Public Spa: Thermen Holiday

Scoring

Pr. Beatrixlaan 10 • 3121 JN Schiedam • The Netherlands

The location is easily accessible and easy to find , I entered the gps to get to the spa and this went smoothly.

I parked my car in the closest parking lot to the Groenoord swimming pool, which upon arrival was already quite full and I can imagine that at a later time of the day it might be more difficult to find parking.

Should this be the case there is another larger parking lot within walking distance on Groenoord street.

What I found a major drawback is that the spa is located right next to the A20 freeway and not the building, but the entire outdoor area and rest area.
Something that causes a constant noise throughout the day.

Personally, I find the spa not well located at all and I find it a bit odd that they choose such a location since the highway was there before the spa.

As one of the first visitors present that day, I was greeted immediately upon opening the sliding door at the entrance by an employee who placed some information signs outside before opening.

Once inside, I was promptly helped further by a friendly employee at the reception desk.
I was also given clear information from this person on how to use the bracelet and how the lockers in the locker room work.

I was also given a handy map that clearly showed and described everything.

Furthermore, the people in the restaurant were very friendly and helpful.

The people at the infusion sessions were also pleasantly friendly.

Since I was the first to arrive I was immediately able to make my rounds throughout the spa down to the restrooms and I must say that it was all in neat order.

I did not want to neglect to mention that I had chosen a swimwear day to see how it was perceived.
I must say that many people do not consider placing their towel under them in the saunas.

At a later time during the day, the hygiene of the toilet outside was not to be seen this then regarding the ones one had to sit on.

The men’s urinal was clean in the same outside location.

A musty smell was noticeable in the slightly outdated Oriental rest room inside.

Since I attended on a swimwear day, I immediately noticed that the dressing rooms were only communal anyway.
It doesn’t bother me, but someone who consciously chooses a swimwear day does and I noticed that with some people.

Here and there equipment was defective, including the lounger/waterbed in the indoor Oriental rest room and an infrared heater in the hobbit sauna.

The stairs inside were remarkably well fitted with anti-slip.

Otherwise, the interior style has some age but is still durable and common to many spa centers.

Outside to the left of the point sauna number 37 on the floor plan at the level of the hanging seats, there was some kind of work studio where people were doing some carpentry and grinding.

It also looked quite a bit messy and could have been a bit more screened off.

In the morning upon arrival one may enter the sauna at 10 am but if one then wishes to have breakfast in the restaurant then this can only be from 11 am, this I found a little strange experience.
I then immediately went to experience a sauna until there was the possibility of breakfast.

At the hot showers inside there was a large stone tub with scrub in the center of the shower area, this was really convenient to use when showering.

One experience that stayed with me was the movie sauna where you could watch a movie during the sauna, this is the first time I experienced this.

Furthermore, from saunas, steam room, infrared cabin, hot water baths and showers, cold baths and showers there is everything to create a successful spa experience.

I have experienced a seasonal infusion in the kelo sauna given by sauna master Joop and this was well done, although not really with adapted music, but I could agree with it was in the genre of nothing else matters of Metalica. the smell that stayed with me was lavender.

The second infusion I experienced the regular infusion given by sauna master Erwin and I found this a very pleasant experience, he had very special electronic music with oriental influences called “Gobi Desert Collective” one for me personally to remember and enjoy again later.
The scents he had chosen were also very appropriate including “Opium” and “Ayurvedic Dosha”.

Another thing I liked is that at the entrance to certain saunas they had some kind of hand diffuser with all kinds of scents including pine and lavender.

At the restaurant, I had a soup of the day (8.95€) for breakfast in the morning. This was a red lentil soup made by the Moroccan chef and it was really incredibly delicious. It is the first time I have tasted this and this is definitely to be repeated.

Along with this I had a delicious Poke Bowl Salmon (18,95€) and a White Chocolate Espresso (6,95€).

In the afternoon, at the restaurant, I had delicious hot nachos (12,95€) topped with guacamole and tomato sauce with fresh pieces of tomato all covered in melted cheese.
Along with that a water jug (4,95€) with mint leaves and pieces of lemon and a Mango passion fruit smoothie (6,95€).

In the evening I had a salad Pata Negra (18.95€) with a freshly squeezed orange juice (6.25€), a Fanta Cassis (3.95€) and finished with a coffee + Brownie (6.95€).

What I noticed is that they called a vacant massage through the intercom of the spa and offered it at a discount for those who were interested and went to the information desk to book it, I thought this was a good initiative.

I myself also experienced a massage that day that I had already booked in advance and you can find more about my experience in my review post on my website when searching under “Employed massage therapist Rene” Thermen Holiday.

In reality, the spa experience is surprisingly less than it is shown on the website, unfortunate but notable when I visited it.

The temperature was generally good as the saunas indicated and otherwise it was well pleasant inside everywhere else.

Only in the Die Hard sauna which is supposed to represent 90 degrees Celsius was this not so.

I made another comment in the sauna that day that this didn’t seem to be the case at all to which everyone started laughing and agreed that it was indeed interests not 90 degrees celsius.

Knowing that this sauna just attracts more experienced sauna enthusiasts to these temperatures, one also quickly figured this out if it is not satisfactory.

There was an abundance of well-scented shampoos available at the shower, this was nicely done.

As described earlier there was also a large stone tub in the showers present with scrub, this is always a nice extra as well.

Furthermore, there were here and there those good scented hand sprayers with good scents like pine needles, lavender.

That experience of the scented hand spray was also new to me and I liked that.

There was nothing to be said about the music in the spa, it was nice in the background each time it was present.

The music at the pouring sessions, however, was a very nice experience, here for myself, I got back to it as described earlier.

On the swimwear day I paid 43,50€ for a full day entrance which I think is a correct price for a full day entrance ticket.

If one would opt for a day entrance without swimwear one pays 39,50€.

Some prices of drinks such as those in the vending machine outside are a little exaggerated, here they asked almost 6€ for a bottle of Aquarius of 33cl.

Facilities or Possibilities

•Sauna
•Steam room
•Infrared sauna
•Jacuzzi
•Tanning bed
•Swimming pool
•Bathroom
•Cold plunge
•Indoor area
•Outdoor area
•Restaurant
•Treatments
•No possibility of overnight stay
•Cold shower

General opinion

In my opinion, the location of the spa is a point to consider.
This is certainly not a bad spa, as the downsides could be remedied by more cleanliness and some repairs.

Other than that, the spa feels like a place where you will find the necessary devices to still get the relaxation you need.

All Pictures