Health tourism & Estoril Resorts rebirth: from thermal springs to the contemporary wellness centre

Abstract

Set in the Atlantic outskirts of Lisbon, Estoril was for centuries renowned for the thermal springs whose waters were linked to the 12^th-century legend of a horse whose vitality was regained after bathing in them. The blessed liquid was chemically studied from the mid-1700s on and experimented by King Joseph I. The prestigious royal presence and Estoril’s coastal setting justified the growth of attendants across the 19^th century and the improvement of bath house and lodging facilities, especially from 1880 onwards.

By 1913 the entrepreneur Fausto Figueiredo purchased estates and projected an international resort matching Europe’s elite’s standards of elegance, betting four aces on Estoril’s future success: seaside location, climate, thermal springs, and sports. Managed by the Estoril-Plage Society, the new bath house was now part of Hotel do Parque whose facilities, staff training, equipments, treatments, sporting and leisure programmes were Portugal’s pride. However, after losing the resort’s Gambling concession in 1958, the managers of the thermal venue decided to demolish it in 1961. For decades the hegemony of sun bathing, the lack of a bath house, and Portugal’s social and political unrest led Estoril’s springs to oblivion and its waters to (oceanic) waste.

This empirical study is based on the author’s Ph.D thesis, but it also includes recent data collected from theoretical approaches on contemporary practices, besides elements bestowed through the contact with Estoril’s Wellness Centre and tourism promoters.

Recently, while in 2008 powerplay obliterated the Estoril Coast Tourism Authority, in 2010 local stakeholders were to revive Estoril’s thermal identity by inaugurating a Wellness Centre of contemporary lines. In association with the Asian Banyan Tree Group, the current managers’ pivotal philosophy relies on sustainability and holistic concerns. Promotionwise, the insertion of Palácio Estoril Hotel, Spa & Golf in the demanding Condé Nast Johansens Luxury Spas 2016 guide assists in Estoril’s international rebirth as Lisbon’s only updated health resort and one of Europe’s finest, considering its microclimate, seaside location, leisure programmes and man-made tourist assets available. As it was once, so it shall hopefully be again.