Updated April 2026
Imagine sitting in a warm hot tub while the snows falls on your nose. You lean back and look out into the sea. Then you put on your bathrobe and loafers and walk back to the sauna. After 10 minutes jump in the icy waters. You’ll feel like a new person.
Spa culture is often seen as a modern luxury trend, but in reality it is one of the oldest travel traditions in the world.
Spa tradition goes back much further than modern wellness culture suggests. People have always believed that mineral waters were healing and travelling for its soothing properties is a prehistoric thing.
I’ve done the hard work of testing out these 5 spas in the southern part of Sweden just for you to make it easier to find your wellness-vibe. I’ve also added some good-to-know tips at the end. Enjoy!
The Spa tradition
The word “spa” is often linked to the Belgian town of Spa, known since Roman times for its mineral-rich springs, but the idea itself is older and widespread across Europe and beyond.
Physical and spiritual purification by water was done by Native Americans, Babylonians, Egyptians, Greeks and Romans – and is common in all religions.
From Roman bathhouses built around thermal springs, to Ottoman hammams, Scandinavian cold-water bathing traditions, and Japanese onsen culture, spas have long been about more than relaxation. They were places for hygiene, social life, healing, and ritual—often tied to geography and natural hot springs.
Many modern spas have their roots in towns, that long have been famous for healing springs. In 16th century England the Roman ideas of medicinal bathing was revived. In many European spa towns like Baden-Baden, Karlovy Vary, and Bath, the 18th and 19th centuries turned bathing into a cultural practice for the elite, combining medicine, leisure, and architecture. Today’s wellness industry is a continuation of that history, though often stripped of its social and local roots.
At its core, spa culture has always been simple: water, heat, and time—used by humans for thousands of years to reset both body and mind. A spa is actually a place, where mineral rich spring water or seawater is used to give medicinal baths. It often contains silica, sulfur, selenium and radium and you can really feel the water is different. This I have tried in the Szcéchcsny baths in Budapest and in the Blue Lagoon in Iceland as the most travel-worthy places.
So it might be luxury, but it’s part of a longstanding cultural tradition.
WHY SWEDEN
Scandinavia in particular keeps a strong connection to this heritage. In Sweden, spa culture is less about decoration and more about landscape—forest, lake, sea, and silence. Many of the country’s best spa experiences are still tied to nature rather than urban luxury hotels.
I live in Denmark, where it’s very expensive –also spa – so I go to the southern part of Sweden, where it is much cheaper and is within easy reach of Copenhagen. You can also go find places in Germany or The Baltic states. Most of these spas are placed in small town with long bathing history.
Below are some of my favourite spa experiences in Sweden, where the tradition of water and wellbeing continues in a distinctly Nordic way.
Top SPA in Skaane
YSTAD SALTSJÖBAD
We love it! They also have an excellent training program – especially the morning yoga at 8 – either outside on the pier or inside. I usually also get a massage or a mud bath, but the full Creek Experience comes highly recommended.
The spa has two restaurants and bar. The breakfast is a buffet, and if you eat dinner here books the restaurant in advance. The food could be a little healthier and more vegetarian, but it is good and local. The entire atmosphere is just relaxed and warm and welcoming. They even have free bikes or rubber boots. The old town of Ystad is quite close and really nice for some shopping.
THE LODGE RESORT
The Lodge Resort (Affiliated link. You pay the same, but I get a commission to travel for) is the latest I visited with my husband in winter 2023. As you can see in the picture, The Lodge is promoting themselves a romantic Spa hotel on top of Romeleåsen with lovely views of the Skaane rolling countryside.
We visited in winter, and the weather was unfortunately not for a walk in the area. It have to admit, it also seemed more like most just was farmers fields… Another con is that you have to go outside to go between the spa, the restaurant and the room despite the distance being very short. Luckily, our room was in the same building as the spa, so it was fine. My favourite experience was sitting in the outdoor pool with views across the hills as the sun was setting and the snow started falling. How’s that for romantic!
HOTEL SKANSEN
Hotel Skansen is located in the little town Båstad (known for it’s big tennis tournament) right next to the water. It was built as a warehouse in 1877, but in the roaring 20ies it was rebuilt so guests could play tennis and swim. It has housed both Nobel and Swedish King Gustaf V.
The Skansen have a large gym and excellent food. The building is modern looking – I prefer the old wooden ones – but this is definitely a place worth visiting.
INSIDE TIP
Make sure you get one of the rooms in the main building. otherwise, you might have to cross a small road in your slippers.
TOREKOV HOTEL
Torekov Hotell (Affilated link. You pay the sameis a smaller spa hotel than the others, but architecturally integrated very well in the nature place. It’s a little bit further from the sea, because the beach is part of a special nature preserve. We had a wooden terrace, but didn’t use it because of the weather. But it is very quiet, and there are not so many conferences, so you can maintain the relaxed feeling.
The worst thing is the fact that the rooms and the spa and restaurant are in two different building, so you have to walk outside in your slippers and bathrobe which is not optimal. I had a massage, and it was really good. Both my mom and sister also enjoyed their treatments.
First time I visited was many years ago with my husband. I re-visited Torekov with my mom and sister in 2024 and the food was better than remembered. An extra sauna had also been built. We had more time to explore the rugged landscape of Bjärehalvøen which is amazing. We even saw a seal. On the downside (and it’s the one not getting Torekov to jump a place) is the nearby housing. A lot more summerhouses had been built and you really don’t need people to see you sitting in an outdoor jacuzzi…
VARBERG KURORT
Water, Heat & Silence
Today’s Swedish spas continue a tradition that is both ancient and surprisingly simple: heat, cold, silence, and time.
Staying in these places is about relaxation and wellness, but also rooted in a spa culture thousands of years ago are still what make it relevant today.
GOOD TO KNOW BEFORE VISITING A SPA
- I usually stay 1 night, but always wish I could have stayed for 2, because then you have the whole day. I would probably not stay longer, but because by day 3 you’ll be a prune.
- Bring swimsuit or a bikini. Notice if that you have a massage or a body scrub it’s easier with a bikini. But I prefer my swimsuit since I don’t want my bikini to be ruined by chloride.
- Make sure to check where the rooms are located – sometimes it’s in a different building which is very annoying when you are all zen and in your bathrobe and you need to go out in the snow
- Food is also a big deal. Most places have all inclusive which is nice, so you don’t have to break the bubble. But the spas have very different ideas of good food. Some think it’s a steak – some fresh seafood and vegetarian.
- If you want to avoid rush hour, book dinner late and stay in the spa while everyone goes back to get dressed. If you have 2 nights go to the spa between 11 and 15 where everyone else. are checking in or out.
- You can often book spa treatments. Sure it’s very nice, but you can’t go into the sauna after your expensive facial or the pool after an oil massage. Schedule it to just before leaving or save the money and do the treatment on a boring January Monday back home.
- You don’t need to go with a sweetheart. I go with my mom, my sister, friends or grandmother. But also my husband. Expect a lot of couples.
Another great place for spa or rather the hammam is Istanbul: Planning Your Cultural Weekend in Istanbul. If you like relaxing I can recommend: Summer Like a Local on Eastern Crete, Greece!
Do you know a place I need to try?
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