estonian ecstasy

With its venerable spa culture, advantageous exchange rate; clean, green cities and countryside, Estonia offers superb spa vacations at bargain prices. From this Baltic country’s traditional and postmodern spas in the seaport capital of Tallinn to tiny islands and their innovative spas, Estonia offers the best spa value for money in the Baltics/Northern European region..

Accommodations that would cost $400 or more a night stateside can be enjoyed in Estonia for as little as 80 euros a night. Massages and other treatments are top drawer yet very reasonably priced. What’s more, most Estonians speak English, so it’s very easy to make your way around cities and countryside. You can fly to Estonia from London, Berlin, Frankfurt and other European cities. Cut rate airlines such as Ryan Air fly there. So do cushier air carriers such as Lufthansa and Air Berlin.

Some of Estonia’s most charming spas are beachfront establishments on islands that contain nature preserves, which are best toured by bicycle. A few of the island spas covered are adjacent to pristine beaches and juniper forests. Their treatments run the gamut from earthily basic medicinal mud baths to multi-sensory, marathon Kurs involving steam, infrared light, aromatherapy, vibrational therapies, Vichy shower, massage and final bath.

Urban hotel spas dot the cosmopolitan capital of Tallinn, which is to this decade what Prague was to the 1990’s. Affordable, friendly and deeply groovy, Tallinn is enjoying euphoric post-Communist cultural rebirth, replete with a dynamic art scene, intact medieval quarter, postmodern building boom and sleek spas. This seaside port also baosts innovative hotels, restaurants, boutiques and night clubs, thanks to entrepreneurial Europeans and Brits who came here and built businesses after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Tallin spas to be mentioned include:

Pirita TOP Spa Hotel: Regati pst. 1, in Pirita, a 10-minute drive from the Tallinn city center; tel. 639-8600, fax 639-8821; hotel@topspa.ee. By a beach-front juniper forest, in a sleek Nordic building constructed for the 1980 Olympics. Health and beauty spa treatments include mud baths, electric, laser and ultrasound therapy administered by an M.D., plus exercise facilities and a large pool. A standard double is around 70 EUR. www.topspa.ee.

Viimsi Tervis Spa Hotel: Randvere tee 11, Tallinn; tel. 606-1000, fax 606-1003; viimsitervis@viimsitervis.ee; in Viimsi, about a 15-minute drive from the city center. An innovative health spa/hotel in a green suburb by the sea. Offering all your basic hotel services—plus vast exercising facilities, and beauty/health treatments. Weight room, a 25-meter pool, aerobics halls, bicycle rental, saunas and more—even plastic surgery. A double costs around 75 euros.

The article will survey select spas on Saaremaa, Estonia’s largest island. In the beginning of the 20th century, Saaremaa’s capital of Kuressaare was the Baltic’s leading spa resort. Saaremaa spas were also forerunners of today’s Medi-Spas. For centuries, M.D.s have traditionally treated chronic respiratory, circulation and skin conditions with individualized Saaremaa mud therapy and massage, Kurs, water circuits, salt therapy, etc.

While they also offer beauty services, Saarema SPA Hotel Valss (rooms 51 to 77 euros a night) is the 21st century center of traditional Saaremaa mud therapy for various chronic and acute health problems. Saaremaa mud baths and massage confer strong anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects. The locally sourced mullutu therapeutic mud helps improve skin problems such as acne and roseacea as well as PMS, nervous system conditions and arthritis.

The hotel has a therapy wing, a sports wing and a spa hotel bar on the 2nd floor of the sports wing. Address is Kastani 20, Kuressaare, telephone 372-45-27-140; email is sanatorium@sanatoorium.ee

At Saaremaa Spa Hotel Ruutli, Pargi 12, Kuressaare, telephone 372-45-27-140, which opened in 2004, luxury rooms cost around 99 euros. Treatments offered include SAD light therapy for easing stress, insomnia and PMS. The parade of exotic 21st century treatments is headed by the multi-modal Neo-Qi Energy Capsule. This soothes your sensorium with steam, infrared sauna, aromatherapy and vibrational therapy, followed by a Vichy shower and massage with a Kur bath infused with herbs and powdered pearls.

Paraffin-Ozocerite (natural wax derived from plants) therapy is a surface thermal therapy for joints, muscle and nerve problems. It relaxes muscles, improves skin surface and blood circulation, hence blood supply to the skin. It is very very warming and good for those with impaired circulation.

Salt therapy is recommended for people who live in smoggy urban areas, or suffer from allergic skin inflammations, asthma and sinusitis. Imagine entering a room made from salt…you sit down in this salt chamber and breathe salt dust that has been ground with

Saaremaa’s many charms include bird sanctuaries, which beautify the coast. There are also superb sand dunes and beaches here with slowly deepening, almost wave-less seas. Naturally, this is a safe and good place to swim, or learn how to windsurf or sail. The Georg Ots Spa Hotel, Tori 2, telephone: 372-45-50-000 is a gourmet bathing spa that features indoor and outdoor pools, four types of saunas, plunge pools and deluge showers. M.D. work here to tailor spa treatments individually and responsibly. For example, phonoforesis is a local ultrasound therapy using customized salves to heal inflammations and reduce the formation of joint and muscle contractions.