For Czech people, the “beer spa” – aka soaking in a blend of mineral-rich thermal water and the natural materials used to brew beer – is a long-standing tradition. The effects of hops, barley, brewer’s yeast, and malts are as beneficial for the skin as they are for the age-old beverage made from them – so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that this intoxicating pastime quickly became an extremely popular way to chill out. Sounds intriguing? Beginning on July 11th, we don’t have to travel to Prague to try it: at the new BeerSpa under Széchenyi Bath, you can plunge into this alcoholic pleasure!
The name BeerSpa might be a bit misleading: they don’t just pour 1,000 liters of bottled beer into the wooden tubs, but instead fill them with a mix of 36°C hot water, which is rich in minerals and infused with the natural extracts used to brew beer (malts, hops, brewer’s yeast, and barley). They mix the latter ingredients in a bucket with a special kind of beer bath salt that can be found at nearly every Czech brewery’s store, and then they add it to the steamy thermal water – and after that, you have nothing else to do but plunge in and enjoy the ideal mental and physical relaxation. This unique combination stimulates the metabolism, help removes harmful substances from the body, and eases fatigue, stress, and hangovers. They refill the tubs after each guest, so you are guaranteed to be soaking in your very own beer bath. Meanwhile, throughout the BeerSpa experience, guests can pour and enjoy an unlimited amount of Czech beer on tap within reach from the tub. Sounds like every beer lover’s dream, doesn’t it?
BeerSpa is located under Széchenyi Bath, so to enjoy this doubly intoxicating dip, you need a valid ticket for the main bath facilities and a separate ticket for the alcohol-filled tubs (7,625 HUF for one person, 12,200 HUF for two). There are six tubs, and two people can soak in each of them, so they aren’t only perfect for relaxation, but also if you want to do something memorable on a first date or want to take having beers with a friend to the next level. Chilling out under a hop-shaped lamp, and sipping on freshly tapped cold beer while enjoying the health benefits of the bath – for beer aficionados, there isn’t anything better than that. Not to mention that you don’t have to worry about long lines, because clients get priority entry to the Széchenyi Spa! So after the beer bath, you can keep soaking in the thermal waters or sweat out all of the consumed beers in the sauna.After Budapest’s profusion of Beer Bikes, we thought that there was no new way to incorporate beer into daily life in Budapest – but happily, it seems that we were wrong. BeerSpa will open on July 11th , but We Love Budapest enjoyed an exclusive invitation to take the plunge in advance, and during our heady session we forgot about all the stress and bad things that worried us. If you are having a rough week or dying from a hangover, well, the cure has arrived – and come on, is there anything more badass than having a bath in your favorite summer drink?
