How to choose a spa hotel in Montecatini Terme
Friends, we visited Italy again and went to the Montecatini Terme resort, which is located in the province of Pistoia of the Tuscany region. Exactly here in 1987 year the famous Russian filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov made the film "Dark Eyes" with Marcello Mastroianni, Helen Safonova and Innokenty Smoktunovsky. And our team made a video of how to decide on the right hotel in Montecatini Terme. All hotels of the resort, presented on our website, we will compare in terms of location relative to the drinking springs and the "Terme Redi" hospital, the level of comfort and quality of nutrition. There is no need to compare hotels in terms of quality of treatment and we will explain why.
Features of treatment at the resort
The main indications for treatment in Montecatini Terme are diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, musculoskeletal system, respiratory system and ENT organs. The specificity of Montecatini Terme is that the hotels do not have their own therapeutic departments, and all guests are treated in several baths or thermae. There are five of them, but only three are active: "Terme Tettuccio", "Terme Excelsior" and "Terme Redi". Let's find out what are the differences and benefits between them.
"Terme Tettuccio" has springs of all four thermal waters that are prescribed by physicians for drinking treatment: "Leopoldina", "Tettuccio", "Rinfresco" and "Regina". The center operates from May to November, and there are doctors here. In winter, from November to May, "Terme Tettuccio" stops working and only "Terme Excelsior" becomes available for drinking treatment, where all 4 springs that we listed earlier are also presented. Also in "Terme Excelsior" there is an opportunity to undergo various spa treatments for face and body based on thermal water, there are different types of massages (for example, Ayurvedic and Thai), there is a simulator "SlimFit" using infrared radiation.
There are also appointments by doctors and basic procedures at "Terme Redi":
- mud treatment with local clay, which matures within 6 months with the addition of water from the spring "Leopoldina"
- obligatory spa treatment "Thermal bath" based on water from the "Leopoldina" spring, in some cases it is saturated with ozone on the doctor's recommendation
- there is a large ENT department where inhalation therapy is carried out, there is also a children's department where children's inhalers are used
- rehabilitation gymnastics in swimming pools is also carried out on the basis of thermal water
- Kneipp therapy
- special baths equipped with a bike simulator.
All rehabilitation procedures are conducted in thermal water. There is a large fitness room, where under the supervision of an instructor of therapeutic physical education or physiotherapist the therapeutic gymnastics is performed, both individually and in groups.
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Location of hotels
Let's start with the location of the hotels in relation to the medical center "Terme Redi", where our customers undergo treatment procedures. We'll list hotels as they're at a distance from the medical center, starting with the nearest one: "Ercolini & Savi" (400 m), "La Pace", "Tamerici & Principe", "San Marco", "Astoria", "Francia & Quirinale", "Bellavista", "Mediterraneo" and the furthest – "Michelangelo & Spa" (1000 m). From the hospital to the hotel you will have to walk down the street, but in the hospital itself there are places where you can relax, dry out and cool down after the procedures.
Further we will tell you about the location of each hotel in relation to the curative mineral springs, namely in relation to the summer pavilion "Terme Tettuccio" and winter pavilion "Terme Excelsior". The hotels closest to the summer pavilion are "Astoria" (150 m) and "Bellavista" (230 m), behind them are "Michelangelo & Spa", "Mediterraneo", "Francia & Quirinale", "San Marco", "Tamerici & Principe", and farther away from the "Terme Tettuccio" are the hotels "La Pace" and "Ercolini & Savi" (approx. 650 m). The closest hotels to the winter drinking pavilion "Terme Excelsior" are "San Marco", "Ercolini & Savi" and "La Pace" (approx. 400 m). Next are "Astoria", "Bellavista", "Mediterraneo", "Francia & Quirinale", "Tamerici & Principe" and the most distanced in this case is "Michelangelo & Spa" (600 m). Based on the location information, it is possible to determine which hotel will be more advantageous for a stay in the cold and which one in the warm season. It should be noted that from most hotels the road to the springs and the hospital leads on a flat terrain, a little on a hill is the hotel "Michelangelo & Spa".
Comfortableness of hotels
We assessed hotels by the following parameters: accommodation conditions, comfort of rooms, range of services and facilities, leisure opportunities. As a rule, the most comfortable hotels are also the most expensive. These are the 5-star "La Pace" and "Bellavista" in Montcatini Terme. Based on our experience, the rest of the hotels can be arranged in the following order, starting with the most comfortable one: "Francia & Quirinale", "Michelangelo & Spa", "Tamerici & Principe", "Astoria", "Ercolini & Savi", "San Marco", "Mediterraneo". All hotels have climate control systems, TV sets, safes, there are showers or bathtubs in the bathrooms. Hotel "Bellavista" has a steam sauna in the rooms of higher categories. Wellness centers are only available at "La Pace", "Bellavista" and "Tamerici & Principe". The first two hotels have the most comfortable wellness facilities, with indoor and outdoor swimming pools, saunas, fitness room and massage rooms. "La Pace" has its own tennis club and a court on site. "Tamerici & Principe" has a small outdoor pool in the courtyard, also this hotel has a salt room. All hotels except "San Marco" have parking - its guests can park in the parking lot of the nearby "La Pace" hotel, this service is usually provided for a surcharge. For more information on services and rooms, please see the hotels on our website.
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Meals in hotels
In terms of food, all hotels have several restaurants. Breakfasts are buffet-style, lunches and dinners - optional from the menu. The quality of food and products is, in principle, good everywhere. Again, the higher the hotel category, the greater the choice of dishes. Despite the fact that Montecatini is a drinking resort, there is no dietary food here, as such, guests choose their own dishes from the dishes offered products. Nutritionists do not work in hotels either. During your stay at the resort, we advise you to keep to a light diet, avoiding overeating and eating too spicy and fatty foods. It is advisable to follow a proper diet in order to maximize the effect of drinking treatment. I'd like to note that the hotel "San Marco" has only a breakfast room, lunches and dinners are held in the restaurant of the hotel "La Pace", which is 250 meters away. When choosing a hotel, we advise you to pay attention to the location of the hotel in relation to drinking springs and the healing center.