The Best Hot Springs Hotels Around the World for a Soothing Soak

Hot springs have been used for centuries across different cultures, and the best hotels built around them reflect those traditions in their hospitality experiences. In Japan, it often means low-slung ryokans with wood-lined baths, stone pools set in small gardens, or soaking tubs attached to rooms. In Iceland, the design is more minimal and atmospheric, with dark materials, steam rising off pale blue water, and pools set into volcanic landscapes. In Italy, it tends to take the form of terraced thermal pools and spa-style complexes that move between indoor and outdoor spaces.

For Afar’s Hotels We Love series, we’ve rounded up the best hot springs hotels in the world, including one U.S. property, where you can soak before breakfast, return in the afternoon, and often end the day there. For more options closer to home, see our dedicated U.S. list.

Amanemu

Courtesy of Amanemu

Overlooking the calm inlets of Ago Bay in Ise-Shima National Park, Amanemu is modeled after a traditional Japanese ryokan, with standalone suites and villas spread across a wooded hillside. Each accommodation features dark timber exteriors, wide terraces, and floor-to-ceiling windows oriented toward the bay and surrounding pines. Interiors are simple and warm, with natural wood, deep soaking tubs, and generously sized rooms.

The real draw, though, is the onsen. The region is known for its mineral-rich hot spring water. Amanemu makes the most of it with both shared and in-room spring-fed baths, while the main spa offers large indoor and outdoor pools, hydrotherapy facilities, and treatment rooms. Beyond the water, programming has a wellness focus, with yoga, meditation, and nature-based activities that make the most of its national park setting, from forest walks to boat trips on the bay.

Brenners Park Hotel & Spa

Courtesy of Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa

For more than 150 years, Brenners Park-Hotel & Spa has been central to Baden-Baden’s reputation as one of Europe’s best-known spa destinations. A recent two-year renovation under European collection Oetker Hotels refreshed the property without stripping away its Beaux-Arts character—marble floors, tapestries, antique desks, and intricate Black Forest woodwork remain intact.

The focus is the 25,000-square-foot spa and wellness complex, which includes an indoor pool, saunas, steam rooms, plunge pools, and hydrotherapy circuits that tap into Baden-Baden’s mineral-rich thermal waters, long prized since Roman times. There’s also a strong medical-wellness component, with offerings like cryotherapy and IV therapy.

Related: At This Reimagined Spa Retreat in Germany’s Black Forest, Wellness Extends Into the Woods

Dunton Hot Springs

Photo by Adrian Gaut/Courtesy of Dunton Hot Springs

Set in a restored 19th-century mining town in the San Juan Mountains, Dunton Hot Springs feels more like a preserved village than a typical resort. The property is composed of a collection of 14 hand-hewn log cabins, each individually designed, with details like cast-iron tubs, wood-burning stoves, and wraparound decks. Meanwhile, a former saloon now serves as the main gathering space for meals and drinks.

The springs are integrated throughout. Natural geothermal water, ranging from about 85 to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, feeds a range of bathing experiences across the property, including a historic bathhouse dating to the mining era, a series of outdoor pools, a riverside cold plunge, and a log cabin with its own private hot spring–fed tub.

Related: Arizona Desert Waters, Historic Virginia Baths, a Colorado Mining Town Spa—the Best U.S. Hot Springs Resorts

Hoshinoya Guguan

Courtesy of Hoshino Resorts

Set among the forested slopes and river-carved valleys of one of Taiwan’s best-known hot spring regions, Hoshinoya Guguan makes the most of its mountain setting. The hotel extends across landscaped grounds east of Taichung, with open-air corridors, reflecting pools, and garden spaces that keep the natural surroundings in view. Accommodations are generous in size, with separate lounge areas and private baths filled with Guguan’s bicarbonate-rich spring water, positioned either on the terraces or by the large picture windows.

Shared bathing areas follow the same approach. Large indoor and outdoor pools take on a more organic, winding form, echoing the nearby river. Beyond the baths, wellness offerings include spa treatments, movement and stretching classes, and serene lounge spaces where guests can ease into the pace of their surroundings.

Hoshinoya Karuizawa

Courtesy of Hoshino Resort

Set in a wooded valley in Nagano, Hoshinoya Karuizawa builds on the elements of a classic ryokan stay—onsen baths, seasonal kaiseki dinners, and a close connection to the landscape—and reinterprets them on a larger scale. The property is laid out like a small village, with villas and pavilions set along streams and ponds, connected by quiet walking paths through the trees.

