No one knows exactly where the word “spa” comes from, but there are two main theories. The first, and most popular, is that “spa” is an acronym for the Latin phrase salus per aquae or “health through water.” Others believe that the origin of the word “spa” comes from the Belgian city of Spa, known since Roman times for its baths. They speculate that the city was so prominent that the word spa became synonymous in the English language with a place to be restored and pampered.
Whatever is true, we know that modern spas have their roots in ancient cities that grew up around mineral waters and hot springs that were famous for their healing powers. The use of hot springs dates back even further, probably every time humans discovered them. They were used by indigenous peoples, and the Greeks were known to bathe in hot springs and mineral waters. For the Romans, baths were a place not only for cleaning, but also for socializing, a tradition that spread eastward and became the hammam of the Middle East.
The Roman bathing tradition fell with the empire, but people still valued hot springs and mineral waters. At a time when Western medicine offered little in the way of cures, people traveled to the springs to treat their ailments. In medieval times, the facilities were primitive and the rich and the poor were not separated, but instead bathed in the same pools. That practice would end when the rich discovered that they could “take the waters” in much nicer facilities.
The great spa towns of the 19th century
By the 19th century, the great Kurorte (“healing cities”) of Europe, such as Baden-Baden, Bad Ems, Bad Gastein, Karlsbad and Marienbad, were luxurious destinations for the wealthy and rising bourgeois class, according to David Clay Large, author from The Grand Spas of Central Europe (Rowman & Littlefield, 2015), These large spa towns were ‘the equivalent of major medical centers, rehabilitation retreats, golf resorts, conference complexes, fashion shows, music festivals and hideaways sex today. one.”
One reason for the appeal was that Western medicine didn’t have much to offer at the time. The healing waters were the best option for the symptomatic relief of arthritic, respiratory, digestive and nervous diseases. “People went to spas hoping to cure everything from cancer to gout,” writes Large. «But often, as not ‘curistas’, they also went to play, to entertain themselves and to socialize. At their peak, the great spas were centers of cultural creativity, true meccas of the arts. High-level politics was another great spa specialty, with statesmen descending to the Kurorte to negotiate treaties, create alliances, and plan wars.
The rise of the modern spa
The two world wars and the rise of modern medicine did much to reduce the fortunes of the great spa towns. Europe still has a healthy bathing tradition, as can be seen in the great baths of Germany and the thalassotherapy spas of France, Spain and Italy.
In the United States, people began to view hot springs and mineral spas as outdated, and attendance plummeted. The emergence of the next generation of spa began in 1940, when Edmond and Deborah Szekely opened Rancho La Puerta in Mexico as the first destination spa for “health geeks.” Deborah began opening Golden Door in Southern California in 1958. Both resorts are still among the best in the country.
They helped pave the way for The Oaks at Ojai in 1977, which inspired Mel and Enid Zuckerman to open Canyon Ranch Tucson in 1979. The 1990s and beyond were a period of great growth, with resorts adding luxurious spas and a blast of day spas. . In 2015 there were more than 21,000 spas in the US, the vast majority of them were day spas, according to the International Spa Association.
