Wellness hotels in Bavaria for modest Irish couple

I know there's a thread on wellness hotels already but I'm looking for someplace not as "open" as the usual German, bare-all places

Anyone know of any wellness hotels not too far from Munich which would be appropriate for a middle-aged, not-too-fond-of-nakedness, non-German-speaking Irish couple (AKA Ma and Da)? I think they might be a bit overwhelmed by the nudiness in some places...

Alternatively, any recommendations for a hotel for a relaxing weekend getaway, again in the Munich region?

if you are going to a spa in Germany you simply have to accept that people are naked in the saunas. If you don't like showing off your own bits, you can wrap a towel round you and use another to sit on whilst in the sauna.

OG, are you sure that's allowed? I've heard (and yes, I do mean heard!) that if you wrap a towel around you, sometimes a member of staff will ask you to remove it or leave. The German who explained this to me said that it's because it makes other people feel self-conscious, as you can see them but they can't see you, so they suspect your motives.

If money is no object: Berchtesgaden Intercontinental has a private spa bookable for a couple, you can have the area to yourselves. It is also incredibly beautiful there. Robe-wearing is encouraged and are provided. As it is an Intercontinental, English will be no problem. Paying for it might be!

Tiggi I've never in all my years of spa-going heard anyone be asked to drop the towel. Not once. To wear a costume in the pool? Yes. To not sweat on the wood? Yes. To only wear the towel in the shower? Indeed. But that? Never.

well, I've never come across it not allowed. I can't categorically say that all places will allow you to wear a towel round you but everywhere I've been there has been at least one person (always female strangely) with a towel wrapped round them. The important thing is to have another underneath so none your body parts are sweating directly on the wood.

yeah, generally speaking what is the way with these places... i.e. what is expected of you/everyone.

girlfriend used to go until i got pissed of the thought of her and her mates sitting there along side some dirty old git... is this how it works as she said it's not like that but i'm not in a position to agree. i love seeing my g/f naked but i'd be pissed if any other bastard was getting an eyeful too.

would much prefer for the pair of us to go to a private hotel/spa and get it on in private...

cheers

J

although have only been in one sauna, no two, one at my uncles back in essex and the other at alpamare... so both with trunks as i'm not flashing my leumeln at my cousins and nor the random mums and dads...

but both left me feeling really sick and a sore chest, not that i smoke.

don't get it really...

J

I've no problem with it myself...just cant see my parents liking it. Hmm...looks like I might have to think of another present for them so...Or maybe they'd be fine! I don't really want to think too much about it!

Any suggestions for an equally relaxing getaway that doesn't involve public-displays of nudity?

I've never seen anyone being asked to remove their towel. Mind you when I see an attractive lady wearing her towel I wish there was an official towelremovingordnungszwinger. Only for good looking ones of course. Hideous people should be entitled (but not obliged) to cover up with their towels.

Hang on, so it is relatively common to see people wearing towels in otherwise naked saunas here?

I'm starting to wonder whether the man in question might himself have had ulterior motives, telling me no-one ever does and it wouldn't be allowed. Hmm. Ok, no-one pay any serious attention to post 3, sorry.

I've never seen anyone being asked to remove their towel. Mind you when I see an attractive lady wearing her towel I wish there was an official towelremovingordnungszwinger. Only for good looking ones of course

... exactly my point...!

the Wellness Spa at the Bayerischer Hof looks nice. dunno if there's a lot of nudey people there though. have been to the bar there and there are lots of people wandering around in dressing gowns, so they aren't nudey at least.
not sure about the sauna tho...anyone else know?

My wife and I have been to the Franken Therme in Bad Windsheim. Its a bit of a drive from Munich, but its relatively private and your parents can book special packages that ensure no one sees them in the buff.

Bonus, the website has an english version.

We go to the spa over at Bad Wörishofen quite often. Love the place. ...we just don't go to the sauna area...only because we both hate saunas, nothing against being naked.

It's a no-kids (16+) spa, so it's absolutely wonderful. Kids are allowed on Saturdays til like 6pm, when it goes all-naked. So don't go on Saturday.

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll have to suss them out.

Just think about that for a moment - Where exactly would this "member of staff" be sitting in order to observe you wearing a towel in the sauna?

