Célestins Spa Thermal & Hôtel

Célestins Spa Thermal & Hôtel is a five-star hotel of 129 rooms in Vichy, beside the Napoleon III Park and close to the shores of Lake Allier, linked by a covered walkway to its own Thermal Spa. It is run by Vy Resort, which also operates the town's thermal establishments, and its treatments use mineral water from Vichy's springs. The spa has a giant bath of naturally warm thermal water, two saunas, an ice fountain, a cold-water plunge pool, a herbal tea room and a cardio area, and the hotel has an indoor-outdoor pool on its top floor. The signature treatment pairs a thermal bath, a mud wrap and a Vichy shower with massage, and the Institut des Laboratoires Vichy runs four treatment cabins.

Stays are built around what the hotel calls the Méthode Vichy Célestins: a dietary consultation, thermal treatments, expert treatments, personalised physical activity and personalised cooking. Programmes focus on wellbeing, fitness, detox and weight loss, and run over three to six nights with half-day treatment sessions; six-night stays begin on a Sunday or Monday. Depending on the programme, they can include a medical consultation with a prescription for drinking the thermal water, a dietary assessment with body-composition measurement, coaching and osteopathy.

It suits guests who want a structured short cure in a town whose spa heritage is on the UNESCO World Heritage list. The spa is for guests aged 16 and over who have booked treatments; a half-day Thermal Spa Pass is sold on weekdays, and half-day treatment rituals can be booked without staying.