Archena spa (Balneario de Archena): my experience and 2026 prices

Travelling with other women is my hobby and, to be honest, my escape valve. I live in Valencia, and for the past two years my friend Liliana Schneider and I have been organising women’s getaways around Spain. We started them mostly for ourselves. Good female company heals. It lets you slip away from housework, work and problems for a couple of days, sleep, talk and treat yourself. On the road nobody has to talk about work. Archena is perfect for this: you switch off there without noticing.

Two trips in one year

The first time we went with the group for two days, which is how we usually do it. The second time was a single day, from morning to evening. Liliana went back a third time with her family and stayed several days. On the first trip I barely noticed the history, I was too keen to get into the water. On the second I walked around the grounds and could hardly believe it was a spa. It feels like a museum: the fountain hall, the dome, the arabesques on the walls, the old hotels among the palm trees.

In a brochure, a pool with lemons sounds like a minor detail. A pool, some lemons, so what? In person it’s the place you keep going back to several times a day.

What Balneario de Archena is

The spa sits in the Ricote Valley, on the river Segura, 24 kilometres from Murcia and two and a half hours by car from Valencia. Underneath it is a spring, and the water comes out of the ground at 52.5 °C. According to the spa, it spends about 15,000 years underground and picks up minerals on the way, such as sulphur, sodium and calcium. Spain declared it a medicinal water of public utility in 1869.

The Romans bathed here and built the first baths on the banks of the Segura. In the 19th century, when half of Europe was taking the waters, came the Hotel León, the chapel, the casino and the Hotel Termas with its Moorish-style halls. At the entrance to the thermal gallery there is a copy of the fountain from the Court of the Lions in the Alhambra.

Today it is a complex of more than 200,000 square metres with three hotels. Beneath them is the thermal gallery where the treatments happen, and you reach it by lift. There are two large thermal pools at 32 °C, one indoor and one outdoor. And there is Balnea, with saunas, cold water and the famous lemon pool.

The Archena massage, under warm thermal showers

I recommend the Archena massage to anyone going for the first time. You lie on a couch under a row of showers, and warm thermal water runs over you for all 25 minutes. Instead of oil, the therapist uses warm thermal mud. It glides, warms and cleans the skin, and the water rinses it off straight away. For the first five minutes you’re still thinking about something. Then you stop thinking at all.

The spa says it improves venous return, eases muscle knots and helps you relax and sleep. The women in our group come out lost for words, just smiling. On the day you arrive it’s usually fully booked, so I book in advance. A session costs €46 on the 2026 price list.

Archena mud: what it is and what it’s for

The mud is made on site. Clay is mixed with water from the spring and heated to 44-45 °C. The clay soaks up the minerals and holds the heat for a long time. They spread it on your back, lower back, shoulders or knees, wrap you up and leave you for about 15 minutes. The spa uses it for back and joint pain, rheumatism and after injuries, and its doctors say it relieves pain and inflammation. I come out with my back feeling brand new and my skin very soft. A full-body mud treatment costs €35 and a local one €24.

The lemon pool and the Balnea circuit

Balnea is a separate, quiet area of about 4,000 square metres. It’s for over-14s only, so there are no children, and you go in for two-hour sessions. Everything inside is about hot and cold. There are several saunas at different temperatures and the Estufa Archena, a steam room at around 50 °C filled with vapour from the spring water. There is an ice igloo at about 2 °C, a cold plunge pool, contrast showers and knee-deep walkways of hot and cold water.

Then there are the two pools everyone comes for. The lemon pool, made with natural lemon essence, has bubbles and a waterfall, and the water is 34 °C. The flotation pool is so salty that your body floats on its own. Between dips there are heated loungers. The spa’s rule is to go from cooler to hotter saunas, stay no more than 15 minutes in each and get into cold water in between.

What the women say on the way out

This is why we started the trips. Some of them left the thermal complex with completely relaxed faces and tears of gratitude at the same time. They hugged us and said: thank you, I really needed this. Relaxing, and in the company of other women, matters even more when you live far from home. Being among women always recharges me, which is why I put so much care into these trips.

If you go on your own

From Valencia it’s about 230 kilometres on the motorway towards Murcia, two and a half hours by car. A day ticket to the thermal pools (Spa Piscinas Termales) costs €23 on weekdays and €31 at weekends and on public holidays in low season, which in 2026 covers most of November. In high season the weekday price goes up to €25. Hotel guests get the pools included. A Balnea session costs €30 on weekdays and €40 at weekends, a little less for hotel guests. The Termas and Levante hotels have four stars, the León three.

Bring a swimsuit, a swimming cap and flip-flops, as you won’t be let into the pool without a cap, and a padlock for the locker. Hotel rooms have a bathrobe and towel. If you’re only there for the day, bring your own or hire them at the entrance. Food and drink can’t be taken in. If you leave the complex, you’ll need a receipt from one of its restaurants, cafés or treatments to get back in.

Check the maintenance closures before you go. The indoor Termalium pool closes from 9 to 18 December 2026, the outdoor Termal Activa pool from 11 to 22 January 2027 and Balnea from 17 to 27 May 2027. Prices are from the spa’s 2026 price list, so check them on balneariodearchena.com.

How I go

I go with a small group of women from Valencia. We set off in the morning by minibus, stop for breakfast on the way and stay at the Hotel Levante, next to the chapel. These are Vibe Women Club trips, the club I run with Liliana, and the women who come speak Russian and Ukrainian. You can find out more on the club’s page in the SunClub Business directory.

Frequently asked questions

How far is Archena spa from Valencia?

About two and a half hours by car, roughly 230 kilometres on the motorway towards Murcia. We stop for breakfast on the way.

How much does Archena spa cost?

On the 2026 price list a day ticket to the thermal pools costs €23 on weekdays and €31 at weekends and on public holidays in low season, and €25 on weekdays in high season. Guests at the complex’s hotels get the pools included. A two-hour Balnea session costs €30 on weekdays and €40 at weekends.

Can you do Archena spa as a day trip from Valencia?

Yes, I’ve done it: we left in the morning and came back in the evening. It’s five hours of driving there and back, so a day is enough for the pools, a massage and a Balnea session. Two days are far more relaxing because nobody is in a hurry.

What is the Archena massage?

A massage given under showers of thermal water. Warm thermal mud is used instead of oil, and the water runs over you for the whole 25 minutes. It costs €46 and is best booked before you arrive.

Can children go to Archena spa?

Children can use the thermal pools, and there is a children’s pool with a slide. Balnea is for over-14s only, and under-18s must be with an adult.

Do you need a swimming cap at Archena?

Yes, a cap and flip-flops are compulsory in all the pools. You can buy a cap there, but it’s cheaper to bring your own.

Are there hot springs closer to Valencia?

Yes, in Montanejos (Castellón), about 90 kilometres away, an hour and twenty minutes by car. The Fuente de los Baños spring keeps its water at around 25 °C all year. It flows into the river Mijares and forms natural pools among the rocks. It’s an outdoor nature trip, with no treatments.

Sources

• Balneario de Archena: the water (in Spanish)
• Balneario de Archena: the complex and hotels (in Spanish)
• Balnea thermal circuit (in Spanish)
• Balneario de Archena treatments guide in English (PDF)
• Balneario de Archena 2026 price list (PDF, in Spanish)