Rooms are modern and warm, with low-slung seating, large picture windows, geothermally heated floors, and terraces that look out onto the forest or water. In addition to the private baths in many accommodations, there’s a communal onsen surrounded by rock and cedar, along with one of the property’s more distinctive features: the spa’s “meditation bath,” a darkened, sound-softened pool designed for long, quiet soaks.

Related: The Best Luxury and Boutique Hotels in Japan—Beyond Tokyo and Kyoto

Nayara Springs

Courtesy of Nayara Springs

Nayara Springs is an adults-only, rainforest retreat located just outside Arenal Volcano National Park. The hotel consists entirely of standalone villas, each designed for privacy within the surrounding jungle. Inside, expect high ceilings, dark wood finishes, canopy beds, indoor-outdoor showers, and large terraces that extend the living space into the landscape.

Every villa comes with its own spring-fed plunge pool, along with a hammock and daybed, so it’s easy to spend as much time outside as in. And on clear days, some rooms offer direct views of Arenal, making an early morning or evening soak all the more memorable. Guests have access to amenities across the Nayara complex, including a full-service spa with open-air treatment pavilions, yoga classes, and several restaurants and bars.

Related: 13 Standout Luxury Resorts in Costa Rica, From Jungle Hideaways to Beach Retreats

The Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland

Courtesy of the Retreat at Blue Lagoon Iceland

Built into an 800-year-old lava field on the Reykjanes Peninsula, the Retreat at Blue Lagoon is one of Iceland’s most design-driven hot springs hotels. The 60-suite property is low-slung and minimalist, with lots of concrete, wood, and glass set against black volcanic rock.

Kept at a steady 98 to 102°F and rich in silica, algae, and minerals, the geothermal seawater gives the lagoon its distinctive milky blue color and skin-softening reputation. Hotel guests have access to a private section of the lagoon, along with the Retreat Spa, a subterranean complex carved into the lava rock with steam rooms, saunas, cold plunges, and in-water treatments.

Dining is a highlight: Moss, the hotel’s Michelin-starred restaurant, serves a seasonal tasting menu built around Icelandic ingredients, while Lava offers a more casual option directly on the lagoon.

Related: Plan an Iceland Adventure Around These 10 Dreamy Hotels

Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

Courtesy of Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa

At the base of Arenal Volcano, Tabacón Thermal Resort & Spa is hidden within a large rainforest reserve. Instead of building traditional baths, Tabacón lets a thermal river, heated by volcanic activity, flow through the property, cascading into a network of more than 20 pools, waterfalls, and quiet corners of the dense vegetation.

The hotel has 105 guest rooms and suites spread across the grounds, each designed with local wood and balconies or terraces that overlook the forest or volcano. Some of the higher-category rooms include private Jacuzzis or balcony soaking tubs, making it easy to have a thermal water experience without even leaving your room.

Wellness programming extends beyond the baths, with a traditional temescal ceremony—a guided sweat ritual led by a resident shaman.

Terme di Saturnia

Courtesy of Terme di Saturnia

In the rolling countryside of southern Tuscany, Terme di Saturnia has one of Italy’s most enduring hot springs—water that’s flowed here for more than 3,000 years. The property includes more than 100 rooms, a golf course, and an extensive spa complex, but the focus remains on the spring-fed pools.

The water emerges at a steady 99.5°F after a decades-long journey underground, rich in minerals like sulfur, calcium, and magnesium. It feeds a network of wide, open-air pools, whirlpools, and thermal baths throughout the 215,000-square-foot spa area, along with indoor Roman-style baths.

Guest rooms, designed with sky blue accents, overlook the steaming central pool, and dining ranges from the more high-end 1919 Restaurant to casual options near the golf course and pool.

Volando Urai Spring Spa & Resort

About an hour from Taipei, Volando Urai Spring Spa & Resort is a small, adults-only hotel along the Nanshi River, with direct access to the springs. Rooms are minimal and warm—light wood, low beds, large windows—and most include private hot spring tubs that face the river or surrounding forest.

The water is a clear, odorless sodium bicarbonate spring, often referred to as “beauty water” that runs throughout the property. In addition to the in-room tubs, there are a handful of shared baths, including open-air pools along the river, plus indoor options and a cold plunge.

Meals at this Relais & Châteaux hotel are an integral part of the experience. Multi-course dinners and breakfasts highlight seasonal Taiwanese ingredients, which pair harmoniously with Volando’s emphasis on slowing down and connecting with nature.