All The Top Spas in Medellin

Medellín is not known for its afternoon activities, unfortunately. Tulum, yes. Rio, yes. Medellin, sadly, not yet. During the afternoons, I’ve visited the best views, the best hikes, the best coffee shops, and now I have a new goal: to find the best day spas.

Join me. This post is actively being updated. Comment with your suggestions.

What will be the best spa in Medellín?

Specifically, I am looking for a day spa where I can spend a few hours, with a coffee, my computer, and a book, in addition to getting a service like a massage or facial. The spa should have:

• 💦 Jacuzzi

• ❄️ Cold plunge

• 🔥 Sauna or steam room (ideally both)

• 🏊 Pool

• ☕ A calm, unrushed vibe (no in-and-out services only)

The ambiance should be relaxed and not rushed. It should not be a services-only establishment. Sometimes, spas only want you to come in for a 45-minute facial or massage and get the hell out. That doesn’t work for me.

I’m looking to hang the hell inside the spa for the cost of a day pass.

THE SPA by Wellcomm Hotel

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? No sauna

Hydrotherapy circuit? 200mil (~$50), 45 minutes

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 8 minutes

You’ll find three thermal baths – warm, cold, hot – and you can enjoy them for $25 by purchasing any other service. If you only want to enjoy the thermal baths, that will run you $50.

There is a membership option to enjoy 60 minutes of the thermal baths by themselves, but really, it’s just paying for 4 entrances up front at a 25% discount.

The SPA at Wellcomm Hotel takes the top spot because it was tremendously relaxing and affordable. Plus, they had almost everything I could think of. Q-tips would be nice. Check. Hair gel would be nice. Check. They even had plastic bags for your wet swimsuit.

The ONLY thing missing was a facial moisturizer. I give it 10/10. But I’m still on a pursuit to find an all-day spa where I can hang out. Let’s continue looking..

Celestino Hotel Rooftop “Spa”

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? Jacuzzi, sauna, cold plunge

Hydrotherapy circuit? All day pass, unlimited use for 100mil (~$25)

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 2 minutes (walkable)

The Celestino rooftop is a hidden gem.

It has a nice view from an extra large jacuzzi, plus a cold plunge, sauna, hammocks, and a cafe. You can purchase a day pass for $25 (100k COP).

THIS is what I’ve been looking for: an all-day spa where I can hang out and enjoy the amenities with my computer and a coffee.

I came upon it via a last-minute booking at The Belmonte Penthouse, where I had to find another accommodation for the night.

Healing Forest

Open all days? Closed on Sundays

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? Cold plunge and infrared sauna

Hydrotherapy circuit? No, see below.

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 12 minutes

Healing Forest is a functional medicine clinic, more than a spa. They offer a hyperbaric chamber (~$45), but I don’t recommend it because they only operate it at 15 PSI, which is about half the medical-grade recommended pressure for achieving full therapeutic effects, and only for 45 minutes. They also have an infrared sauna (~$22), a cold plunge at 7°C/45°F (~$18), ozone therapy (~$50), peptide administration, and a hot yoga studio.

Serenn, in Tesoro, has the same hyperbasic chamber at 15% discount.

RESETT Medellin Spa

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? All plus flotarium (check location)

Hydrotherapy circuit? 300mil (~$75), 90min

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 15 minutes

There are five locations (and growing): Laureles (has everything), Envigado, San Lucas (the one I went to), Las Vegas, and Tesoro (only massage).

I got a massage (8.5/10) and sauna/steam room experience for about 180,000 / $40. Resett is more of a social/paddel club with a 190,000 monthly subscription and one massage included.

A couple things: I waited 20 minutes for my massage to start, and it ended 10 minutes early (50 minutes total). This gets to me when I get a message asking me to arrive 10 minutes early. Upon arrival, the two receptionists were talking to one gentleman inquiring about fees. After a minute, I said excuse me, and the girl came over with a smile on her face. The hydro-circuit area is well designed, but the jacuzzi wasn’t working. No big deal. Neither was the overhead bucket of water. I think the place is new. After my 30 minutes of sauna/turco, I was asked if I wanted to use my robe as the towel. If the place is branded as “green” this would be ok, but knowing this before would be ideal. I put that robe all over the place in the three rooms it followed me through. Any fine establishment that offers showers should also offer Q-tips, deodorant, hair gel, and a plastic bag to carry your swimsuit. See ‘The Spa’ above.

Small things, yes, and I’m only trying to be helpful and detailed in the instances where it is useful to someone. My date didn’t show up, so instead of forfeiting the money, they allowed me to rebook another date. Regardless, I would return and I’m thinking of subscribing for the monthly membership.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/resett.col/

Le Spa Noir

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? Jacuzzi only

Hydrotherapy circuit? No

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 11 minutes

Nirvana Spa in Diez Hotel Medellín

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? jacuzzi, sauna, steam room

Hydrotherapy circuit? 132mil (~$32), 50 minutes

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 5 minutes

There are three locations in Medellín. Nirvana Spa in Hotel Diez looks nicest. It’s set in the corner of the top floor, which also has a restaurant. I got a facial. She got a volcanic stone massage. Each about one hour for a total cost of ~$165.

Clínica Antienvejecimiento

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? All plus flotarium (cold plunge is room temperature)

Hydrotherapy circuit? 404mil (~$100), 90min

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 5 minutes

Also goes by Dr. Lucia Castro’s Anti-Aging Clinic and Medellín Platinum Spa Day.

