Harrogate’s famous Turkish Baths reopened on 9 June after a £1m revamp.
Jointly funded by Harrogate Council and the Heritage Lottery Fund, the refurbishment has seen the Victorian facility restored as a modern day spa facility.
The spa has seven treatment rooms, a spa pool, a plunge pool, steamroom, and a relaxation room.
There are three hot rooms – a tepidarium, a calidarium and a laconium – which range from warm to very hot.
Other amenities include a new reception area, a covered atrium, linking the Turkish Baths and the new treatment rooms, a Winter Lounge and a café area.
Treatments at the spa include a wide range of massages and body waxes, hydrotherapy, reflexology, aromatherapy, reiki and hot stone therapy.
The restoration work was undertaken through a conservation plan produced by the Chartered Architects of York (CAY).
Peter Gaze Pace, from CAY, said: “Harrogate’s Turkish Baths suite is complete and almost entirely unaltered. We have sought out this country’s very best specialist contractors to help the council achieve this total restoration.”
Dating back to 1896, the Turkish Baths were hailed as the most advanced centre for hydrotherapy by the turn of the 20th century.
Part of the facility closed in 1969, but the Turkish Baths stayed open until 2002 as a leisure facility.
Before the two-phased refurbishment of the Turkish Baths began in 2002, a development partnership between the council and Scottish Life saw £10m invested in the listed building, which included the installation of a brand new Tourist Information Office. Details: www.harrogate.gov.uk/turkishbaths