The only places you might be asked to remove a covering towel are places that are explicity FKK (nudist) but in most places you wear a costume to swim and a towel or bathrobe to relax and only actually go nekkid in the sauna itself. Its not common for people to be covered up in a sauna but its not unknown either and you will be very unlikely to be hassled about it. Its better just to get rid of your inhibitions and let it all hang free though. YSoull enjoy it more

Personally it really get on my tits to have to wear trunks in Saunas in the UK. You have to wonder about a mentality that regards naked women in newspapers as part of a national heritage but goes all prude when its real people in non-sexual healthy situations.

andy M

But you dont want other blokes ogling your Girfriend?

andy M

Well since I find my girlfriend rather beautiful, I perfectly understand other guys, and even girls checking her out.

It would be a bit vulgar if they marched up and gazed between her legs, but an admiring glance reminds me how lucky I am, and pleases/excites her which benefits me too.

Does this make me bi-curious?

I go to Therme Erding every now and then and, let me tell you, the people you wouldn't mind seeing totally naked are hardly ever naked (except directly in the sauna). In the sauna area (on the relaxing beds, for example) or walking around, it's always the old geezers who have no business showing their bits that are, in fact, showing their bits. The last time I was there, I saw one woman with obviously fake boobs, walking around with just her lower half covered and I also saw a Greek God too - (with a face to match, but they are few and far between). I decided on this last trip to TE that the naked human body is just not a beautiful thing...most of the time.

Well, you just think for a moment... we're dealing with Germans here. They go and find a member of staff and report it, of course! But only allegedly. I think all the info I've now received on this thread and via PM is ample confirmation that I was misinformed and am generally far too trusting. I believed it for years though, the bastard! Thank god for Toytown - salvation of the stupid.

You can leave your hat towel on. But you don't have to... very nice spa with lovely views. Daytime and midweek are very quiet. Apparently.

No one will tell you to take your towel off, but they may tell you not to put your bare feet on the wood.. normally you would put your towel under your feet as well, which is tough if you have it wrapped around you.

Every time I go to Therme Erding, I see at least one person (or couple) wearing a bathing suit on the sauna side. I'm not talking about people who have just arrived from the Therme side (where bathing suits are required) but actually walking around and going into the saunas. I think you draw more attention to yourself by wearing a bathing suit. But, wearing a towel and not taking it off in the sauna is probably ok.

I reckon I'd rather be stared at for having a towel wrapped around me than be stared at cause my naked bits are there to be stared at. The old 'oh nobody will stare at you' bit is a load of old bollocks; Germans stare at everyone all the time, so what makes anyone think they're suddenly going to stop when you've got your kit off? Ridiculous.

Call me inhibited or whatever you want, and if somebody wants to kick me out of the sauna for wearing a towel then fine. I've got better things to do than put myself on display for a bunch of pervy Germans anyway.

Jermaine Stewart said it best.

georgiagirl ... exactly, i'm with you.

cause they stare. and if the germans are like any other european nation i simply wouldn't trust them in the presence of my naked girlfriend.

you lot should all just leave germany then.

its THEIR saunas, so abide by THEIR rules or sod off to the hell hole you came from.

Or you should go to a sauna, after which the comments you have made will sound as ridiculous to yourself as they do to the other people here who have already been to a sauna and realise it's no big deal.

Eloquently put by Schotte, who loves and support all aspects of German culture.

jay-me, not only am I uncomfortable with weirdos staring at me naked, my boyfriend certainly isn't all that keen on it either. I reckon somebody would end up missing not only their clothes, but potentially an arm or leg as well.

Hutcho, my comments are based on my previous experiences in saunas. Which is why I now just avoid them for the most part. I prefer drinking to saunas for relaxation.

GerogiaGirl you going out with Begbie?

The last time I even went swimming here - in a costume - I got a load of hassle and inappropriate comments. From a pool attendant, no less. So I actually don't think it's altogether ridiculous and certainly won't be putting myself in a situation where I risk having to deal with that kind of thing at an even more intrusive level.

Schotte, you're just mad cos I mocked you boasting over Facebook polls and bruised your fragile ego. It's going to be alright mate.


And thanks for proving my point regarding pervs in the sauna.

hahaha...