7-stage water therapy:

1. walk on stones
2. wall waterfall
3. 7 water massage station
4. n in-water bench where you lie down on and get a full body massage
5. flotarium
6. jacuzzi
7. room-temperature plunge
8. Sauna
9. Steam room

This route took me just under two hours and includes a smoothie and a mud rub for the steam room. The only downside is that, unlike Wellcomm, they do not provide any lotion, Q-tips, sunscreen, or other items for you to apply to your skin afterward upon finishing.

Website: https://clinica-antienvejecimiento.com/

Hyperbaric Chambers in Medellin

All hyperbaric chambers, as of my current research, in Medellin are from a company called Ocean Blue. * means I’ve taken at least one session at this location.

First, a rundown of the pressure readings.

ATA = (PSIg/14.7) + 1

PSIg = (ATA – 1) * 14.7

20 PSIg (g stands for gauge) = 2.36 ATA

Some use 15 PSIg or 2.0 ATA. There can be some confusion as to whether the reading is gauge or absolute. If it’s absolute (which is uncommon), the measurement in PSI would be +14.7 to account for atmospheric pressure.

There is also confusion between ATA (atmospheric absolute) and ATM (atmospheres). They are the same for our purposes.

From Bryan Johnson’s YouTube channel (this video)

1.5ATM, ideally at 2.0 ATM, 100% oxygen but can be a risk of cataracts in the eyes. The problem with the chamber is that you can close your eyes, but you can’t nap because you’ll have to pop your ears the whole time, but the facial mask is much less available. 90 minutes better for longevity benefits than 60 minutes. There is such a thing as too much. Bryan Johnon did 5x per week for 3 months at 90 minutes per session. Oxygen concentrators are not sufficient at only ~90%. It also leads to a 7-10% increase in grip strength, 10-15% increase in vo2max. 20 minutes of 100% oxygen, then 5 minutes off.

Cost in COP 1 session | 10 sessions | 15 sessions | maximum PSI/ATA/ATM | Duration | Location

Bioxcellerator* – Not recommended. Poor service all around, and makes you wear a mask inside the chamber. Likely, they are the most expensive and with the least availability, too.

OHBSalud* – 165mil (1); 140mil (10); 2.5ATA; 60min; Parque Lleras (XCells says they work with them); While I can’t blame them, after this session, my left ear is off now 2 days after the session due to the pressure. Could be my ear, could be how they pressurized the chamber, but this was the 4th session. They only brought the chamber up to 10PSI as marked on the meter.

Renew – 180mil (1); 140mil (10); 110mil (15); 21 PSI maximo; Xmin; Parque Lleras (Office 1713)

OXBAL Hyperbaric – 165mil (1); 126mil (10); Xmil (15); 20 PSI; Xmin; Parque Lleras (XCells says they work with them and if you mention their name, you’ll get 10% off)

Centro de Recuperación Avanzada* – 180mil (1); 133mil (10); 25 PSI; 60min; Tesoro; while they did get to 25 PSI, it sounded like they went from 5 to 10 to 15 and so on in 5 minute increments so I was really only there for 5 minutes or so. Plus 5-10 minutes of decompression. The lady measured my blood oxygen before (92%) and after (100%). The TV is a little further away but the actual TV is actually larger. The brand was called Oxigena which seems to be from Cali, Colombia. They have two chambers side by side in the same room.

Serenn Medicina Integrativa – 155mil (1); 135mil (10); 2.0 ATM; 60min (they said it’s possible to reach 20PSI or 2.3ATA upon request); Tesorro

Postsalud – 190mil (1); 157mil (10); 3.0 ATA; Xmin; Tesoro; they said the pressure is 1.5 – 3.0 but they have a Blue Ocean device which reaches 20 PSI or 2.36 ATA. Getting confirmation with doctor.

XCells Stem Cells – $40 (1); 130mil (10); Xmil (15); 2.0 ATM; Xmin (they said it’s possible to reach 20PSI or 2.3ATA upon request); Parque Lleras

Hanu Hyperbaric Health – 190mil (1); 162mil (10); 1.8 ATA; Xmin; Tesoro

Médico Dr. Diego Hernández – 160mil (1); 140mil (10); 2.2 AT; 1 hour; Santa Fe

Med Holística y Alternativa – 190mil (1); 170mil (10); 2.0 ATA; 60min; Parque Lleras

Healing Forest* – 180mil (1); 150mil (12); 15 PSI; 60min; Plaza Amsterdam near Tesoro

TRT Colombia – 190mil (1); Lalinde

CliMHa – They don’t have one. I reached out because their the word ‘hyperbaric’ is in their name.

Mia Angel ‘Stem Cells Colombia’ – does not have one

Kua Spa

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? All plus flotarium

Hydrotherapy circuit? 300mil (~$75), 90min

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 35 minutes (Rio Negro)

Website: https://kuaspa.com/

Azkara Wellness Center

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge?

Hydrotherapy circuit?

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 4 minutes

Website: https://www.akzaraspa.com/

Carlton Spa in Hotel Dann Carlton

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? Jacuzzi, steam room

Hydrotherapy circuit? No

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 7 minutes

Hotel York Luxury Suites

Open all days? Yes

Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and cold plunge? sauna

Hydrotherapy circuit? No

Distance from The Belmonte Penthouse? 12 minutes

Bonus: Ultra Wellness Center “Spa”

This is the gym located in the Charlee Hotel with a sauna and jacuzzi and a wonderful view.