From Luton to Bucharest: “I went to Europe’s biggest spa for £32 a day, here’s how it went”

Our reporter, Olivia, was invited to go with Wizz Air for a weekend trip to Romania’s capital and Europe’s biggest spa, here’s how it went.

I’d never considered going to Romania. As Brits, our first thought when booking a holiday is usually sun, sea and cheap drinks. And for city breaks, Amsterdam, Budapest and Paris seem to top the lists.

But Bucharest proved to be a city full of history, glorious architecture and amazing food (which also had plenty of sunshine and well-priced drinks!).

Catching the Luton Airport Express from St Pancras was painless, zooming me through Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire countryside into the Parkway station with plenty of time to get the DART up to the terminal.

The trick here is to buy a ticket to Luton Airport itself, not the Parkway. That way you don’t have to pay the barriers to get onto the DART, it’s all included. That means less faffing and more time sauntering to your gate - living your jet-setter fantasy.

When I arrived at the terminal, I met Georgia, from Wizz Air, who told me how popular the Bucharest flights are - three leave Luton daily. The starting price to fly to the capital from Luton is just £16.51 one way.

After passing security checks, I bought the obligatory £3.99 bag of Worthers’ Originals before using my all-important priority boarding pass to get on the plane and leave Luton behind.

In less than four hours, we touched down in Bucharest Henri Coandă International Airport, around 1.5km from the city centre.

Right off the motorway, you can’t miss the huge glass-walled buildings that make up Europe’s largest spa, Therme. Since opening to the public in January 2016, the spa has welcomed over eight million customers, and it’s easy to see why.

After dropping off our bags and donning our swimsuits and robes, it felt like I had walked into a lovely steamy oven as we were escorted into the main swimming pool area.

I knew it was going to be warm inside, to keep the 800,000 plants and 1,500 palm trees thriving as they would in the tropics, but I was feeling the heat as I eyed up the pools, both indoors and outdoors.

I felt like I was in the Caribbean. Now, the spa was not like the ones I’ve been to before where you’re meant to be quiet and ‘healthy’. People were digging into all the food on offer, paying by using their wristbands, chatting with friends and drinking in the pools.

While most people there were Romanians on their own staycations, Diana and Catalina, our guides for the day, said that tourists often come to the spa before catching a flight or right as they land, due to the spa's location near to the terminal.

To access the three spa zones, including the huge waterpark and slide area, it was 193 lei, or £33, for the whole day. There are mineral pools, 10 saunas (six dry and four wet, including one with a huge projector showing animal documentaries), an urban beach, restaurants, infrared light beds, hot tubs, and plenty of beds to snooze on after a long day of relaxing.

For comparison - to have an evening (four hours) using the spa facilities, and a glass of fizz, at the Luton Hoo costs £60 per person.

And it’s not all about putting your feet up, 45 activities are going on each day, so there is going to be something even for the fussiest among your travel group. One of the saunas looked like something out of an LA architect’s dream: wood, huge glass wall and tiered seating.

After our tour around the huge place, I had a 45-minute-long CBD massage to release all the stress from travelling. We dined in the Mango Tree restaurant and I drank my pina colada overlooking the water aerobics in the pool below. It looked like a scene from Avatar with blue, green and purple lights illuminating the water.

Our hotel, PeakTure Hotel, was right next to the university, and a few minutes walk from the Old Town. I sunk into my comfy and crisp bed sheets before a big day of taking in the sights of Bucharest.

The buffet breakfast introduced me to Romania’s favourite food categories - meat and cheese. Pork seems to be the meat of choice, so halal, kosher, vegetarian or vegan diners might struggle to find authentic Romanian dishes without this.

The streets were quiet in the morning with locals basking in the sun or fishing in the Dâmbovița. Meeting at the Piața Unirii (Union Square), dozens waited to meet our guides from Walkabout Free Tours. I’d recommend any tourist to go on one of these, you’ll hear facts, figures and anecdotes you wouldn't get from anywhere else.

I met Aniad, a Romanian university student studying English and Spanish, volunteering as a tour guide in her spare time. Despite being only 20, she was an experienced storyteller, bringing her home city to life as she took around.

The tour started at the Parliament Palace, before explaining the effect Communism had on the city and its people.