I'm sad to hear that, nobody needs that kind of crap.
While for me personally going to a sauna isn't much of an issue, as have been going for years, I can still remember the first time I went and how I dashed straight back out again and gave myself a talking to about being less British. But that's just me and how I am, I can understand that not everyone is the same. For me, having to do a waltz at a wedding is 5000 times worse than being kit off in a sauna, even though I'm well aware that I'm not all that by any means.
We all have our comfort zone, whether rational or not, only the person themselves can decide if they want to do something differently and if they don't want to, that is also their choice.
For me, seeing the folk in swimwear on the Hanmer Springs sauna posters was kinda funny, but then I just hired a private sauna instead. Great spa that, shame it isn't nearer. But they do post their treatment products...

erm...can't you kind of tell if men are aroused in naked saunas?? and women for that matter.

have been to a few saunas here and gone nudey some of the time, doesn't really bother me.

I'm reminded of the story about the hotel near the BMW plant in South Carolina. The hotel was frequented by BMW employees who were in town on business, and the hotel staff actually had to put up a sign in the sauna explaining that swimsuits were mandatory. Apparently some of the American guests were horrified to walk in and find a bunch of Germans casually lounging around with their bits hanging out.

GREAT STORY. thanks for sharing.

Have seen similar signs elsewhere - had to laugh at the one in the Franz Josef YHA spa door with a big picture of a woman in a swimsuit in the sauna with "This is a Kiwi sauna" on it and an arrow pointing to the swimsuit. And yes, they did translate that information into German (and only German, funnily enough).

Good to hear you've got her under control. Maybe you should tell her to wear a burqa.

Not unique - I heard similar story concerning a group of colleagues from Duesseldorf office when visiting the UK...

Would "unnecessarily prude" do?


Fairy Nuff. Anytime you fancy putting yourself on display for a pervy brit, drop me a line. I wont stare, honest etc.

andy M

Why are you so convinced anyone at all is staring at you? 98% of people look very unprepossessing naked, let alone naked and sweating and red in the face in a sauna.


Your boyfriend clearly has the same small-dick-paranoia syndrome jay-me has. Both of them are apparently troubled human beings.

Its possible, but highly unlikley, that you are so gorgeous that everyone looks at you in the sauna, its much more likely that no-one gives a shit. Naked in the sauna is not the same as in the middle of playboy.

Personally, without my specs on I wouldnt be able to tell the difference between you and your boyfriend, so loosen up some.

andy M

I Must say that I do find the British mentality around being naked very strange I have just returned to the UK after 2 weeks in Switzerland where both hotel I and my Girlfriend stopped in had a Sauna and Steam room that were clothing optional as well of plenty of Swiss German and French people using them in the nude without giving it a second thort we both decided to go with the when in Rome principal and joined them and I must say that I wish we in the UK were as uninhibited as that as it was so much more comfortable than sitting there sweating in a Swimming suit/pair of shorts or towel. as for the so called "perfey Germans" at no point did I notices any one staring at me or my girl fend as this is perfectly normal for them so why would they stair when it is something they do every day. being nude in public is only a problem for the British or the Yank. as for the comments of Geordie-girl "I don't want some purvey German staring at me" I think you need to assess why you don’t want someone looking I would say that you are deeply unsecure about the way you look

As much as I've been entertained by the armchair psychology of the last few posts, I think it's all a bit futile. As Katrina first pointed out: People have different comfort levels, full stop. If you're happy to get undressed in the sauna, good for you... but if others aren't, regardless of what their reasons are or whether you agree with them, it doesn't have much effect on you -- so why spend time worrying about it?

And for those who don't seem to be grasping this: my posts were tongue-in-cheek. I don't actually think all Germans are pervy and I seriously doubt my boyfriend would really get violent with anyone in the sauna. And that naked knife fight scene in Eastern Promises makes me pretty happy about that.

Just enjoy yourself and accept that not everybody sees the world the same way you do.

Georgiagirl looks pretty smart to be honest (with her clothes on). I could well understand somebody enjoying looking at her naked, but she should take it as a compliment not get upset by it.

As I said its an admiring glance, not someone coming over and gawking between her legs.

That may be your personal experience, or even the general norm, but it doesn't mean it's true without exception. And in any case, even if that is all it is, Georgiagirl clearly isn't comfortable with it, so she's decided not to put herself in that situation. Why that should be an issue for anyone else is simply beyond me.

Well I'm starting a campaign to make good looking women feel at ease in the sauna (or the FKK beach). Of course my motives might not be totally unselfish.

I would have to agree with that where do I sign

also I would like to clear up that my comment to Geordie-girl was not meant as an insult just that if she had been raised in a environment where nudity was nothing unusual that she would not be un-comfortable with it but if she and anyone else for that matter is then that is not a problem but is a shame as I did find it much more pleasant than the uptight saunas in the UK