Balnea Splendid Spa Hotel

Medical and spa treatment facility Balnea Splendid is a part of an extensive medical and therapy Balnea complex, situated in the north-eastern part of the town’s spa island. The complex built with the use of a steel-concrete skeleton, is an example of quality architecture from the 1970s conceived in the style of Late Modernism. The building’s architecture is characterised by pure, functionalistic lines, large-scale window glazing and continual wide spreading loggias. The facilities provide a wide array of services to spa guests – healing treatments, dining, and cultural and socialising opportunities. Individual buildings in the spa complex are interconnected by continual, airy corridors offering the view of the adjacent park, allowing the visitors to explore its various nooks and savour moments of freedom. Such impressions are enhanced by floating disposition allowing movements in various directions, which was especially typical for hotels, schools, or medical treatment centres of that period. 

The most interesting spaces in terms of architecture design are the interiors of the entrance lobby, coffee bar & tearoom, and the indoor treatment pool. The reception section, the lobby area with now-replaced armchairs and a souvenir shop separated by an all-glass partition are the basic operational parts of the entrance zone. Although the interior of the entrance hall has been partially refurbished, the memory traces of the past are still present. These are mainly seen in the well-preserved parts of the building interior such as the travertine stone facing and paving of Jurassic limestone, referring to the original formative signs of the interior environment. The mobiliar, once an integrated artistic part of interiors, is nowadays largely replaced by new standard or custom-made furniture. [3]

The corridors leading to other buildings in the Balnea resort, guest rooms and the pool area, are operationally connected to the entrance hall’s public area. Several of them still contain the original, preserved paving, seating furniture and flowerpots. The interior of the coffee bar & tearoom with an incorporated gallery is spatially generous and has a touch of nobleness, peculiar to the interior of luxurious coffee bars and tea rooms of that period. The floating interior accessible from the hall and outer terrace, greets incoming guests with its peaceful atmosphere, the comfort of soft upholstered armchairs and sumptuous luminaires. Compared to other premises for social events, this interior can pride itself on numerous period interior elements, reminding of the former ambience of coffee and tea rooms. 

 “The whole interior is dominated by red, white, and brown colours. This colour palette is present in various design forms – in the form of stone and wood panelling, carpet, furniture upholstery, etc. Most repeatedly used travertine facing is presented in two variants. Almost all the publicly accessible areas are tiled by Jurassic limestone, which is also carpeted in certain parts. Another repeatedly occurring interior element is veneered panelling made of blockboard, treated by dark staining.” [3] Balnea Splendid, mapped in this project, is just one of a large number of spa facilities realised in the 1960s and 1980s. These buildings had many common features in terms of the expression style, disposition and operational attributes they used.