Review #2500. "I work a little bit like a sculptor. When I start, my first idea for a building is with the material. I believe architecture is about that. It's not about paper, it's not about forms. It's about space and material" said the Swiss architect Peter Zumthor. In the case of Therme Vals his material was 60,000 slabs of local quartzite and his space a mountainside in the Swiss Alps. Built atop thermal springs, this incredible homage to water is one of the most breathtaking places I've seen up close. When architects are particularly obnoxious they speak of building the space, not the walls. It's no wonder they're drawn here -- now they can pontificate on another dimension: the water. How it feels. How it sounds. Even how it tastes. All kidding aside, I think the architects are onto something here. In the same way that light animates a space, water at Therme Vals is similarly abstracted. Its echo as it rushes through the quarzite walls; the way in which as you are in the water you are also in the mountains from which the water comes. The ride through the Alps from Zurich alone is worth the trip to Therme Vals, and when you arrive you will notice the place has a somewhat sacred feeling to it. As the Pritzker prize (architecture's Nobel) winner aptly put it, "Our spa is no fun fair." You will not find a menu of detoxifying lunch options, herbal tea or magical panpipe music here. In place of such frivolities you will be given the chance to luxuriate in a pure and unadulterated bathing experience. Whilst doing so you may gaze out upon cleverly framed views of the expansive Alps (a reminder of where it all comes from) or fall asleep in the sunshine on the stone outside. It is meditative even for those least able to quiet their minds. You can hop from the fire pool to the ice pool, swim in the outdoor pool and then relax in the flower pool (my favourite) before doing it all over again. Should you want a beverage in the baths you can drink from a brass cup attached to a chain beneath a rush of water; its ferrous taste as unique as the place itself. I spent but a few hours at Therme Vals though I often fantasise about returning to stay at the hotel (in one of the Zumthor-designed rooms) and partaking of the baths at night (only hotel guests are permitted in from 19:00-20:00) and in between hikes in the Alps for several days at a stretch. read more

Bathing in thermal waters inside a national monument, the uncontested masterpiece of the famous architect Peter Zumthor, makes always a certain effect, especially if the environment is so far from your everyday surroundings. When you enter the narrow corridor, like a tunnel which leads to changing rooms, you seem to go in a mine through bowels of the earth. The spaces are very elegant and linear, walls are flatware of squares of quartzite, the local rock, which colour is pearled grey with clearer and darker nuances. It is soft and warm and if the sunlight touches it, it glitters particularly when the rays reach the water of the outdoor swimming pool. In the indoor spaces there is half-light everywhere: in the elegant cloakrooms, in the cabins of the massages, in the relax rooms, in the indoor swimming pools. Except sun beds in mahogany tree and doors of blue glass there are no decorative elements, such as e.g. vases of flowers or quite simply some colour spots. The impression which you receive is of a total immersion in another (if I dare to say, almost supernatural) dimension made of silence and relaxation. read more

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I LOVE THIS PLACE SO MUCH! This is the best thermal bath I have ever had in my life. I really want to come back here someday. This place is very clean and they have wide variety type of baths with different temperature ranging from steam bath (Turkish Bath) to sauna. The most important highlight that I like the most is the breathtaking views of Vals. It is very relaxing. Overall, I really enjoy this place with my group. Highly Recommended!!! No Regrets at All! read more