Visitors must wear masks and overshoes. It’s mandatory that spa guests wear bathrobes and bathing suits. Everyone feels the same emotions when they enter the new Eugenie-les-Bains spa space. The 400-square-meter room, which is covered in immaculate mosaics and has a view of the estate’s gardens, is a kind of fully glazed rotunda.
Jean de Gatines (architect) and the medical team envisioned a course with a first counter-current, water corridor. In which about twenty water bikes are turned towards the windows, the patients can enjoy the beauty of the surrounding landscape. Ideal for diabetes and rheumatism relief.
“The basin is divided in two whirlpools. Catherine Couralet is the director of the thermal baths, which has 60 employees. One has jets for the cervical and back, while the other focuses on the arch of your foot and ankles. The current is activated by one click when she touches the touchpad. The perfect combination of new technologies and Earth’s resources.
The thermal water that soothes pain and nourishes the pool is drawn from the local groundwater, which is naturally rich with trace elements and sulfur. Director says that the water must be cooled to 37 degrees as it is 45 degrees out.
The vault was added to give the impression that the architect had placed the building outside. The Meriguet-Carrere Workshop signed the celestial vault with its blue silhouettes.
The new equipment is a response to this reality. Director: “We want to stay on trend but above all, we have undertaken work in the past year and a quarter to welcome more guests to our spas.” We welcomed 300 guests in 1970; 3,000 in 1990; 5,000 in 2000; 10,000 in 2016. We experienced a temporary halt because of confinement, but we have resumed normal operations this year and are hopeful that we will be able to return to the same number in 2023. We expect to see 12,000 more spa guests annually by 2024, which is our goal.
