GELLÉRT THERMAL BATHS
Cross the Danube river to the Buda side and you will find the famous grand Hotel Gellert. It is a beautiful building, we were not here to stay though as we walked around the right hand side to the thermal pools entrance. The thermal pools are known as Gellért Baths. We wanted to visit these pools because we had heard of their incredible architecture detail and stunning mosaic tile decorations.
There are a couple of payment booths when you enter and after buying your ticket you wander to a somewhat confusing layout of changing rooms and lockers. It can be easy to get lost here and we saw many tourists walking around the stairs and changing rooms trying to figure out how to get to the pools. We asked one of the staff members and were quickly pointed in the right direction.
As with the Szechenyi pools the water has medicinal properties and is said to help relieve the symptoms of many ailments. The water temperature is between 35-40 degrees C. You will be amazed by the beauty of the place once you have left the changing room which is very plain and simple like most swimming pools.
As well as the large indoor pools there is also an outdoor section which was under renovation when we visited. There was a smaller section open which we tried, but it was extremely busy. The outdoor plunge pool next to the sauna was very popular. The outdoor pool has a wave machine that triggers every 30 minutes.
Until 2013 the pools were separated for male and females, they are all now mixed which means you can enjoy them with your partner. We spent time in the pools relaxing and admiring the beautiful mosaics. While I really enjoyed the pools they did have an odd feel about them. There is a large massaging room with many cubicles with curtains for privacy, it felt like an old eastern european hospital rather than a spa and the layout led to some wrong turns at times. Despite this it is well worth a visit. The baths underwent a major renovation in 2008 to restore the baths to their original beautiful state.
