Tauern Spa – How to do it right!

How many times can you drive by a heated, roof-top pool before finally giving in to the urge to jump in? Not many is the answer.

Chances are your first sight of Tauern Spa will be through the window of a public bus.  It’s a short bus ride between Zell am See and Kaprun and if you’re staying at either of them then you will more than likely be making the journey between the two at some point.  Tauern Spa is one of the most eye-catching (other than all the gorgeous mountains of course) sights between the two towns.

Not only because we all like to be a little nosey but the initial horror that you might have just stumbled across someone’s private naked pool party.

The bus makes a detour from the main road before the inevitable pointing from passengers begins. As you approach you eyes are immediately drawn towards the half naked silhouettes showing through the distorted glass of the heated rooftop pool. The steam rising from the waters surface making it ever more inviting, especially if you’re visiting during winter.

 Is there a better place to be when it’s cold outside?

I’m not going to pretend to be a huge fan of spas, I think the closest I’ve ever come to visiting one was Szechenyi Baths in Budapest and even then I just played around in the whirlpool for most of the time.

Being the great husband I am, it was time to concur this fear of total relaxation and make my wife happy. After all, she was working a ski season with me despite not really wanting to be there.

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when visiting Tauern Spa for the first time.

Access to the pool that draws everyone in isn’t included in the standard spa package. The spa actually doubles as a very nice hotel so you’ll find two sections to the complex. The normal day spa and the slightly more luxurious hotel spa which includes the roof-top pool. Obviously the hotel spa is available to all guests staying over night but you can also gain access just for the day by purchasing the ‘Hotel Panorama Spa’ package.

Why spend the extra cash?

The heated roof-top pool alone is probably worth the extra money and let’s be honest, it’s the main reason you’re considering going here in the first place.

 Incoming Titanic impression

Also included in this package:

•  A very impressive buffet breakfast in the hotel
• Vouchers for lunch
• Water Beds
• Sauna
• Steam Room
• Large viewing deck with loungers
• Light snacks and water (or champagne is available to purchase if that’s more your thing)

You may have also read about saunas and steam rooms in the other packages however, the advantage with the ‘Panorama’ package is that most of the hotel guests are out all day so the spa is often very quiet. Instead of the screams and cries of children running past every few seconds like you’ll experience the relaxing and refreshing spa day you expected.

Plus, you can also enjoy certain facilities in the nude, lets just say the mountains weren’t the only thing visible on the viewing deck…

One of the saunas in the ‘Panorama’ package

The other packages (just to be clear – No access to rooftop pool)

Maybe you like screaming kids or are lucky enough to have some of your own?

If so, then ‘WaterWorld’ will be the package for you. It includes access to a number of indoor and outdoor heated pools with a few quirky attractions to keep everyone entertained.

The other option is ‘SaunaWorld’ which I am sure doesn’t need explaining, this can also be combined with the ‘Waterworld’ package so you get a bit of everything. Both of these are also included in the Hotel Panorama Package although other than visiting the cafe for lunch you’ll probably spend the rest of your time in the hotel side of the complex.

Tauern Spa has large changing rooms with lockers and keys provided and a reasonably priced cafe for lunch or snacks. For a full list of up-to-date prices, you can check their website here.

Although you might have thought otherwise, this was not a sponsored post and we received no special treatment from Tauern Spa. We simply couldn’t believe how much nicer the ‘Panorama’ area was and couldn’t understand why more people weren’t taking advantage of it.