Hot Springs Near Chicago
Sadly there are not many hot springs nearby to escape Chicago’s frigid winters. There are a number of indoor spas that might do the trick.
AIRE Chicago
Located in a restored factory from 1902 in River West, close to the West Loop, AIRE Chicago gives you the traditional Roman, Greek and Ottoman ancient experience of baths. The only thing you need is your bathing suit or bikini, since its use is mandatory in the facilities, although they have some available in case you need it. They will provide you with towels, non-slip shoes, hygiene products, hair dryers and hair straighteners. The bathing area is a large co-ed space, with different zones and massage areas.
Enjoy a relaxing sensation as you walk through the thermal baths, including the Caldarium (Hot Bath), the Frigidarium (Cold Bath), the Tepidarium (Warm Bath), the Balneum (Bath of a Thousand Jets), the Vaporiums (Two Steam Rooms with Aromatherapy), the Palestra. Try out their signature red wine soak.
Stay nearby at one of the many penthouse apartments overlooking the City and lake. During the day enjoy a cruise or crime tour to round out your stay.
Chicago Bath House
Nearby you can try the Chicago Bath House, a traditional style bathhouse located at 1914 W. Division Street in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois, which has operated since 1906. The most popular feature at Chicago Bath House is the traditional Banya, Schvitz, or hot room. Each of these rooms have a brick or granite ovens in which boulders, approximately the size of watermelons, are heated to extreme temperatures by gas jets.
Kneipp Springs
From 1901 to 1976, the Sisters of the Precious Blood owned and operated Kneipp Springs, a health resort and spa with natural mineral springs outside of Rome City, Indiana, about 40 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. Today you can visit for a tour and collect drinking water from the springs.
Kneipp Springs, called Kneipp Sanatorium, Kneipp Sanitarium, and Kneipp Springs Health Spa throughout its history, was a destination for those seeking the “Kneipp Cure.” From the late 1800s to early 1900s, sanitariums were the “it” thing in medicine to treat infectious diseases, mostly tuberculosis.
Named after Dr. Sebastian Kneipp, a priest and philosopher living in Bavaria in the late 1880s, the Kneipp Cure sought to prevent or cure illnesses by bringing together mind, body and spirituality through hydrotherapy (water treatments such as hot and cold compresses, bathing in natural springs, etc.) and emphasis on natural foods, exercise and the use of herbal teas.
Patients at Kneipp Springs who were there for medical treatment usually stayed on the grounds in the large spa building or in several available outbuildings. Some patients were there for a month; others were there for years, even decades. Many of these patients were suffering from long-term physical or mental illnesses. Priests and bishops were frequent patients; they took the treatments to have a respite from the rigors of their daily duties.