I saw some churches nearly completely blocked from view by Soviet-era housing blocks. Anaid told us the story of how civil engineer Eugeniu Iordăchescu saved some of the city’s emblematic churches from destruction in the 1980s by rolling them to safety and hiding them from view.

I was struck by the diversity in architecture as we made our way around Bucharest with French, Ottoman and Byzantine styles influencing the buildings all around me. It was clear why the centre of the capital had been dubbed ‘Little Paris’ - Bucharest has its own Arc de Triomphe.

We sat by St Anthony’s church, dating back to the 1500s. Each Tuesday, there is a tradition where people wait in line to pray for their true love. But this only works if you come for nine consecutive weeks!

Later on in the tour, we visited the Stavropoleos Monastery, where we saw remnants of the churches that were destroyed under Nicolae Ceaușescu’s Communist rule. Nuns tended to the grounds as tourists gazed at the magnificent art and intricate details of the building.

I learnt about the real story of Dracula and the truth behind Vlad the Impaler. Aniad was incredibly passionate about her country and said she enjoys taking people on tours on the weekends.

We ended in the poignant Revolution Square. Aniad used her parents' experience of living under Soviet rule to describe how the Romanians lived after the Second World War.

From spies amongst friends, banned abortions, electricity blackouts and rationing, she told us of how the people fought back to oust the Communists and retake their country in December 1989 during the nine-day ‘Bloody Revolution’.

She said: “50 years ago I would not have been able to tell you the history of Romania. It is my biggest privilege to be able to do this.”

The effects of Communism still ripple through the city and country today, and as a self-proclaimed history buff, I was astounded at just how much of this I was unaware of. Graffiti with ‘Respect ‘89’ is still sprayed around the city.

At the end of the tour, Aniad was tipped generously by the 30-odd people who had been listening to her for over three hours. A 50 Lei note, about £9, was well worth the trip around the city with her as our guide.

It was time to sample some of Romania’s finest delicacies at Restaurant La Mama. I am now a huge sarmale fan. The country’s national dish of stuffed cabbage rolls with ground pork and rice might not sound the best, but they were divine. These were served with polenta and cost £6.45, or 38 Lei.

My sweet tooth and I couldn’t help but try papanași, doughnuts made of cheese, with creme fraiche and berries. I still crave them. These cost around £3 for a big portion - 18 Lei.

Five dishes for our table came to 127 Lei - less than £22. So those looking for a budget-friendly city break can count on Bucharest to tick off that requirement.

Naturally, I did some souvenir shopping and visited a huge bookstore, Cărturești Carusel, which is worth a trip even just for the Instagrammable pictures

Sitting on what felt like a quaint side street, it was easy to forget that I was in a capital city. While there were busy areas, it was a world away from the hustle and bustle of London or Paris. Without much knowledge of the language, bar a few essential words (mulțumesc – thank you, buna ziua – hello, and delicios), it was easy to communicate as many people spoke English, I just had to tone down my accent a little.

I strolled back to the hotel before dinner in The Ana Tower, a skyscraper with a wine bar and restaurant in the centre of the city’s corporate hub.

I spoke with Gioconda Velica, manager at Peakture Hotel, who gave some real insight into Bucharest.

Bucharest was twinkling in the distance as we had an eight-course tasting menu with matching wines. It was a great place to end our Saturday night, an up-market restaurant with panoramic views of the city.

On my final day in what I found to be a magnificent city, I strolled around and stumbled across two churches, with locals milling in and out to pray on Sunday morning.

The city is not all flashy high-rise buildings, there are derelict buildings and poverty. But it charmed me, and I felt safe as a lone woman exploring the capital. As I looked out of our taxi window back to the airport, I just wished I had had more time to go to the museums and government buildings.

But thanks to Gioconda’s recommendations, I have to come back and go to Transylvania.

Since coming back from Bucharest, I have been telling friends and family about my Romanian adventure, recommending they ditch the pricey spas back home for a trip away - getting a relaxing wellness retreat and an explorative city break in one.

It was completely different from what I had expected. While the country is not without its challenges, the spirit of the people made my trip what it was with their immense pride for the place they call home, and for their strife to live freely.

A huge thanks to Wizz Air for organising this unforgettable trip.