.

We know that many of you worry about the environmental impact of travel and are looking for ways of expanding horizons in ways that do minimal harm - and may even bring benefits. We are committed to go as far as possible in curating our trips with care for the planet. That is why all of our trips are flightless in destination, fully carbon offset - and we have ambitious plans to be net zero in the very near future.