The Ultimate Holiday

Strong, hot, fragrant tea would be just the thing you want when your cheeks are flushed from a windy January night- I had not been in the lobby ten seconds when Tonia handed me a glass. This apparently is life at Thermae Sylla Spa- having the thing you need before you even realize it. Upstairs in my lovely room, fresh apples, water, stacks of fluffy towels, and the BBC reporting on the very same high winds raging just outside the tall french doors set the tone. The sea was rough and the palm trees were swaying on their fat trunks. All that violence heightened the primal sense of luxury: shelter from the elements, meals to nourish and delight, the warmth of hospitality and welcome. 

(And the big marble bathroom somehow made me feel like Audrey Hepburn).

Some colleagues and I were guests of Thermae Sylla for the weekend- we had come to celebrate the one year Anniversary of Travel Bloggers Greece (I wrote about it here), a group dedicated to sharing our love of everything Greece with the rest of the world. This was a perfect destination for us to discover and to share- super-accessible (a couple hours from Athens), but a complete get-away- it feels like the edge of the world:

This beautiful corner of Greece- Aidipsos- has subtlety- not so high profile as some of the islands. The season, too, has subtlety- winter in Greece is fabulous (the more so for being kind of a secret). Lastly, what with all the beaches and archaeology and so on, people don't necessarily think of spas when they think of Greece. This is a mistake. Thermae-Sylla has some of the best water in Europe (in the top three), and has a grand 120 year history of its own. Greece, blessed in so many ways, has many excellent natural springs (read about them here). All reasons to shine light on this quintessentially Greek experience.

Actually, this spring, coming from 3 kilometers deep in the earth, has its share of fame. Aristotle refers to the Springs of Aidipsos in his writings on geological and climactic phenomena. Plutarch also wrote of the waters. The spa takes its name from Roman General Sylla. Healed from the waters, he preserved the town from the conquering armies. Augustus and Hadrian later visited too. More glamorous- and recent visitors- Maria Callas, Omar Sharif, Greta Garbo. And Russian Cosmonaut Sergey Revin, to recover from his time in space by reconnecting with the earth (on a corner of planet that can look so... otherworldly).

Voula, our hostess, explained that the waters of Greece's springs bubbles up from the earth on their own. 
As they require no pump, their properties are fully retained.

The mineral focus of the holiday became a symbol for the elemental- what is elemental to luxury? Unlike many fine holidays, a stay at Thermae-Sylla centers your focus on the physical, indeed on you, yourself, your rejuvenation. There are transforming treatments- both medical (some guests are here for treatments prescribed by a physician), and indulgent (spiritually transforming?). The spa had made available to us the two steam baths- the photogenic thermal Grotto-

and the hotter, more densely steamy, lushly sensuous (and un-photographable), fresh Eucalyptus branch filled Farmer's Steambath. The fragrance revives you as the steam relaxes you, and you emerge feeling completely purified. 

Of the extensive catalog of treatments, the full body thermal mud therapy sounded the most fabulous. Several of of us did have one- (read about my friends' experiences here and here).  I had not yet seen the natural outdoor pools, and longed to try them, and there was not enough time for both: Thermae-Sylla is in the best location in town. Directly in front of the hotel, thermal waters come gushing from the sea wall, forming natural terraced pools of scalding therapeutic water, mercifully quite shallow, descending to the sea. 

The myth of Hephaestos striking the earth at this blessed spot with a hammer for this spring to emerge seems completely plausible: the water flows up from the earth at 85 C/ 195 F, with dramatic clouds of steam as it hits the cool sea air. Of course it loses some of the heat; the top pool is still scalding though. They get more tolerable as they go down, mixing finally with the waters of the sea. They are lined with a creamy white mineral-rich mud. My hair was caked with it all the way back to Thessaloniki. I didn't mind.

Thank you to Dimitrios Asithianakis for this photo of a spontaneous perfect moment-
 If I did not have it, I wouldn't believe I had actually been in such a phenomenal place.

I'm an urban creature; my relationship to culture is a more defining feature of the everyday than my relationship to the planet. Bathing in its rich minerals everyday, and lolling about in an almost lunar landscape brought things into perspective. This connection to the earth extends to the botanical- the Spa has its own farm, and much of what we dined on came from it- fabulous oil, herbs, produce. This is not hotel food, or even spa food so sumptuous!). It is just, like everything else here, the ideal distillation of the best the earth has to offer- luxury at its most elemental.

As a perfect meal does, I'll finish with dessert. On our first day at the spa, after a morning tour and a meeting, and a lunch of every fresh and delicious thing, we were longing to try the waters at last. What was keeping us from the thermal pools? The very best baklava I, or my colleague, another food blogger (you can visit her here), who is actually Greek and so has tried more baklavas than I, had ever eaten. We shared a piece. Then, instead of changing into our bathing suits, we shared two more. Thank you to pastry chef Dimitrios Patsis for defining the dessert (and to Svetlana for the fabulous creamy puddings at breakfast!). Again, perfection of the elemental seemed the hallmark of our stay.

Thermae Sylla's rooms start at 150 euroes. Treatments and therapies are charged separately- details available on their website. 

I was a guest of the spa. My opinions are my own. I loved it. If you get a chance, go.

Another decisive factor of a perfect vacation? The best company.
Here is Eleanna taking some photographs.

And here we are with Voula!- Marissa (l) and Elena (r), 
who founded Travel Bloggers Greece and arranged this fabulous weekend, 
are beside her.