Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell is a hotel on a lonely mountaintop, on the Flåm railway line between Myrdal and Flåm. This railway line is "considered one of the world’s best train journeys". It is indeed spectacular, going through mountains and running on the sides of beautiful, untouched valleys and high plains. And the hotel is a convenient place to stay along the route, if you don't want to stay in Flåm which has more services and hotels. In Vatnahalsen there's nothing except this one hotel, mountain views... also a zip line down to the valley, length 1380 meters :-) And there's s sauna.
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June 2025, Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell, Myrdal, Norway
Sauna (Normal)
Hamburger Börs is a classic hotel in Turku, dating back to 1894. Rebuilt and mostly a new building around the old one nowadays though. Visited the hotel while I was in Turku for the caving association meetup and scanning the Luolavuori cave. Of course I had to try the sauna in the hotel, as well. Very nice.
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June 2025, Hotelli Hamburger Börs, Turku, Finland
Sauna (Normal)
... or at least the Espoonlahti swimming hall :-)
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June 2025, Espoonlahden uimahalli, Espoo, Finland
Swimming (Outdoor, Water); Sauna (Normal)
While in Flåm (see separate articles about Vatnahalsen and the train journey), I noticed that there are some interesting places near the Flåm harbor. Today, the harbor is visited by massive cruise ships that flood the little town with tourists, but it is an old harbor and has seen a lot of history.
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June 2025, Flåm bunker, Flåm, Norway; Flåm dynamite cellar, Flåm, Norway; Flåm harbour boulder cave, Flåm, Norway; Floating fjord sauna, Flåm, Norway
Urban-Exploration (Bunkers); Caving (Basic, Rock, Morphology-Boulders); Sauna (Normal, None)
Can I have an evening mini-vacation, swimming in the waves? Yes I can! Just drive to Forssa (only 104 km away from home) and enjoy the wave machine at the Vesihelmi spa.
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May 2025, Vesihelmi, Forssa, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
I did my first proper visit to the summer cottage in early May, did a quick dip to the lake from the cottage sauna, but a more proper swim was on the way to the cottage in Tampere, at the Tesoma swimming hall. This is a small swimming hall, but quite a positive surprise. Five pools, including a cold dip pool and a jumping platform pool that doubles as a warm therapy pool. Nice.
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May 2025, Tesoman uimahalli, Tampere, Finland; Arkko summer cottage, Teisko, Finland; Tesoman jäähalli, Tampere, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Normal); Skiing (None)
May ski turns on the melting local ski hill, some snow still left despite the early spring. Also a visit to the smoke saunas in Kuusijärvi that were empty due to the May Day.
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May 2025, Kauniainen ski hill, Kauniainen, Finland; Kuusijärvi, Vantaa, Finland
Skiing (Outdoor, Snow, Lifts); Sauna (Smoke); Swimming (Outdoor, Waterbody-Lake)
Thermae Grimbergen is in the outskirts of Brussels, I chose it as an affordable hotel for my business trip. The Thermae looked like a regular hotel, and a small spa, split among multiple buildings. The entrance to the spa was downstairs past the reception in the main buildimng, and I expected a usual basement spa experience. But, it turned out that the buildings were just a front to what was hidden behind: a lush garden with a pond, more than a dozen different saunas and endless relaxation spaces. You wouldn't think the city exists outside the garden.
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April 2025, Thermae Grimbergen, Grimbergen, Belgium
Swimming (Indoor, Outdoor, Waterbody-Pool, Waterbody-Lake); Sauna (Steam, Normal, Infrared)
Saw this on lake Annecy, at the spa "Eugénie Spa" in Talloires-Montmin on Lac d'Annecy. Nice location, and I don't usually like barrel saunas but I would like to try this one with the glass bubble on the business end!
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April 2025, Eugénie Spa, Talloires-Montmin, France
Sauna (None)
Hervanta, a suburb of Tampere. I was told there was a swimming hall here, an underground one. Usually there'd be some signs but now I see nothing, at least not at the parking lot. But the map points to the yard of the nearby apartment block, so after walking just 50 meters I see the entrance, a small concrete building is the only thing that sticks out above ground.
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April 2025, Hervannan uimahalli, Hervanta, Tampere, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal); Caving (Man-Made, Basic, Rock); Urban-Exploration (Bunkers)
The Imperial Palace ... and a swim at their Crystal Spa. Even from the names you can tell that this is a high-level experience. The Palace is the highest end hotel in Annecy, and it is by the lake. It is a nicely renovated classic building from 1912. Even the smallest rooms can run up to 700 € per night at busy times, though we stayed here for much less, on a very nice day but with less crowds. Crystal Spa is their spa facility. Much recommended!
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April 2025, Imperial Palace, Annecy, France
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Steam, Normal)
Salish Lodge is a luxury hotel ledged right above the spectacular 82 meter Snoqualmie Falls. The falls and the lodge are iconic and well known, not least due to their presence in the 1990s TV series Twin Peaks. It is a wonderful park to visit, and the views really are something else, I think objectively a more beautiful place than the Niagara Falls, for instance. And the hotel is superb.
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March 2025, Salish Lodge, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA; Snoqualmie Falls, Snoqualmie, Washington, USA
Sauna (Normal, Steam); Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Hiking
I had an extra hour plus at the Frankfurt Airport, so instead of hanging around in the sorry Air France lounge (see another report), I decided to exit the airport and check out the spa the the Steigenberger hotel.
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March 2025, Steigenberger Airport Hotel Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt, Germany
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal, Steam)
Found another Helsinki area swimming hall, again! Great! This time in Vihti, at the Vihti Swimming Hall. It is a 25-meter swimming pool and smaller kiddie pool, a part of the school building complex in Nummela.
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March 2025, Vihdin Uimahalli, Nummela, Vihti, Finland
Swimming (Indoor, Waterbody-Pool); Sauna (Normal)
I was in Ulaanbaatar for skiing and caving, but of course I also had to visit the local saunas and pools. I stayed at the Best Western Tuushin hotel and their spa had a sauna. And possibly the best hotel in town, the Shangri-La, has an entire sports club with 25 meter pool, saunas, etc.
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February 2025, Best Western Premier Tuushin Hotel, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; Shangri-La Centre Sports Club, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Sauna (Normal); Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal)
Didn’t realize there was a community swimming hall in Siuntio. And I guess it’s pretty new, previously part of the closed hotel but since the hotel has been revived and the Siuntio community took on the spa part in 2023 … quite nice. Dated, but well done. Two 25-meter pools. Just few people, life guards will say hi unlike in Espoo or Helsinki, etc. Worth a visit.
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February 2025, Hotelli Siuntio, Siuntio, Finland
Swimming (Waterbody-Pool, Indoor); Sauna (Normal)